6 Alternatives to Ironing

I hate ironing. Once I was old enough to do my own ironing, my mother quit ironing my clothes every day before school. I had to get creative and find alternatives to ironing that would get the wrinkles out of my clothes without having to use the iron.

Alternatives to Ironing: Shower time!

If my clothes were only slightly wrinkled from being to crowded in the closet then I would simply hang them up in the bathroom with me while I showered. The steam from the hot shower was great for getting out those small wrinkles in my clothing, and I was happy that I didn't have to drag out the ironing board.

Alternatives to Ironing: Oh the wonders of the iron's steam function.

You would think that if I was going to go through the trouble of getting out the iron and waiting for it to heat up that I would just iron my clothes the traditional way, but you would be wrong. I have found that simply hanging up my clothes, filling the iron with water, and turning it to the highest steam level to steam my clothes free of their wrinkles is much faster and easier than ironing them on the ironing board. I can steam a shirt in about 2 minutes, whereas it takes me about 5-10 minutes to actually iron a shirt.

Alternatives to Ironing: The flat iron.

Usually the flat iron for my hair is already plugged in and hot when I am getting dressed in the morning, so I will sometimes use it on my clothes if there are only a couple of wrinkles that need to be pressed out. My flat iron has adjustable heat which makes it great for any kind of fabric, and since the heat comes from both sides, I don't have to iron the inside and then the outside, I can iron both sides at once.

Alternatives to Ironing: Spray bottle and blow dryer.

I use a spray bottle to wet down my hair when I want to restyle it without taking a shower, I also use this spray bottle when I want to get the wrinkles out of the my clothes without using my iron. I simply dampen the area of my clothes that need pressing, and then I blow dry the area with my blow dryer while pulling the fabric taunt. I will use almost any alternative to ironing to avoid having to actually iron.

Alternatives to Ironing: The dryer.

This alternative to ironing is not the most ego-friendly, nor is it the most cost effective, but I have to admit that I was a serial user of the dryer to avoid ironing. If you are already drying a load of laundry then you can simply throw your wrinkled piece of clothing in with the load, allow it to complete the drying cycle, and the wrinkles should be out of your clothes. If you aren't drying a load of laundry then you can simply run the article of clothing in the dryer for as along as it takes for the wrinkles to come out.

Alternatives to Ironing: Lights on!

Okay, this is a little desperate, but it will do in a pinch. If you have a article of clothing made from a lightweight piece of fabric, and a light that has been on long enough to get quite warm, then, after dusting off the bulb, you can gently rub the article of clothing over the warm bulb where it is wrinkled.

As you can probably tell by now, I really hate ironing. I rely on these alternatives to ironing on a regular basis to get the wrinkles out of my clothing. Go ahead and try them out next time you need to iron your clothes, but don't feel like using an iron.