GroupTogether Life Hacks

Kiss Ironing goodbye

A good friend of mine, recently wrote me a poem about how a life hack that I had passed along, had changed his life. Aside from making my day, I realised that this hack is one of those gems that can really make a difference. The only things you need, a deep seated hatred of ironing, a washing machine where you can choose the spin speed, a dryer, and hangers or a drying rack at the ready and then you can kiss ironing goodbye.

I am paying forward this life hack from the amazing Deenie Bernstein who was the most fabulous clothing guru & stylist at my fav store when I was living in San Francisco. So thanks Deenie, this transformed my life.

Step 1: Washing. It makes no difference if you only put shirts into one load or if you throw everything in together (my method). It works equally well for both. The key is to turn down the spin speed, make sure it’s no higher than 1200 or a Medium setting. For my machine I’ve found that 1000 works the best (fancy, right?)

Step 2: Dryer. Put all the clothes that can go into the dryer and select the cotton setting. Depending on how hot your dryer gets it may take 5-7 minutes for the heat to work out all the wrinkles on your clothes. I can’t stress enough how important it is to babysit your dryer. Trust me, if you walk away thinking you’ll be back in time, you’ll be cursing me rather than writing me sonnets. Best alternative to babysitting is to set the alarm on your phone for 5 minutes so you can rush back.

Step 3: Remove only the clothes that you don’t want to iron from the dryer. If, like me, you stuff the dryer full, this may need to be done in 2-3 batches.  If you use the batch method, don’t forget to turn the dryer back on. First, put button-down shirts on hangers. Don’t worry about the buttons, you can do that later, but do place them properly on the hanger. Next, deal with trousers. A quick snap to sort the legs and pockets and hang on the line or drape over the drying rack.  Finally, do the same with T- shirts (they are more forgiving) – a quick snap and on to the line or rack. If you found that you took out too many clothes at once and they’ve wrinkled, quickly pop them back in for another minute and try again.

That’s it. Ironing banished to the nether regions where it truly belongs. All poems, sonnets and limericks appreciated.

“Just so you know. I bless you every Sunday night. If it had been the first chicken recipe it would have been enough. But no. Then there was the second chicken recipe which would have been enough. But no. Then then there was the piece de resistance. The wash the shirts on the half spin, 5 minutes in the dryer and onto a hanger ready for Monday morning. Bless you my dear Bless you. I can blissfully F off that f’ing iron every Sunday night. Hallelujah”