How to Avoid Ironing for Good: Practical Tips

Some people find ironing enjoyable and even therapeutic, but if it’s your pet hate or your life long dream to never have to iron again, we have a few tips to get you well on your way.

Top tips

Hang up your clothes as soon as they come out of the washing machine. Give clothes a shake and smooth out the items before you hang them up. That way they won’t dry (and essentially set) with stubborn creases. Hang them up by the strongest piece of fabric. For shirts, place them straight onto a hanger.
Spritz your clean clothes with a wrinkle-releasing product. To make your own, add one part water and one part fabric softener. Mix well and spray lightly onto clothes to help relax the fabric so wrinkles simply drop out once you hang them up.
Remove creases with steam. Handheld steamers are a quick and easy way to get rid of creases. They are reasonably priced and don’t take up much room, but if you don’t want to buy one then an alternative is to place items in the bathroom while you have a hot shower.
Keep your wardrobe tidy and clutter-free. Don’t stuff clean clothes in an overcrowded wardrobe. Make sure your clothes have enough breathing space otherwise they’ll get creased all over again.
Buy clothes in fabrics that won’t crease. Clothes made from 100 per cent cotton tend to crease badly, but cotton blended materials are better. Any man-made materials – jersey, heavy denim and knits, are usually good options.

The laundry may be one of the smallest rooms in the house – in fact, it may even be a cupboard – but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give it the decorative attention it deserves. Photo: Brett Stevens

Extra laundry tricks

If your clothing has been sitting in the washing machine too long (don’t worry, we all forget to hang out our washing from time to time), and has started to dry, spritz them with clean water to help loosen the fibres. Find more laundry hacks that will change your life here.

In the wash

Add a cup of white vinegar to each wash. It acts as a fabric softener (with the added bonus of deodorising clothes too) and helps soften wrinkles.

In the dryer

When tumble drying clothes, in the last 10 minutes of your cycle add a damp cloth – it will soften the fabric and loosen wrinkles. Another trick is to add tennis balls to the cycle because they help clothes dry faster and move air around the dryer, which helps prevent wrinkling.