Time-Saving

I seem to be a little obsessed about ironing at the moment; we’ve had such a long winter of horrible weather and it’s been a perpetual battle to get the laundry done and dry (we no longer have a dryer in our washing machine – I guess it saves money…) Then we were away for a while and of course coming home, lots of washing to do but lovely weather to do it! So I’ve been going mad with the washing, which then involves ironing…

Some people iron much less than I do – but there is a reason for ironing some unexpected items. Some underwear folds better and flatter and so fits in drawers better if ironed. Tea-towels, as I mentioned recently, dry dishes better if they have been ironed. I have a cousin who is a great ironer and she seems to whizz through the laundry pile much quicker than I do. I might say that my family are all very tall whereas hers aren’t so their clothes are smaller, but there are five of them and only four of us so I guess it evens out.

So what does she do that I have learned from her to speed up my ironing? Many years ago now, when we were staying with them, I was chatting in the kitchen with her when the washing machine stopped. She went to take out the clothes and I noticed that she took things out one at a time, quickly shook them out, then speedily folded them into the basket ready to take out to put on the line. I didn’t mention it but it did puzzle me, as moments later we were taking the folded clothes back out of the basket to put on the line.

We all went out somewhere for a picnic, and on our return we went into the garden to take in the washing. Once again she folded the clothes, bedding, towels etc before they went into the basket and this time I did ask why.

“Much easier to iron,” she replied.

She was getting dinner ready, the husbands were uprooting an old pear tree in the garden which had ceased to fruit and the children were off playing somewhere, so I put up the ironing board and set to with the laundry. I whistled through it in no time! There were few creases in the clothes because of her folding trick!

Now I always fold laundry out of the washing machine and taking it off the line – and it takes up less room in the basket! Ironing is a whizz! Try it!