domestic fail
In order to expedite time until sunset, I found myself doing something completely out of character. Are you ready for it?
I decided to iron.
Clearly desperate times call for desperate measures.
The thing is that while I am obsessive when it comes to keeping my house organized, I have zero interest in making sure my clothes are wrinkle-free. And yet yesterday I found myself eliminating creases from the Juicy jeans that have been languishing in our laundry room for weeks because apparently my housekeeper draws the line at ironing as well.
Not that I’m pointing fingers.
Much to my mother's dismay I never purchased an ironing board. Instead I utilize an ugly sheet on top of my washer/dryer. My classiness knows no bounds.
You know what’s interesting? When I registered for wedding gifts (and yes, I handled this very overrated project minus Ali’s help) I must have registered for 100 + items. Can you guess the only registry item that wasn’t fulfilled? The iron.
It was a sign. One that I should have heeded as evidenced by the fact that I burned my fingers twice yesterday. So there I was, hours from sunset, with two burned fingers and a dry throat from yelling obscenities after burning my fingers. And of course I was still hungry.
The question remains: When presented with extra time, why can’t I just sit in front of the TV like a normal person?
While I'm not going to win Mother/Wife of the Year Award anytime soon, I haven't killed anyone yet or shot myself in the head. And that, my friends, is how I calculate success these days. 
FANCY THAT FANCY THIS 
My brother watches videos on you tube of people reviewing restaurants to pass the time till sunset. I never say this about my brother but I think you can take a page from his book.
Btw, I am the first comment today because it is 4 am and I am awake to eat and because my stomach is growling!
Thanks to your brother I might be on YouTube this afternoon…
Clearly you failed to read the signs! You weren’t born to iron. May I export the trustworthy presswala to you? He lands up every morning, takes the bundle of clothes and returns this beautifully ironed pile in the evening! {PS The ironing on top of the washing machine is making me CRINGE!!!}
Yes please…I will take one presswala. Stat.
Send him my way too if you encounter any, Ameena 😀 Don’t we all need one here in the States. Sigh!
I ironed on my counter for 5 years until my mom found out and threw a fit and bought me a mini ironing board for christmas.
Nothing says happy holidays like an ironing board…
My mom never bought me an ironing board because she knew I’d never use it. Clutter freaks me out more than my tacky ironing sheet.
I literally never iron. I told my boyfriend when we moved in… I can take care of almost everything – besides ironing.
I never iron anything…hence, the wrinkled mess I am. Then again, I rarely get dressed up or wear nice clothes, so I guess I’m not missing out.
Wish I could NOT sit in front of the TV! 🙂
I’m a wrinkled mess too…you should see me right now!
because you are more than an average person!! unique-ness at its best!
Thank you Eva – I love the way you spin it!
I’m not a fan of ironing either. I get a lot of use from a plastic spray bottle. I spritz things, especially tops and shirts, hang them on the shower curtan rod and ta-da!! It helps if you remember to do this the night before. It’s my saving grace when traveling and I always have a spray bottle in my suitcase. I think it would work with jeans, you’d just need to leave plenty of drying time. Try it!
Ali swears by hanging his stuff in the bathroom too! Maybe now I’ll actually give him credit for having a good idea?
Next time take them to the dry cleaners they will iron them for you, and you can use the time before sunset for a nice walk.
I take 99% of our stuff to the dry cleaners but somehow I can’t spend $7 to have my jeans ironed there.
The last time I pressed my clothes was I guess two years back. I think I am lucky to be living in Africa. I have a maid who presses all our clothes. But then, this doesn’t satisfy my husband. Believe me. He even presses pressed clothes!! Funny isn’t it?
I’m trying to comprehend that your husband presses his pressed clothes but I can’t get past the fact that you have a maid that presses everything. So. Jealous.
i hate ironing. although I do own an ironing board for times when I convince myself showing up to work in winkled clothes is unacceptable
I despise ironing and only do it if I absolutely have to. My mother, a woman who irons sheets and pillowcases and well everything, thinks I am a failure of a wife because my husband has to iron his own clothes. Doesn’t matter that I cook for him, run errands for him, keep things clean, manage the kids, wash the clothes, he is picked on because he has to iron his own clothes. I am pretty sure he will survive.
She irons sheets and pillowcases? Wow. I can’t comment on anything else you said because I am still trying to process that.
I buy wrinkle-free fabrics and make Matt iron his own clothes.
My grandmother would not be impressed with this. She spends entire days ironing and everything is perfectly crisp… better than a dry cleaner’s even.
She claims to hate ironing but I know she hates wrinkles even more.
