What is so difficult about ironing sheets?

All over the internet it seems like people equate ironing sheets with forced labor in a Siberian work camp, or consider it an activity only practiced by the ever so slightly insane. I just don't understand the big deal. I still iron all my sheets exactly the way my grandmother did, with a GE dry iron identical to the one she used, and nothing in life could be easier.

All one has to do is remove the sheets from the clothesline or dryer while still barely damp. This eliminates the need to sprinkle them. My grandmother did this with all items to be ironed. If you arent going to iron the same day you wash, place the sheets in a plastic bag and leave them in the bottom of the refrigerator overnight. (After gramma got an automatic washer and dryer she did all her laundry and ironing the same day, ironing each load as it was removed barely damp from the dryer.)

Begin by folding the fitted sheet bottom to top, tucking opposite corners inside each other, this makes the sheet into a manageable size. Use the large end of the ironing board, and first stretch the corner of the sheet over the corner of the board, with the excess piled at your feet, so the hot ironed fabric moves away from you as you iron, keeping you cooler. Iron the corner, then keep ironing, moving the sheet across the board. At the end, flip the sheet and iron the other side. (this is necessary since the sheets are folded in half.) Now fold up the fitted sheet, and set it aside.

Next iron the pillowcases, fold them, and place them on top of the folded fitted sheet.

Last fold the flat sheet bottom to top, and iron it the same as the fitted sheet, on the large end of the ironing board, moving the material away from you across the board as you go. Flip and iron the opposite side, then fold the flat sheet. When you get to the last 3 folds, place the stack consisting of the fitted sheet and pillowcases on top of the flat sheet, and finish folding the flat sheet around the stack.

You are left with the smoothest crispest sheets ever, each set folded into a neat little package that takes less space in your linen closet, and eliminates the need to search through the closet for all the pieces of a set when you make the bed. All told, it takes me about 15 minutes to iron a full/double sized sheet set this way, and I do it while watching tv. I dont see why people think this is such a difficult time consuming act.

As a last note, don't bother ironing the sheets if you are going to use steam. Dry ironing barely damp sheets leaves you with a wonderful crisp finish, but steam ironing dry sheets makes them limp.

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Post# 609991 7/13/2012 at 10:18 (312 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky)
1 All over the internet it seems like people equate ironing sheets with forced labor in a Siberian work camp, or consider it an activity only practiced by the ever so slightly insane. I just don't understand the big deal. I still iron all my sheets exactly the way my grandmother did, with a GE dry iron identical to the one she used, and nothing in life could be easier. All one has to do is remove the sheets from the clothesline or dryer while still barely damp. This eliminates the need to sprinkle them. My grandmother did this with all items to be ironed. If you arent going to iron the same day you wash, place the sheets in a plastic bag and leave them in the bottom of the refrigerator overnight. (After gramma got an automatic washer and dryer she did all her laundry and ironing the same day, ironing each load as it was removed barely damp from the dryer.) Begin by folding the fitted sheet bottom to top, tucking opposite corners inside each other, this makes the sheet into a manageable size. Use the large end of the ironing board, and first stretch the corner of the sheet over the corner of the board, with the excess piled at your feet, so the hot ironed fabric moves away from you as you iron, keeping you cooler. Iron the corner, then keep ironing, moving the sheet across the board. At the end, flip the sheet and iron the other side. (this is necessary since the sheets are folded in half.) Now fold up the fitted sheet, and set it aside. Next iron the pillowcases, fold them, and place them on top of the folded fitted sheet. Last fold the flat sheet bottom to top, and iron it the same as the fitted sheet, on the large end of the ironing board, moving the material away from you across the board as you go. Flip and iron the opposite side, then fold the flat sheet. When you get to the last 3 folds, place the stack consisting of the fitted sheet and pillowcases on top of the flat sheet, and finish folding the flat sheet around the stack. You are left with the smoothest crispest sheets ever, each set folded into a neat little package that takes less space in your linen closet, and eliminates the need to search through the closet for all the pieces of a set when you make the bed. All told, it takes me about 15 minutes to iron a full/double sized sheet set this way, and I do it while watching tv. I dont see why people think this is such a difficult time consuming act. As a last note, don't bother ironing the sheets if you are going to use steam. Dry ironing barely damp sheets leaves you with a wonderful crisp finish, but steam ironing dry sheets makes them limp.

Post# 610018 , Reply# 1 7/13/2012 at 13:05 (312 days old) by rp2813 (SF Bay Area)
2 Well, that sends shivers down my spine. Come on over to my place. There's a huge pile of clean laundry on top of the Affinities that needs folding.

