With planning and proper care you can cut back on your ironing for greener clothes.
My friend finds ironing relaxing. I find it a chore, especially in the hot climate of the Middle East. And according to the Consumer Energy Center, operating an electric iron uses one kilowatt hour an hour, almost twice as much as a washing machine. Irons need to be replaced frequently, and they make your home harder to cool in the summer. Fortunately, people dress casually in the Middle East and most people think wrinkles aren’t a big deal. But if creases make you cross, follow these tips to cut down on ironing:
- Choose clothes that require a minimum of care. Dark colors need to be washed less often, and they hide wrinkles. Test fabrics by pinching them to see if they hold a crease. Pick fabrics similar to easy-care items you already own. The label may also give a clue: Clothes with labels that say “Use warm iron” are best avoided.
- Do less laundry. To cut down on washing, drying and ironing, change out of work or dress clothes as soon as you get home. Then hang or fold them. Teach kids to inspect clothes before throwing them in the hamper and to use smocks or aprons.
- Sort dirty clothes by fabric weight as well as color. Button-down shirts wrinkle less when washed separately from cotton knits.
- Place each item loosely into the washing machine. With a front-loader, you can fill to the top, but don’t stuff items in. A top-loader requires more extra space, especially for delicates.
- Use a delicate cycle and cold water whenever possible. Set the spin cycle lower if you can, keeping in mind that the clothes will then take longer to dry. For items that wrinkle a lot, take them out before the spin cycle and drip dry.
- Shake or “snap” each item as you take it out of the machine. Check that legs, sleeves, and collars aren’t caught.
- Hang button-down shirts on a clothes hanger on the shower rod. Hang the rest on a clothesline as soon as you can.
- When hanging clothes, make sure sleeves and collars are in place. To save space on the line, fold tablecloths and sheets in quarters or eighths before hanging. Freshly washed bottom sheets can go directly onto the bed.
- Judicious use of a dryer for only a few minutes can save you ironing, as it removes creases in some fabrics, especially men’s shirts.
- Hang or fold clothes immediately after laundering, and whenever you aren’t wearing them.
More green laundry and clothing tips from Green Prophet:
Are Cloth Diapers Green Even in the Water-Scarce Middle East?
Save Water and Energy in Your Washing Machine with These Top Tips
‘Eco-Hijabs’ On The Rise, What Muslim Fashion Bloggers Have To Contribute
Hannah Katsman writes a blog on energy-efficient cooking, Cooking Manager.
Author: Hannah Katsman
Hannah learned environmentalism from her mother, a conservationist before it was in style. Once a burglar tried to enter their home in Cincinnati after noticing the darkened windows (covered with blankets for insulation) and the snow-covered car in the driveway. Mom always set the thermostat for 62 degrees Fahrenheit (17 Celsius) — 3 degrees lower than recommended by President Nixon — because “the thermostat is in the dining room, but the stove’s pilot light keeps the kitchen warmer.” Her mother would still have preferred today’s gas-saving pilotless stoves. Hannah studied English in college and education in graduate school, and arrived in Petach Tikva in 1990 with her husband and oldest child. Her mother died suddenly six weeks after Hannah arrived and six weeks before the first Gulf War, and Hannah stayed anyway. She has taught English but her passion is parental education and support, especially breastfeeding. She recently began a new blog about energy- and time-efficient meal preparation called CookingManager.Com. You can find her thoughts on parenting, breastfeeding, Israeli living and women in Judaism at A Mother in Israel. Hannah can be reached at hannahk (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
People I know in New York were soaking their sheets before bed to counter the heat this past summer.
Thank you Janice. Yes, it works especially well in the summer right before bed! But I’ve done it with flannel sheets in the winter with no problems, just try to do it early in the day to give them enough time to dry.
Good tips. But the last sentence in #8 puzzled me. Are you suggesting putting damp sheets directly on the bed?
Thanks for the great tips! Hanging button down shirts really does work, but I will try some of the other solutions for the especially wrinkle prone pants!