I. Hate. Ironing.
I don’t know why. I have fond smells of standing in the basement laundry room at my grandparents’ house, chatting with my grandma as she went through all the laundry for the week. My grandpa was one of those older gentlemen that wore a collared shirt every single day. No polos. Sweaters over a collared shirt. On a rare occasion, he’d have on a warm and cuddly flannel, but normally, it was a collared dress shirt, and she’d press every one of them so crisp, and we were surrounded by that fresh and clean dryer smell. It was lovely. (An aside: one of the reasons that Byredo Blanche perfume is my go-to is because it reminds me of fresh laundry.)
She was a fan of starch, and would often do the damp handkercheif over a particularly difficult crease to help ease it out. We had so many chats down there, so you’d think that my love of those times would have instilled in me a fondness for ironing.
No. It did not.
I’m lucky that the hubs is in a profession where the dressiest he is outside of a conference is in sweatpants and a tee, so I only really need to press things for him when we’re vacationing and heading to dinner, but unfortunately for me, I’m a blouse and trousers girl. Despite my fun vacation wardrobe, I’m pretty pinned up day to day, and the thought of ironing for myself… yuck.
I stumbled upon the idea of steaming my clothing many years ago when I worked a stint at an upscale boutique here in Louisville and every garment that came to us was steamed before hanging on the floor. I was amazed at how easily the wrinkles would fade away from delicate items that I was sure to ruin with an iron, but the Mac Daddy industrial steamer that we had in the shop was just too much of a purchase.
Finally, several months ago, I gave in, and bought a Jiffy J-2. The design and labels on this thing look like the 1960’s, but I’m assuming it’s because it works so stinking well that upgrading isn’t a necessity. It’s so easy each morning to flip the switch, wait a few minutes for it to get steamy, spritz my clothes with a little of The Laundress Fabric Fresh, and give things a once over before walking out the door. On the weekends, I use it to smooth out our bedsheets and duvet cover, and it comes in handy on our non-custom window treatments, as well.
I never thought I’d be so darn happy to own a piece of housekeeping equipment, but this thing is very worth the money, as well as the hype.
** this post is not sponsored in any way. all thoughts and opinions are my own **
** photo by Morgan Bagby Photography **
