I remember learning to iron. It was a sign that you were older and more responsible when you got to take over ironing table napkins, handkerchiefs and pillow cases. Maybe you'd get to do doilies too - or embroidered dresser scarves. You didn't get to do tablecloths until you were older - they were harder to do - and it would be easy for you to get your feet tangled in the bottom of them if you weren't really careful.
My mother had a Kenmore Mangle - and if you have to ask what they are, you are too young!! (Machines similar to them are in dry cleaning and laundry establishments, so you actually have seen them.) And I never got to use one - I think that by the time I was old enough, my mom wasn't using it anymore. I don't know if it broke down and never got replaced, or if they went out of fashion. It's possible my mom quit caring about ironing sheets - decided that was something she could live without. (People used to always iron their sheets - they were all crinkly otherwise and not very sleep-inducing. Cotton may have improved to the point where you could not iron them and still be comfy. I really should have done my homework and asked my mom before I posted!)And they didn't have steam irons - you had to "sprinkle" the clothes that needed to be ironed - you sprinkled them with water - from an old soda pop bottle with a special sprinkling attachment that was connected to a cork which you stuck in the old pop bottle.
After you sprinkled them - you rolled them up and put them in basket that was covered with a towel. You had to iron them pretty quickly or they would dry out - or worse still they could mildew if it was humid! I have laundered many a basked of mildewed clothing - with varying degrees of success!! You could put them in the fridge or freezer to retard the mildewing process - and I often did just that.
I sprinkled lots of clothes - for lots of years. And I enjoyed it. While a student at BYU, I ironed shirts for male students - got 75 cents a shirt - that was good money!! (I suppose I would have ironed for a female student too - but I never got asked to do that!)
I would iron and watch T.V. I would iron and watch conference. With the advent of videotapes, I would iron and watch movies. I would iron and chat with friends on the phone. I would iron while the children played underfoot. I have a very specific memory of a rainy spring break one year - I was 12 or 14 - channel 9 was hosting a week of Fred Astaire/Ginger Roger movies - they showed the movie three times each day - and we'd often watch all three showings!! And I ironed the whole time - it was so satisfying to see my wardrobe in all it's sleek, ironed glory hanging up on the curtain rods - of course!
I remember ironing Dad's shirts - and then getting annoyed when he wore them!! (I hated to see them rumpled up by wearing!) It's part of the conundrum of ironing. I have been known to iron blouses and then not wear them - because I didn't want to see them wrinkled. I don't feel the same if the cleaners has ironed them though!! As a teen, I was often a bit sad when I put on something freshly ironed - I guess I love the process more than the result.
I actually still iron - and still enjoy it. With my bad knees, I have sat and ironed tablecloths and table napkins. I don't iron as many of my clothes - I prefer the results from the dry cleaners - but I don't always take them there - I often just iron them myself. And a lot of my stuff really doesn't need ironing.
But I still get great satisfaction from the transformation of a wrinkled surface into a plain, smooth one after the application of spray starch and hot steam.
I do most of my own ironing - so I guess there is no danger of me becoming spoiled!
After you sprinkled them - you rolled them up and put them in basket that was covered with a towel. You had to iron them pretty quickly or they would dry out - or worse still they could mildew if it was humid! I have laundered many a basked of mildewed clothing - with varying degrees of success!! You could put them in the fridge or freezer to retard the mildewing process - and I often did just that.
I sprinkled lots of clothes - for lots of years. And I enjoyed it. While a student at BYU, I ironed shirts for male students - got 75 cents a shirt - that was good money!! (I suppose I would have ironed for a female student too - but I never got asked to do that!)
I would iron and watch T.V. I would iron and watch conference. With the advent of videotapes, I would iron and watch movies. I would iron and chat with friends on the phone. I would iron while the children played underfoot. I have a very specific memory of a rainy spring break one year - I was 12 or 14 - channel 9 was hosting a week of Fred Astaire/Ginger Roger movies - they showed the movie three times each day - and we'd often watch all three showings!! And I ironed the whole time - it was so satisfying to see my wardrobe in all it's sleek, ironed glory hanging up on the curtain rods - of course!
I remember ironing Dad's shirts - and then getting annoyed when he wore them!! (I hated to see them rumpled up by wearing!) It's part of the conundrum of ironing. I have been known to iron blouses and then not wear them - because I didn't want to see them wrinkled. I don't feel the same if the cleaners has ironed them though!! As a teen, I was often a bit sad when I put on something freshly ironed - I guess I love the process more than the result.
I actually still iron - and still enjoy it. With my bad knees, I have sat and ironed tablecloths and table napkins. I don't iron as many of my clothes - I prefer the results from the dry cleaners - but I don't always take them there - I often just iron them myself. And a lot of my stuff really doesn't need ironing.
But I still get great satisfaction from the transformation of a wrinkled surface into a plain, smooth one after the application of spray starch and hot steam.
I do most of my own ironing - so I guess there is no danger of me becoming spoiled!
6 comments:
I, too, still enjoy ironing but it is getting to it that is the problem. About 10 years ago we saw a mangler in the paper. Someone's mother had died and they were selling it. We bought it and hauled it downstairs. That was a huge job as they weigh a ton. I used it until we left for the foreign service this last time. While in Kiev we lived just a block away from the Meile store. That is a store that sells German appliances. They are very EXPENSIVE> They had a mangler that was to die for, but it was $2000.00. It was portal and weighed very little. I am still in hopes that I day I will be able to afford it or find one on eBay that I can afford. I have so many tablecloths and linens and it is fun to iron. While on my mission Sweden did not have dryers. When you went to the laundromat, you either hung up your clothes in a room with a fan and a dryer or you mangled them while they were still damp. They had manglers that were big enough to do sheets. It was fun. This post is way long but I do remember ironing every Saturday, especially all the boys' Sunday shirts. Thanks for the memory.
Mom, you are the best ironer I have ever met. It is also like pulling teeth to get Robbie to not wear shirts that haven't been ironed.
I was just having this ironing conversation the other day and I found out that so many people don't iron anymore!
If it makes you feel better, I still do. Sometimes I even iron the sheets!
We iron and rather enjoy it. Phil won't even put his shirts back in the closet until they are ironed. Most of our clothes can be removed from the dryer and folded without being ironed. However, all church clothes have to be ironed at our house down to the undershirts. And I've been known to iron a sheet or two over the years. I love how ironing changes the look of anything.
I thought it was funny how you didn't like seeing things you ironed being worn. I see cute outfits on kids or clothes on men/women and think "That would look so much better if it was ironed."
I have no idea what a mangled is??
Also, I am thinking about those Rowenta's you were telling me about. I will have to check one of those out. Since Phil irons quite a bit I wonder if he would notice the difference?
(Psst! I don't own an iron..........................I know, I know! It's rather ironic, actually, considering in high school I was fastidious about ironing everything, even my jeans. Not sure what happened to change that trend but somewhere along the way I stopped needing one. Or maybe I do actually need one but noone tells me.)
Ironic!! Ha!
Post a Comment