Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Ironing Things Out

This morning I was worried that my husband wouldn't have any ironed shirts left in his closet, since I was WAY behind in that particular chore. He didn't see why it was a problem: "By the time I get to work, I'm already messy."

That may be true, but I always wanted him to start out looking good. And the same was true for the kids. I've always been meticulous about ironing their school uniforms.

That is, until I discovered what the kids do with the uniforms when they remove them from the closet.
1. Take the neatly-ironed shirt off the hanger.
2. Take the neatly-ironed pants or skirt (whichever is the gender-appropriate uniform) off the hanger.
3. Roll the top and bottom into a ball.
4. Take the clothing into the bathroom. If you're really doing well, you've remembered your underwear too.
5. Dump everything on the floor.
6. Take your shower.
7. Get dressed. (If you're wearing pants, spend 5 minutes looking for your belt.)

I don't see the point of fussing with spray starch, at considerable risk to my hair, so that my kids can undo what I've done before they even put on the clothes! However, my mother is completely scandalized that I would stop ironing my kids' clothing because of this. She thinks that their teachers will suspect me of Child Neglect. Now, the uniforms I take off the clothesline and hang right in the closet look just as good as, if not better than, what the kids are wearing when they've finished following their Normal Showering Procedure as described above.

So, what do you think? Should I iron anyway? Make them iron their own? Or just hang up, fresh out of the laundry?

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