I really hate ironing! I'm sure you do too. Believe me, it is not an essential skill that you need to be considered an adult any more. Long gone is the weekly “ironing day”. I don't even touch the iron unless it is for some type of a craft project. So how do you keep your look flawless without the aid of an iron? It's really quite simple. Preparation is the key. Once your clothes are wrinkled it is already too late, but with a little advance planning, you can say “good-bye” to that ancient household appliance forever (well, unless you're feeling a little crafty).

Dryer Time and Temperature – Setting your dryer (or the one at the laundromat) to the medium or low setting for clothing that normally gets wrinkled will help protect it from over drying. Make sure that you take items out as soon as they are dry. Do not overload the dryer or leave your clothes in the dryer for an extended period of time. This can cause your clothes to become wrinkled and less voluminous. Keeping your clothes nice and fluffy will keep those pesky wrinkles from setting in. Also, make sure to either hang or fold your clothes right away! If you throw them into a laundry basket for later, they will be wrinkled and not look their best. Fight that urge to live out of your laundry basket. What would your mother say?

Buy Wrinkle-Free – Before you buy new clothes, check the label and make sure it's wrinkle-free and low maintenance. The more delicate or high maintenance your clothes are, the more likely it is that they will give you trouble when it comes to wrinkles. Synthetic fabrics work best and should be virtually wrinkle-free. While you are checking labels, check to see if it is “dry clean only”. Obviously, there won't be wrinkles if you are having your clothes dry cleaned, but it is a very costly alternative to doing laundry yourself. Abiding by our clothing labels is the best way to make sure your clothes stay nice and wrinkle-free.

Once you have your system in motion, the rest is easy. Simply changing the way you purchase your clothes and do your laundry will alleviate the need to iron. Ironing is no fun and soon may become obsolete altogether. We spend much less time at the ironing board than our parents did when they were our age, and they spent less time ironing than their parents. Hopefully advancements in technology will further improve the way we do laundry. Soon they will be an ancient relic that we can admire and tell our own children, “When I was your age…”