It seems like our lives are a series of dilemmas that require solving. Whether it be what to cook for dinner, or where to buy the cheapest gas; decisions abound. I love it when things come together easily without too much effort or exertion, since my surplus of energy seems to be better spent in other ways (if I can even admit to having a surplus). Today it was ruffles....
While we were in Arizona, my sister-in-law A graciously gave me a whole bunch of hand-me-downs for Elise. When I got them home and was going through them, I discovered many very cute dresses, most of which were made of cotton. This poses a problem for me, because I hate ironing. So, I could either pass them all on and stick with knit fabric (bor-ring) or I could find an ironing solution. When I asked her what she did with all the little cute dresses, she said she ironed the ones for Sunday, and didn't worry about the rest. That seemed like a very good decision, but I could not even picture myself exerting that much effort. In washing some of the dresses, I found that if I shook them when they came out of the washer, that got a good amount of wrinkles out, and if I hung them to dry, that solved my problem completely. (after I had grudgingly ironed quite a few of those teesny little ruffles on quite a few of those teensy little dresses) So, today was laundry day, and I tried it again. All the cotton dresses got a good shake and hung to dry, (and I quickly straightened the bunched up ruffles) and voila! my problem is solved. No more ironing, and no more wrinkles. Yay! (any other girl-related labor saving ideas are fully welcome, since I'm pretty new in this aspect so far!)
I will share my boys shirt ironing secret too since the topic is ironing. Iron their collars and fronts with your curling iron. It works wonders on Sunday morning when your curling iron is already hot and time is limited. I've never fully ironed a shirt since discovering that trick one rushed Sunday morning. My ironing goal is to only have to pull it out for sewing, since sewing without ironing is just bad news. I've tried to cut corners there, but my fabric ends up not meeting where it should, and the finished product is usually crooked in some very obvious place.
If you haven't seen the Brian Regan Ironing Board reenactment, check it out. It makes me laugh every time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtHXKZEcNVM
While we were in Arizona, my sister-in-law A graciously gave me a whole bunch of hand-me-downs for Elise. When I got them home and was going through them, I discovered many very cute dresses, most of which were made of cotton. This poses a problem for me, because I hate ironing. So, I could either pass them all on and stick with knit fabric (bor-ring) or I could find an ironing solution. When I asked her what she did with all the little cute dresses, she said she ironed the ones for Sunday, and didn't worry about the rest. That seemed like a very good decision, but I could not even picture myself exerting that much effort. In washing some of the dresses, I found that if I shook them when they came out of the washer, that got a good amount of wrinkles out, and if I hung them to dry, that solved my problem completely. (after I had grudgingly ironed quite a few of those teesny little ruffles on quite a few of those teensy little dresses) So, today was laundry day, and I tried it again. All the cotton dresses got a good shake and hung to dry, (and I quickly straightened the bunched up ruffles) and voila! my problem is solved. No more ironing, and no more wrinkles. Yay! (any other girl-related labor saving ideas are fully welcome, since I'm pretty new in this aspect so far!)
I will share my boys shirt ironing secret too since the topic is ironing. Iron their collars and fronts with your curling iron. It works wonders on Sunday morning when your curling iron is already hot and time is limited. I've never fully ironed a shirt since discovering that trick one rushed Sunday morning. My ironing goal is to only have to pull it out for sewing, since sewing without ironing is just bad news. I've tried to cut corners there, but my fabric ends up not meeting where it should, and the finished product is usually crooked in some very obvious place.
If you haven't seen the Brian Regan Ironing Board reenactment, check it out. It makes me laugh every time.
