Continuing to try out this weekly homemaker routine, I set out to Iron on Tuesday. I haven't ironed much of anything in years. Occasionally, my husband will need a shirt ironed and I will haul out the ironing board and press it for him; usually I throw in a shirt or two for my son and a few other things while the board is out. Ironing hasn't been a big part of my routine for some time.
I used to regularly iron shirts for my husband when he worked at an office. Then when KB was born, I was overwhelmed with all the things having a new baby and a toddler entails. I began taking his shirts to the dry-cleaner to be washed and pressed. At $1.50 per shirt, this seemed like a bargain. My kids loved the weekly trip to our dry-cleaner and visiting with the nice couple that owned it and their little dogs. I'm not sure when we stopped taking shirts there. Perhaps it was when my husband switched jobs and stopped wearing dress shirts. He still wears button-up shirts once in awhile, but they are sort of rumpled around the buttons and cuffs now.
I recently recommended my old dry-cleaner to my in-laws. They told me that it had gone out of business awhile ago. I have issues with guilt, so of course I felt like it was my no longer bringing my husbands shirts to them weekly that single-handedly brought down their business. I still feel bad. Also, as I begin tackling other projects I've been putting off, I realize that I would like to have our down comforters professionally cleaned and now I don't know where to take them. I also have never gotten around to having my wedding dress cleaned and preserved. It has been sitting in my garage rafters in the same duffle bag in which brought it back from Las Vegas nearly 14 years ago. I should probably find a new cleaner and take care of those projects soon.
Last Tuesday, I hauled out my ironing board and spent some time in the morning ironing cloth napkins, a few sewing projects, and five of my husband's shirts. Not bad. The napkins looked really nice and lay more neatly in the cupboard, I was ready to start my hand-sewing project of cloth napkins, and my husband had a decent amount of non-rumpled shirts to wear. I did not iron any bedding as I was still waiting on my new sheets to arrive from Amazon. They arrived on Wednesday and I washed them immediately and threw them into the Ironing Basket with a bunch of other tablecloths, fabric for sewing projects, and more cloth napkins to save for the following week.
This week I changed the bedding on Monday per the new Wash on Monday part of the routine. I really wanted those new sheets to be ironed though, so I took out the ironing board a day early and ironed all the sheets. I set up in the living room in front of a window that gives me a nice view of my front yard and neighborhood, poured a cup of coffee, and set up my little speaker with NPR One from my iPhone. I also learned how to work my iron better. I had been using a spray-bottle to dampen the fabric before ironing it. Monday I realized that my iron can be filled with water and creates it's own continuous steam. This made things go much more quickly and I really enjoyed this quiet afternoon work. When I put those new, freshly-ironed, cotton percale sheets on my bed it looked wonderful! Last night I slept on them for the first time and it was delightful! I did not want to get out of bed this morning, they felt so luxurious!
All of this ironing inspired me to clean out the linen closet. I found one old sheet that can be made into rug-making material. I also found one cotton/poly blend sheet when I tried to iron it on high and it stuck to my iron! I'm discarding that sucker.
This morning I ironed the cloth napkins, some tablecloths and a few more of my husband's and son's shirts. I also ironed some fabric for some sewing projects that I want to start soon, including some cream-colored dish towels that I bought to learn embroidery. I found some of my grandmother's old embroidery transfers and am hoping to make a few towels before Easter.
I used to regularly iron shirts for my husband when he worked at an office. Then when KB was born, I was overwhelmed with all the things having a new baby and a toddler entails. I began taking his shirts to the dry-cleaner to be washed and pressed. At $1.50 per shirt, this seemed like a bargain. My kids loved the weekly trip to our dry-cleaner and visiting with the nice couple that owned it and their little dogs. I'm not sure when we stopped taking shirts there. Perhaps it was when my husband switched jobs and stopped wearing dress shirts. He still wears button-up shirts once in awhile, but they are sort of rumpled around the buttons and cuffs now.
I recently recommended my old dry-cleaner to my in-laws. They told me that it had gone out of business awhile ago. I have issues with guilt, so of course I felt like it was my no longer bringing my husbands shirts to them weekly that single-handedly brought down their business. I still feel bad. Also, as I begin tackling other projects I've been putting off, I realize that I would like to have our down comforters professionally cleaned and now I don't know where to take them. I also have never gotten around to having my wedding dress cleaned and preserved. It has been sitting in my garage rafters in the same duffle bag in which brought it back from Las Vegas nearly 14 years ago. I should probably find a new cleaner and take care of those projects soon.
Last Tuesday, I hauled out my ironing board and spent some time in the morning ironing cloth napkins, a few sewing projects, and five of my husband's shirts. Not bad. The napkins looked really nice and lay more neatly in the cupboard, I was ready to start my hand-sewing project of cloth napkins, and my husband had a decent amount of non-rumpled shirts to wear. I did not iron any bedding as I was still waiting on my new sheets to arrive from Amazon. They arrived on Wednesday and I washed them immediately and threw them into the Ironing Basket with a bunch of other tablecloths, fabric for sewing projects, and more cloth napkins to save for the following week.
This week I changed the bedding on Monday per the new Wash on Monday part of the routine. I really wanted those new sheets to be ironed though, so I took out the ironing board a day early and ironed all the sheets. I set up in the living room in front of a window that gives me a nice view of my front yard and neighborhood, poured a cup of coffee, and set up my little speaker with NPR One from my iPhone. I also learned how to work my iron better. I had been using a spray-bottle to dampen the fabric before ironing it. Monday I realized that my iron can be filled with water and creates it's own continuous steam. This made things go much more quickly and I really enjoyed this quiet afternoon work. When I put those new, freshly-ironed, cotton percale sheets on my bed it looked wonderful! Last night I slept on them for the first time and it was delightful! I did not want to get out of bed this morning, they felt so luxurious!
All of this ironing inspired me to clean out the linen closet. I found one old sheet that can be made into rug-making material. I also found one cotton/poly blend sheet when I tried to iron it on high and it stuck to my iron! I'm discarding that sucker.
This morning I ironed the cloth napkins, some tablecloths and a few more of my husband's and son's shirts. I also ironed some fabric for some sewing projects that I want to start soon, including some cream-colored dish towels that I bought to learn embroidery. I found some of my grandmother's old embroidery transfers and am hoping to make a few towels before Easter.
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