Farrell and I were talking about shirts yesterday. Both of our mothers patiently washed and ironed our fathers shirts when we were growing up, yet this is not something either of us have done thus far in our own marriages. One of our friends told me that her mother is outraged that she (my friend) sends her husband's shirts out to the cleaner. Now that I have some time on my hands I'm going to see if I can perfect the ironing of a dress shirt in the hopes of saving a bit of money. In the end the $2 it costs to have a shirt done professionally may be worth it (ironing has never been a strong point for me), but I'm going to give it a try.
Do you send shirts out to the cleaner?
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7 comments:
Yes, because as a professional 20something, I just don't have the time for that.
OOOOk, I'm going to talk you out of that now. "Professionally" ironed shirts last longer and look better throughout the day because they are ironed while very, very damp. You can iron a shirt so it initially looks very good - but by the time he rides on the train, walks to work in this heat, works 15 hours, he's going to look like I do after a bath. Rumpled, damp, and cranky. :)
Your mom said to tell you having shirts washed and ironed at the laundry is the best money she spends every month! Woof
The Dept of Labor recently came out with an estimate of what it would cost if you had to pay someone to do what "housewives" do. The estimates were ridiculous and insultingly low because most jobs would "pay" between $9.50 and $10 an hour. (Cleaning services and maids here get between $15.00 and $20.00 but the report was probably written by some dumb man who doesn't have a clue what it takes to run a house.)
For the sake of argument though, let's assume you want to wash, dry and iron 8 shirts a week. Let's also assume you have to pay $5.00 a load to wash and dry the shirts and that it would take you about an hour to iron the shirts at $9.50 per hour. Total then is $14.50 or $1.50 difference for 8 shirts. You save less than 20 cents on each shirt to have it professionally laundered and ironed.
Obviously you wouldn't get paid for ironing those shirts but this might not be a cost effective way of saving much money. Just another way of looking at it...
My husband and I both hate to iron. Our solution - Brooks Brothers no-iron shirts. You wash, dry and hang them up and they are perfect. Most of the shirts in his closet are now BB no-iron but for those that aren't, they go to the dry-cleaners.
Some people are allergic to all the chemicals used in "no-iron" clothes. I wish I could find good quality, all cotton, non-treated shirts.
I've always felt guilty for not washing and ironing my husbands shirts, but I figure it means more time with my family and I'm good with that!
Thanks for weighing in on my editing question- I truly appreciate the input!
I have full confidence that you can iron a shirt. I started 3 years ago and its really not bad. Do it on the weekend when you are catching up on your shows. If you google Martha Stewart iron a shirt she tells you how to do it and after a little practice it will be a breeze:) Good Luck!
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