I am 100% sure Ali has never picked up an iron in his life. And never will.
Yes, how about watch TV or online shopping?.. 🙂 Ironing I don’t think is a good idea. I don’t like ironing either, but somebody has to do it (and it’s clearly not my husband). But I found a solution (kind of), now I use steamer. It’s not better but easier, at least for me.
I hear steamers are really useful but I fear clutter and I don’t know if I can handle storing a steamer AND an iron?
Ohmygod. We were all over the place yesterday with our domestic ways. How frighteningly in-sync.
I have an ironing board. I have an iron. I prefer to use neither. I gave it the good old college-try a few times in my studio, but in the last year I have avoided it at all costs.
The ironing board does a good job of doubling as a drying rack though 🙂
Of course we were in sync Kat. You are my MN twin. Get it??
gosh this is going to make your stomach lurch…
but I love to iron.
it’s relaxing to me.
I have my pile and most every or every other Sunday I’m getting a steam facial and pressing handkerchiefs.
I like to press my dish towels and my aprons too.
and pillow cases.
sorry…i’m weird!
xoxoxox
My stomach is okay but my mind is having difficulty processing this Cindy. You are a superstar. Truly.
I hate ironing clothes and I was forced to do it a year when I was in the UK. I completely empathize with your situation. Burnt fingers.. ouch! Just a week more and then you can do whatever you want!!
Just one more week! I am so excited.
That is when you just spray them with water a little and toss them in the dryer on low heat for about 15-20 mins (unless the dryer is a shared on in an apartment building that requires quarters….fail). I have used my hair dryer a few times also. I have yet to use the fancy new iron the boyfriend bought for us over a year ago.
Hair dryer? Really? I’ve been tempted but wondered if it would ruin my clothes so thus far I’ve refrained…
One word for you: Steamer.
Life changing I tell you. Life. Changing.
Too funny! You sound like me. I ironed my work pants last week and Mj said it was the first time he’s ever seen me iron-so that’s in the last 3 years!! I hate ironing…and I suck at it too.
haha, I actually love ironing. Is that weird? I find something satisfying about taking a completely rumpled shirt or dress and having it nice and smooth afterwards.
You must be really good at ironing because my stuff is rarely nice and smooth afterwards.
I have always enjoyed ironing my cloths, sometime i volunteer to iron for my family, have always felt ironing give a beautiful flow to the fabrics. may your fingers get better and hope you find a ironing fellow to do it for you 🙂
You volunteer to iron? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of such a thing!
hate ironing… 😛 its the most unrewarding job in the world… 🙂
That and being a parent. 🙂
I HATE to iron!! Which leads to me throwing things back into the dryer…and getting them out and trying to straigten them. Not to mention the fact while ironing once – I sat the iron right against my leg….yes ugly words came out. Me and the iron are NO friends! I feel your pain my friend!!
Against your leg? I’m trying to imagine how that’s possible? In any case it sounds extremely painful and worthy of ugly words.
it was bad…I just stepped back and had the bottem edge – rested it right on my leg. I still don’t know why in the world I did that!!!
Ironing and I have a love/hate relationship. Right now it’s pretty much hate.
Low blood sugar has been justified in homicide in the state of texas. this. looks. quite. alarming. methinks.
the last time I used an iron it was to pick up dried candle wax.
are you ok?
I am okay…minor burns in the grand scheme of things. But thank you for asking!
I used to iron on my bed if I was too lazy to get the board out. Who am I kidding – I did that today!
I am an iron FREAK! I get it from my dad. He will not buckle up in the car to avoid wrinkling his shirt. What’s a little whip lash for a wrinkle free clothes I ask you!?
But I draw the line at sheets. Did you know they iron the bed sheet here in Spain? Absolutely not!
They iron bed sheets? How do people find the time?
—-Ameena,
I am Impressed w/ you.
If I had extra time, Seriously, I would NEVER iron. NEver.
You rock.
xx
After the mess I made yesterday, I might never iron again. 🙂
Maybe you are like me. Maybe you just need to feel like you are productive. I hate when a day passes and I havent accomplished anything. It makes me feel like crap, like I just totally wasted my day.
*kisses* HH
p.s. just bought an ironing board last week. Till now I’ve ironed on the bed.
I absolutely have to be productive to the point sometimes where I become unproductive trying to be too productive. Does that make sense?
I absolutely dispise ironing! HATE IT! I have one. and a board. but still. Not Fun.
