‘I love ironing’.
This is the mantra has helped me get over my lifelong aversion to ironing. If I could choose something to wear that did not require ironing, I would. Even though I love wearing a fitted and crisp cotton shirt with jeans or wide-leg pants I just couldn’t stand ironing in the morning. And I told myself that my shirts would get crushed and wrinkled in the wardrobe if I did them ahead of time, but really that was a bit fat excuse for my laziness.
One day on my day off work I set up the ironing board with an audiobook playing and set to it. I ironed every one of my shirts and hung them like in a boutique buttoned at the neck. I was so proud of my wardrobe and getting dressed the next day was very exciting. Everything felt so new! And I was finally wearing and enjoying all my lovely shirts.
After that it was a simple matter of ironing a handful of shirts a week. Every so often I’ll get behind but then I’ll just have another big ironing afternoon with a good (audio)book. I don’t have the ‘they’ll get crushed’ problem anymore now either. Because there are less clothes in my wardrobe they have room around them to breathe and stay nice.
What really cemented my newly created mindset of ‘I love ironing’ was that one of my most slender, stylish and elegant friends who went on a Scandinavian cruise last year told me she asked for an iron to be brought to her cabin because she irons everything, absolutely everything she wears - she just cannot not iron her clothes. I found that really cute, and if her ironing OCD is how she always looks so polished, I’ll take it.