Wrinkle Free and Carefree-How to Avoid Ironing and Still Look Great

I must inherit my hatred for ironing from my mother. I never saw an ironing board or iron when I was growing up until I was visiting a friend one weekend morning, and I sat on her sofa fascinated while her mother ironed her father's shirts effortlessly. I watched as she ironed around the buttonholes, and starched and ironed the collars neatly, satisfied when the shirt was perfect and crisp. Later that day I went home and asked my mother about ironing, and questioned why she never ironed. I won't forget her words that day about hating the task-and her advice to me: wash and wear.

For as long as I can recall, my mother had polyester double knit "pantsuits" in her closet. Her secret weapon to the task of ironing it seems. Thank God these things have gone out of style, I dreaded the though of wearing what seemed the norm in the 70's, but thankfully there are suitable replacements. There are chemically treated fabrics and fabric blends now made that make it easier for us to simply slip something on without thinking about wrinkles. It's importants to know the steps to a wrinkle free wardrobe in our busy world.

My best advice to avoid ironing is to start with shopping. Look at your labels, and choose things that are easy care, no iron and wrinkle free. Most of these fabrics will require some care, but won't need the standard ironing routine that our grandmother had to endure. Wash and wear is a good thing, if you know how to wash it and wear it. The key is in the label!

There are some things that people still waste their time on ironing. Blue jeans for instance. Take them out of the dryer the second it beeps, and hang them on hangers. What more do you need? I know people that go through the painstaking task of ironing things such as underwear and their bedsheets! Honey-we can't see your underwear, and those sheets are going to wrinkle the second you lie down-quit torturing yourself!

Of course there are items that simply get a few wrinkles, no matter what the label says, or how we care for them. The best product I have ever used for this problem is Downy Wrinkle Releaser. Take your item out of the dryer, hang it up on a hanger and spray the wrinkle releaser all over-gently tug at the areas causing you the problem. The wrinkles are released and Voila! You can also do this prior to wearing an item, and it gives the added benefit of smelling nice-just like you took it right out of the dryer before you put it on. If you don't have any on hand, you can try using water in a spray bottle in an emergency, but you won't have the full effect.

Labels, proper care, and wrinkle releaser are the best known weapons to ironing board hell! Use them wisely and never have to iron again,