I can’t even remember the last time I ironed my clothes… or if I ever ironed them at all. I was out shopping for things for my new condo the other day, and my mom mentioned that I should probably pick up an iron and an ironing board. I told her that if hell freezes over and I ever find myself in a situation where I need an iron, I’ll just make the trek back home and use hers. I can think of plenty of others things that I would get a lot more use out of… and have less of a chance of hurting myself with.
Exactly. When space is at a minimum an ironing board doesn’t seem so important!
I don’t iron my clothing as well since I usually buy wrinkle free shirts. Once in a while, hubs ironed his and mine. Hopefully your fingers are ok.
Shoot…if you need wrinkles out of something, just throw it in the dryer with a damp towel. Especially if it’s a pair of jeans.
You burned fingers ironing though? Really? How???? You’re just supposed to hold the handle, you know.
I guess I’m not coordinated enough to move my fingers out of the way in time…I can’t explain how I burned my fingers. I guess I’m just slow.
Ameena, your writing continues to mesmerize with its elegance. I need 100’s of words to convey an anecdote. You convey so much with a merely italized “I” as in your sentence about how you registered solo for your wedding gifts. That lil “I” has another amazing post behind it.
Ernest Hemingway, eat your heart out!
Bill “depends on what ‘is’ is….” Clinton, hire Ameena to script answers should you be subpoena’d again.
Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!
Leslie – how did I get so lucky to have you as my Toastmaster’s mentor but also my real-life cheerleader? 🙂 Thank you. For everything.
Heh, yesterday I walked in on the hubster looking up pictures of pie. He must’ve spent a good two hours deciding which pie we had to make (peanut butter chocolate won out, in case you need to look it up) 😉 Solid time wasting idea, my friend!
Did your husband actually make a pie? I am so impressed!
With the exception of melting crayons when I was little, I’ve never used an iron. If my clothes are wrinkled, well then they’re just gonna stay that way. 🙂
Do you not have a ironing drop-off points where you live? Here in the UK, there are odd small locations where you can simply drop off your ironing in morning and then pick them up after work – all done. The amazing bit is that they are dirt cheap. If none-exist then there may be a small business opporunity for you here
We have drycleaners but they are VERY expensive. I can’t justify paying $7 to have my jeans ironed. So they lay around the laundry room until I feel like burning my fingers. 🙂
Ah ironing! My mom really likes to iron.. Very domestic and random haha I hate it and always have wrinkly clothes!
Ironing and wrinkle free clothes are over rated. Long live the non-ironers amongst us!
We had some home organisers come through our house again this year (becoming an annual thing – would appeal to the neat freak in you). They were shocked about my husband having to iron his own clothes every morning, kids never having ironed uniforms and me never wearing ironed clothes. They insisted that we get an ironing service. The clothes that came back from the ironing service had ironed crush marks all over them, if you can picture that. It made me more annoyed than wearing naturally crushed clothes. So I got these cleaners who are supposed to clean as well as iron. Still not much better. But hubby is happy with his stash of ironed shirts.
I would LOVE to be a professional organizer. I would excel at it!
The only time I ironed was when I was eight and obsessed with doing “grown up” everything, which obviously (sarcasm) includes ironing. I did it at my grandpas and burned his pants. My mom had to go buy him a new pair. Now I let the wrinkles fly.
Funny how I used to want to learn to iron too…and vacuum…and work the dishwasher. Not anymore!
Ironing is seriously my least favorite chore. I have a board but inevitably I always end up using my bed or the floor for my ironing base. I tried to get my housekeeper to iron for us but she refused also! I can’t say I blame her. It is quite a miserable chore.
I think that using the bed/floor/washer/dryer might be a Paki/Indian thing?
i actually love ironing – it’s one of the chores i grew up doing – but i have a shitty ironing board now and never do it. if i got a better one, i bet i’d do it more!??
no, probably not…
Aw – hope the burns weren’t too bad! I think this is a sign to get a clothes steamer 😛
I can’t sit in front of the TV either, I end up sleeping to make the time go by faster 🙂
I wish I could sleep but Maya won’t let that happen!
i hate ironing too!! in fact i never do it!!
I love to iron. It’s the only thing I like doing besides washing and folding clothes, although I don’t like ironing my husband’s business shirts and those are the only thing that really need to be ironed.
I send my husband’s shirts to the dry cleaner. One has to draw the line somewhere!
I also have anti-ironing tendencies, but I have a friend (male) who irons EVERYTHING (underwear, too). He also arranges his closet by colour. I should probably get him to come help me out with mine…
He irons his underwear? WHAT?
I had an ironing basket for 4 years,i never saw the things on the bottom until they went to the salvos.
