Ironing tips and other odds and ends...

Sarahsaver

I looked but could not find a thread on this. I have recently discovered the joys of laundry starch for making DS's shirts stay smart ALL day
I still iron shirts the way I was taught as a child (by mum or dad, can't remember...) Collar then cuffs, then sleeves, sides then back.
I do someone else's ironing too and until I did that I didn't really enjoy ironing but i kind of do now Can't remember what book it was but it said make your clothes last longer - therefore save money, by looking at it as a relationship. A bit of TLC will pay off in the long run.

I also have a 'mending basket' (a collapsible thing) so that when there's enough - at least 5 things I reckon, I wil have a mending session one evening.

chloe99_2

what's laundry starch?

aurora_borealis_2

My husband (who does all the ironing :A ) always uses spray starch ... and a steam generator iron thingy.

Sarahsaver

chloe99 wrote:

what's laundry starch?

Spray it onto clothes as you are ironing and they look like new! Crisp shirts like you have never seen before!

foreverskint

Just remembered an 'accident' I had with spray starch.
I use it and was merrily spraying shirts etc. We had one of those cheapie cord style carpets. I came down stairs after going to hang the ironing up in the wardrobe, and hit the carpet at the bottome of the stairs where i had been ironing. The starch turned the carpet into an ice rink. I went sliding across the living room on my bottom:rotfl:

By the way Sarah, I'm from the same school of ironing as you, collars cuffs, sleeves etc.;)

Sarahsaver

I know, it is weird, I have this routine which I follow religiously and I don't know exactly where I got it from. At what age did anyone's children learn to iron?
Wondered whether to let DD loose with a pillowcase just to teach her;)
My iron is very OS - not a steam iron, it is one of those really heavy ones with a woven cover around the flex. Don't really like steam, due to the drippy ironing board afterwards and also the occasional scale blow-outs!

foreverskint

My mum and nan taught me to iron. My nan worked for donkey's years as a presser in a laundry.
I can't remember what age i learnt to iron, but I know I was doing all my own washing and ironing by the time I was 14.

I taught my kids to iron when they were around 10yrs old, BUT, they are really sensible kids. My step daughter on the other hand had never seen an iron till she met me, and really doesn't appreciate the danger, so I have not started teaching her yet, will probably wait for another year yet;)

I think with anything, knives, cookers, irons, etc. just base it on the child's abilities. My 3yo already uses a semisharp knife (under strict supervision, and only with soft things like mushrooms).

tawnyowls

Sarahsaver wrote:

I looked but could not find a thread on this. I have recently discovered the joys of laundry starch for making DS's shirts stay smart ALL day
I still iron shirts the way I was taught as a child (by mum or dad, can't remember...) Collar then cuffs, then sleeves, sides then back.
I

Did you do the dance with Anthea last night then?:D Although I think she did the back before the sides/front.

Nicki

My mum used to switch the iron off after she had finished doing the shirts and things and leave me with the cooling iron and a pile of pillowcases, teatowels, hankies or underwear from about the age of 5, gradually moving me on to harder things and a hotter iron as I got a bit of practice. Having said that, I never iron now if I can help it, and haven't started my two kids (aged 5 and 6) either so this doesn't necessarily create a lifelong habit!

MoJo

I can't remember what age I was when I learnt to iron but I know I was doing it as a young teenager. I used to enjoy it - ironing outside in the summer with Radio 1 and inside watching old b&w movies on the tv

I do very little these days but still enjoy it - as I dsicovered when I offered to 'bottom' a male friend's ironing baskets for him.

aimeelister

I always had my dads hankies to do from the age of about 5. Then went on to tea towels then pillow cases.

Im from the same school of shirts collar cuff sleeve side back

I was always allowed knives when cooking from a young age, again semi sharp ones. My cousin on the other hand was rahter shielded on this one and now cant use the kind of potato peeler which is stiff (cant really describe it but theres one kind with the swivel head and the other one which doesnt move, im meaning the latter.) as she cant peel towards her as she was always taught to cut away from her (shes 18!)