Few of my friends or clients enjoy ironing. Some loathe it to the extent that they don’t even own an iron or ironing board. They would rather wear creased clothes because it really isn’t a priority in the context of their casual lifestyle. Some skip the ironing process by tumble drying most of their clothes and folding them as they come out of the dryer to prevent creases. Some make a point of purchasing items that don’t require ironing and stay away from pieces that do. 

Then there’s the group that will iron, but to varying degrees. Some will iron sparingly, like for special occasions, job interviews, or presentations at work. Some will make the effort to iron regularly because the pristine effect of an ironed garment outweighs the tedium of the task. And then there’s a handful of people who enjoy ironing and iron most of their clothes.

Although I don’t enjoy it, I do iron quite regularly. But I do so for very short periods of time because the process is bad for the repetitive strain injury on my wrists and forearms. I never let the ironing pile up, and iron for no longer than fifteen minutes a few times a week. Although I wear creased linen, I love the visual effect of ironed clothing because it helps me achieve the polished and crisp style that I strive for. Ironed clothing also makes my clothing feel more luxurious. It panders to my inner control freak. I feel calmer when I’m wearing ironed clothing. I’m a yay for ironing. 

I get a head start by sending many of our shirts, blouses, dresses, skirts, pullovers, trousers and jackets to the cleaners. So this leaves far fewer items to iron from scratch. I’m not a fan of tumble drying — because I believe that the excessive heat ruins your clothes and alters their fit — so the fast folding trick is not an option. I don’t iron blue jeans, but I will iron white jeans. I will also iron items that are creased after wearing them already, but can be worn again. Worn clothing that isn’t quite ready for a laundry cycle is hung back or re-folded to prevent it from creasing.

If you bat for Team RATE, and deliberately sport a fashionable style that is “rough around the edges”, you might believe that creased clothing can add interest to your look, and be quite cool. Wearing pristine, ironed garments would undermine this look. In this case you can happily skip much of the ironing.

What is your pressing policy? Do you like or loathe ironing? Do you believe that ironed clothing adds to your style quotient? Do you have any tips for reducing the ironing workload?