I don’t have an ironing board either,mines a towel on the dining table on the odd occasion something really needs an unwrinkle. my poor son had to learn to iron in the army, i felt so guilty not passing on this skill………….. but i can pretty much guarantee he will never ask ME to iron anything 🙂
I feel a bit better that Maya will not know how to iron now…
The only thing I hate worse than ironing is floors. My husband irons his own dress uniform when he needs it because my ironing skills are so bad!
Ali hasn’t touched an iron. In his entire life.
I never iron. Ever. In fact, I don’t even know HOW to iron. And I’m totally okay with that. Any future boyfriend or husband of mine will either be wearing wrinkled clothes like me or learning to iron themselves because there’s no way I’ll be doing it for them.
I’ve mastered going to the dry cleaner Ayla and I have faith that you can too!
I absolutely refuse to iron, as evidenced by the wrinkled skirt I am currently wearing. Even Husband commented on how wrinkly it was. I didn’t even know he could recognize a clothing wrinkle if it hit him upside the head.
If my husband commented on my wrinkled clothes I’d probably smack him upside the head. 🙂
I don’t iron either. Glenn irons all his shirts & suits. Good thing he grew up doing it so he is used to it. I am with you on the tv thing. Since my ankle’s been hurting I envisioned lounging all day, but the reality is I feel like a loser after an hour and have to hobble around dusting and mopping.
I envision lounging but can’t make it happen. Ever.
Ironing is over-rated, I don’t even own one…that’s what the tumble dry is for 🙂
I can’t EVER just sit down and relax. It’s a serious problem.
I know quite a few people at college who are fasting….it’s seriously amazing how they can move in, concentrate during night classes, and do work while fasting.
One of my friends said it isn’t that bad at all since it’s not that hot…while I’ve been thinking it’s burning in LA!
We’ve been lucky with the weather but yesterday and today have been HOT! And that makes the day so much harder.
In my house there’s a rule: if it needs to be ironed, it goes in the pile for the Salvation Army.
Brilliant rule.
Hahaha I have an ironing board, but I never use it. I either do it on the kitchen table with a towel, or on my piano bench. Classy I know 😉
Actually, ironing on a piano bench is quite classy!
When my HUSBAND irons…I sneak in my clothes too.
If my husband ironed I would do the same thing. But that never happens.
i hate ironing, with a passion. I LOATHE it! and I have no idea why. I make my husband do it for me. Is that wrong? ha.
If your husband does it for you than you should absolutely hand it off!
I’m stuck on the fact that you would even consider ironing jeans.
I don’t normally but the bottoms of these particular jeans are so creased up for some reason!
Oh no! Sorry about your fingers, my dear. Hope the recovery is quick and painless. I hate ironing with a passion, and that’s an understatement. Like my Cheetos, I could probably write an ode to how passionate my hate for ironing is. Ha!
I have to admire your obsession with Cheetos.
The only thing i just do not like is ironing clothes. I just suddenly feel too lazy when the opportunity comes up 😛
ha, I love this – we have a mini ironing board which means I have to sit on the floor to iron and by the time I’m done they may be wrinkle-free but then everything is dirty from the floor I didn’t clean 🙂
I find myself having to iron every morning. It’s one of those things I don’t hate but don’t love either. I love getting into the mood when I can’t sit still, need to get things done. It doesn’t happen often enough if I have free time. I think it’s a great quality. Also, I think too much TV watching of the garbage that’s on these days can effect the way we write. I try to avoid it too.
I think Jonathan would love it if I ironed a bit less over here. I’m too Type A in that way. I’m sure that will all go out the window when I have children though.
I love the sheet! haha
My mother in law irons her socks. I used to think it was crazy, but then after her last visit…I caught the ironing bug. Now I iron almost everyday! Ah!! I hope you have a wonderful evening and weekend my friend. Thank you for sharing another delightful post with me. Many blessings as the days unfold!
OMG!!!! You ironed, now that’s just so weird, I don’t get it. My brain is con fuzzed thinking of you ironing. Mr HG is an ex dry cleaner, so I don’t have to do any of it, apparently my slow ironing is frustrating to watch. :))) Just quietly…. I totally don’t mind that. 🙂
So I have read through some past posts here, always behind me…and clearly this is getting to you! You ironed?
I was one of those parents that believed my children should have some responsibilities, laundry and ironing fit that bill. Recently I had a pool party to attend, light airy cloths wrinkle easily…I had no choice but to ask my oldest if I could borrow his iron and ironing board. He looked at me with the most perplexed expression, then promptly said “do you need me to do this”, a quick yes and thanks…I was on my way 😉
Wait a second, your SON offered to iron for you? You are one amazing mother – that’s all I can say!