Ironing clothes is one of the most difficult tasks for me to perform. Everything works out fine if I am just quickly ironing a shirt or just a shirt and pair of pants in preparation to skedaddle out the door on my way somewhere. In terms of the entirety of my OCD, as long as I have another place to divert my mental focus towards or I have something that will preempt my current focus, everything works out fine.
However, if I am just ironing for ironing's sake because I, let's say, let my clothes just sit in a dryer for several hours allowing them to raisin-ify (<-- that should so be a word), it is an unaccomplishable task. It is like cleaning a pond. You will always make visible progress. There is always dirt to pull from the pond and there are always more wrinkles to remove from your clothing, thus signifying that you are making some sort of headway. But, the task can never be completed. You can continue until you are blue in the face, there will always be more dirt and more wrinkles.
You never know when to stop. What's an acceptable amount of visible wrinkling? Does this accepted amount change depending on the type of clothing or the material of the clothing? Does it change depending on the location upon the clothing in which the density of wrinkles is located i.e. is it okay to have more wrinkles on the inside crease of the trouser leg versus the front face? I needed to invent some kind of heuristic lest I sit there ironing my clothing until the sun rose again. So, I grabbed a beer; left the presence of my clothing; went on to the porch; smoked a cigarette; and arbitrarily invented the "Official J$ Ironing Process Completed Litmus Test."
After ironing for a sufficient period of time (this varies upon the speed at which you are ironing), you lay the article of clothing as flat as possible on a surface such that the article can be in full plain view (or as close as it can be) and hanging in a horizontal fashion. (Laying it over the back of a couch is a perfect choice.) You, then, walk six full paces away. If you cannot unquestionable discern any wrinkles at six paces, the ironing process is complete. Perform this for both the front and back of the clothing.
I really hope it never gets to the day that I cannot (or, I never think to) step away from the task and invent an arbitrary stopping point. My roommate's going to come back one day and find me ironing the wall because I am convinced it's wrinkly.
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Comments
you're goofy.
i normally take cars when i go places. thus, my clothes attain wrinkles, regardless of their intial state.
i simply try to image how wrinkly the clothes will be when i emerge from the car. once i cross this threshold, i can stop safely.
of course, this changes based on weather (hot sweaty car clothes are much more wrinkly than cold winter day car clothes).
probably insufficient for your needs, but it works for me.
> i normally take cars when i go places.
Uhhhh....
> you're goofy.
Your mom's goofy.
you, quite obviously, didn't grow up in a military household.
Ironing is easy if you're reasonably fast enough.
1. Don't let stuff sit in the dryer. Once the buzzer goes, yank your crap out. Ideally, it should be on the moister side of dry. If you do let things raisin, throw in a damp towel and run the dryer on permanent press for a few minutes.
2. Shirts:
Collar, sleeve to cuff, front top to bottom, back left: top to bottom, back right: top to bottom, back center.
doing them top to bottom lets you stretch them a bit ensuring you don't get more wrinkles from the iron. Steam is your pal, but just a little does a lot.
3. Pants:
Legs, iron on the outside, since the inseam will always get wrinkles, but will also get the steam.
4. Boxers:
Just say no.
It does mean tying up an hour or so on laundry day, but if you do it right you can iron one load while waiting for the next to dry.
Please "Help" How on earth do you iron pleats in men's pants? I would like the pants to look really nice after the job is done. Thanks anybody!!
Does this mean that the steamer-only on tv-shop does not work as advertised? Do I really have to iron the "old way"? :o Oh Why?! :'(
everybody kneeds to a iron..
everybody kneeds to a iron..
m- baby