Love-To-Iron

WASH, FOLD, HANG, IRON AND PUT AWAY Commuter's life I snuggle cosily in my warm bed hearing the rain drops on my roof and patio. Its peaceful serenity suddenly interrupted by a sound of an alarm. 5am. Slowly crawling out of warm bed in disbelief that its already morning. Time to get ready for another day at work... Living a commuter's life has many challenges. Ferry costs, weather, transportation but most importantly longer days, which means very little time left to do many ...household chores. They seem to ruthlessly pile up overflowing into our precious weekends and even Holidays. They take over our minds, distracting us from focusing on important things, things that matter. Because life is too short to waste it on chores Have you ever found yourself living off a pile of washed laundry, which seem to never disappear, wishing someone would put it away? I have a strange love of one chore that most people find dreadful and overwhelming. I love to transform piles of dirty laundry into clean, smelling heavenly fresh, neatly folded stacks ready to be put away, ironed or hung if needed. From dread to delight I will pick up, sort, wash, dry, fold and if required, put away all of your laundry. So when you come home, you can focus on things that bring you joy. Simple, really:)

WINTER READY WARDROBE Season's changes in my house mean wardrobe turnover. I faithfully take time to sort through all of my closet separating and replacing the beloved summer cottons with warm woollens, fleece and thermals. It helps me get in the spirit of a new season, get rid of things I dont wear or like, assessing what I might need to acquire and keeps my closet tidy and simple. The other reason I do this is because winter clothes are a lot bulkier than summer pieces and... they take up a lot of space. When you have a small wardrobe its hard to fit all the seasons clothing in one place, they get crammed and hard to find. Here are some tips on switching to winter wardrobe and keeping your closet and you "happy" 1. FILTER OUT Take everything out! Everything. Do some filtering. If you find clothes that you haven't worn for over a year, give it away or store it someplace where it won't take up too much from a useful space. 2. BEACHWEAR These are the summer dresses, beach cover-ups and shorts. I like to keep a swimsuit around just in case I'm feeling an indoor pool visit or quick weekend getaway. 3. REORGANIZE There are usually two sections to any closet, the hangers and shelves. Think about practicality. What do find the most important to be easy to reach out and grab? 4. MIX AND MATCH Divide your shelves. I always fold side by side: -Sweaters/cardigans/long sleeve base layers - Leggings/sweatpants -T-shirts -PJs Everything else will go on hangers. In addition I like to have 2-3 outfits put together and hang them assembled and ready to wear saving me time in the morning. 5. SCARVES Scarves are also a mystery for some people. Where and how are they supposed to be stored? Winter scarves are also big and bulky and hanging them up next to you jackets and coats isn't ideal for small closets. I have a couple of scarves I wear regularly hung in the entryway so I can grab them on my way out. The rest are contained in a wicker basket on the closet shelf . 6. DELICATES AND SOCKS These are the lucky pieces because they barely take up any space and you can just throw them in the wicker baskets. To wrap up, keep your basics, white button-downs, workout wear, fancy pieces, scarves, even lighter pj's, a swimsuit and cardigans in your closet all season. When Winter approaches move in the heavy coats and bulky jackets and take out the beachwear. It's all about organization. No matter how small your wardrobe is, the way you pile things and use up every inch of space wisely will make a hell of a difference. Remember: less is more. If you struggle with your wardrobe switch over and closet organizing, I am happy to help!

Do what you LOVE what you do Since I started my Love-to-Iron business, lots of people have been asking me: WHY in the whole world would you want to do this dreadful task of ironing? Growing up in Ukraine we did not have the luxury of modern appliances. My Mother owned a washing machine but most of it's operational functions were done by hand including a wringing mechanism. Dryers were unheard of and we used multilayered clothing line off our apartment balcony. The flats were... small and the space was limited, so we dried our laundry outside year around. I remember the fresh smell of clean laundry brought inside. It would be piled up until ready to be ironed.. Everything(including socks and underwear) was intended to be pressed. Since my mother on top of working full time outside of home, was also a seamstress during all other times, she had very little time and energy left for ironing. Therefore this chore was left for me to tackle.. Being a perfectionist, partial explanation to my love of ironing is it being my first important "adult" chore, well done and highly praised by my Mother. In addition I admit to being a workaholic. I tend get myself so "wired up" that I have a hard time "turning off" my brain even during the times of rest. Surprisingly, ironing helps me to calm my mind, organize my thoughts and create that state of Zen often achieved while meditating, hiking or creating art. I believe that most of the time its simple things that make us happy. I can be sure that ironing is one of those happy things for me and I am delighted to be at your service. See more

IRONING SHEETS AND PILLOW CASES Should you or should you not? I’ll get straight to the point it’s a good idea to iron sheets and pillowcases. Why? Isn’t life too short to spend time ironing your bed linen? Well no actually! What could be better than sliding between cool and fresh hotel-quality sheets that have been ironed to perfection? We all need a little pampering and ironing your bed linen is an easy way to do this.... Here are some tips for ironing your sheets and pillowcases quickly and easily. You’ll never get into a crumpled bed again! Sheets are made of many different fabrics: cotton, linen, polyester, flannel and even satin. Set the iron as hot as possible for the fabric. This will ensure it glides over the material and you’ll watch the creases disappear in minutes. Iron damp. Either take the sheets and pillowcases off the line before they’re completely dry or out of the dryer before the cycle completes. Doing this will make them much easier to iron than if they’re bone dry. Use starch. Create that wonderful relaxed feeling you get when you slip between the freshly laundered sheets of a hotel bed. Starch gives bed linen a crisp finish that makes the fabric stiff but not hard. If you’re in a hurry (or don't particularly like ironing) why not let Love-to-Iron help you pumper yourself (just a little). So, will you still smooth and fold your sheets and pillowcases (or worse still scrunch them up in a ball!)? Or are you going to opt for a little luxury in your life and create a bed that’s a pleasure to sink into every night?

8 TIPS FOR WASHING YOUR CLOTHES 1. Keep fresh Cut washing; apply deodorant and perfume before getting dressed. And when you get home, hang up your work-gear to air. 2. Zip it... Reduce the chance of tears by closing all zippers, hooks and buttons. For bras and other edgy items, wash bags are the perfect situation. 3. Sort it out Sorting by colour keeps clothes from ending up in unexpected hues. And when you group sturdy fabrics like denim and woven cottons into a separate load, they won’t damage soft fabrics. 4. Keep it together Keep socks together with mesh bags. Collect dirty socks in them and on washday, close the bags and throw them into the washing machine. 5. Tip jar Change from pockets tends to collect in the laundry room and eventually disappear. By putting a tip jar on a shelf you keep loose change together and award yourself a nice laundry bonus. 6. Trouble shooting Oh no, paper-washing-disaster! It can take forever to pick off a gazillion pieces of wet paper covering your clothing. For quick removal on wet clothes, sometimes the shower can help. Just use the force of hot water to blast the paper off of the clothing. 7. Laundry stain reminder Keep a bag of pegs in the laundry room. Clip a peg to each item that needs special attention before it’s washed, so you’ll be reminded as you put in the washer.