Post# 610163 , Reply# 2 7/14/2012 at 05:41 (312 days old) by chuffle (West-central PA)
*My grandmother...* ...was a hoarder, and had a huge stash of white cotton sheets and pillowcases, which my parents inherited when she passed away in 1981. A small number of the sheets, Penncrest, still are in their original packaging. Upon going through my parents' estate, I ended up with that sheet collection. I use cotton flannel on the bed during the cold months, and the white cotton the rest of the year. I rotate through the one drawer of sheets, and as they wear wonderfully well, the majority of those sheets will be unused when I croak. I should sell off a large part of my stash, but won't, for various reasons - sentimentality, I was born with the hoarding gene (which I work very hard at making sure that it remains dormant), I prefer sleeping on a bed made with cotton white sheets. While I rarely mind ironing (like your grandmother, I iron as items come out of the dryer or off the line), and pillowcases are always ironed, ironing sheets is something that I don't do, hence my top sheet always looks "lived in." I have tried - God knows that I have tried - but the experience was always something that could have made me drink - or head to the couch for a nap! Maybe tomorrow, for sh*ts and giggles, I'll give your method a go. I know that the end result would be wonderful - I just question my willpower! Thanks for posting your "method." Joe

Post# 610256 , Reply# 3 7/14/2012 at 18:29 (311 days old) by Launderess (La Pomme Grande)
*For Most Households A Ironer Will Do Nicely For Bed Linen* Especially if one is not too fussy about "cat's whiskers" and the few odd creases. Since one has a small army of ironing/pressing equipment will do what tickles my fancy at the moment. Hand iron, machine iron, machine press, cold mangle, etc..

Post# 610282 , Reply# 4 7/14/2012 at 21:56 (311 days old) by StrongEnough78 (California)
I see a lot of people who complain about doing laundry period. When I hear them complain, I'll ask if they use a washboard and tub or if they have machines. Of course they say they have machines, so I say "What's so bad about doing laundry?" And as always it's the folding and putting away. So I'll tell them well that's the easy part! The machines did all the dirty work! Lol.

Post# 610295 , Reply# 5 7/15/2012 at 01:12 (311 days old) by rinso (Meridian Idaho)
Laundress, good instructions but how about a video for those of us who are unable to picture what you describe ;o) Oh! Thanks for the tip for making them crisper.

Post# 610337 , Reply# 6 7/15/2012 at 07:59 (311 days old) by Frigilux (the open prairie of Minnesota)
2 Man, I cannot even imagine ironing bed linens--unless I was going to sleep on the sofa and let the bed look picture-perfect. I will admit that my 100% cotton sheets go straight from the dryer or clothesline back to the bed...blindingly white, but wrinkled. I tip my hat to your attention to detail, Kevin and Launderess.

Post# 610346 , Reply# 7 7/15/2012 at 09:00 (310 days old) by chuffle (West-central PA)
*Well, live and learn...* The week's laundry is done, folded, ironed, hung up or placed in drawers. Since I am not teaching over the summer, I didn't have a week's worth of dress shirts to iron, leaving only the week's worth of tea towels, two pillowcases and a flat sheet I decided to try "Kevin's method." Over the years, I have tried dampening the sheets, but as I like to iron as the laundry comes out of the dryer or off the line, dampening and ironing the next day made me nuts. I can get pretty lazy, seeing as how the washer, dryer, or the wind does everything for me, and I never seemed to be able to catch certain items at the proper damp dry stage for good ironing. Finally, I was always manhandling the flat sheet, or folding it the wrong way when making an attempt at ironing. Today, following the guidelines outlined above, I ironed my first flat sheet in years. The result? It really only took a matter of minutes, not much longer than doing a dress shirt, and the result is a folded sheet that not only is crisp and wonderfully smooth, but is not puffy and wrinkled, hence taking up far less space in the sheet drawer. Pillowcases were ironed as I always do, and I drew the line on the fitted sheet, folding it neatly the way that I learned as a kid. The results are something that I am not used to, the procedure painless, and my emotional health didn't suffer one bit. Goes to show that one lives and learns, and that there is a wealth of information contained within these posts. Thanks for the "lesson!" Joe

Post# 610372 , Reply# 8 7/15/2012 at 12:47 (310 days old) by rinso (Meridian Idaho)
Excuse me, Laundress. I, of course meant my post for Vintagekitchen.

Post# 610374 , Reply# 9 7/15/2012 at 12:51 (310 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky)
*Rinso* I will try to see if I can do a video for you, it's a very easy technique once you see it done. In fact, though I own a Thor Gladiron roller iron, I find gramma's method easier than using the roller iron, lol.

Post# 610375 , Reply# 10 7/15/2012 at 12:53 (310 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky)
*Chuffle* I am so glad you like the technique! It works well for large table cloths also. It pains me seeing the trouble some people go to trying to iron the entire tablecloth or sheet spread out, cussing and getting frustrated dragging it all over the ironing board, lol.

Post# 610376 , Reply# 11 7/15/2012 at 12:59 (310 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky)
*Frigilux* For me ironing sheets is a combination of factors. I actually enjoy ironing, and find it relaxing, so thats a major factor. Another is that it's a way to spoil myself a little, nothing feels as luxurious as climbing into a bed of crisply ironed sheets, and it doesn't cost me a thing. Last, since I dont use a dryer, and do most of my drying indoors due to the amounts of dust, chemical sprays, etc, from the cornfeilds surrounding me, it gets the sheets off my drying rack faster, and guarantees that my sheets are bone dry before they are put away. As a bonus, the ironed sheets folded gramma's way take up less space in the linen closet, and are all together as sets when I go to pull them out, instead of scattered about the closet.