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Steam… a ironing haters dream?

22 replies

PeeAche · 21/09/2021 14:01

So, I have a nice lady that does my ironing for me. I’m not lazy, I’m just up to my ears in kids, housekeeping and a full time job. I deserve to outsource this 1 activity. And I do so hate ironing.

I have a reasonable ironing demand; my DH wears shirts all the time. He’s in the garden right now planting an avenue of 8 new trees… in a shirt!

I used to send our ironing out to the “ironing lady” for £12 a basket. She would collect the basket and deliver it back, on hangers, right to my utility room door. If you forgot to include your own hangers, she’d give you a bunch of new ones. And she was so friendly. And local. At Christmas she’d bring me a bunt cake. And on my birthday last year, she gave me a bottle of wine! She was just the best!….

Oh, except for the actual ironing part.

As the years have gone by, so too have some of her faculties and lately the ironing has been coming back more creased than it went out.

I gently mentioned to her, (as I took my most recent load from her soft, liver spotted, arthritic hands,) that I was going to start doing my own ironing. I found myself addressing her hush puppies. I couldn’t even look her in the eyes as I dumped her.

Fortunately she said she’s retiring anyway and that she was only carrying on with a few customers that she really felt “needed” her help. She said it in a pointed and sympathetic way. Meanwhile, behind me, WW3 was unfolding as the kids argued over who’s stick insect looked the most like a stick. I could see her point.

I contacted a few other local ladies who want to charge me £1 per item. Starting to think my ironing lady was actually running a charity.

A couple of weeks later, DH decidedly low on shirts and children now at risk of going to school naked, I set about doing the first load of ironing I’d done myself since I was the right side of 25. The first 3 items “weren’t so bad” but by item 4 I was sweating. By item 6 my back ached and by item 8, I was clawing my way through the basket discarding items that I now deemed “probably fine without ironing anyway”

DH suggested he do ironing instead. I agreed wholeheartedly and thought the saga was over. Until children turned up at breakfast table looking like an old bag of crisps.

My mother suggested I do a load every 3 days to prevent build up. Fuck that.

So here I am… looking to replace my ironing lady with a steamer. Does anyone else here use a steamer??

That’s really all this long post was about. Just 1 very simple question. It’s just nice to talk sometimes…

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Karwomannghia · 21/09/2021 14:06

I don’t iron anything and my husband used to wear non iron shirts. I’d suggest he buys some or continues ironing his own- up to him to improve if he doesn’t like his efforts!
I saw a steamer in action at the weekend. It looked quite annoying and ineffective!