How to Iron

From dress shirts to t-shirts, pants to skirts, and even some delicate undergarments, wrinkled clothing can give a bad impression about your personal hygiene and overall image. Take care of something you have control over and iron your clothes to sharpen your appearance.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Iron
• Ironing board or bath towels
• Spray starch (optional)

1. Purchase an iron. Evaluate your clothes to determine which settings your iron needs to have--silk, nylon, polyester, cotton--and whether a steam iron is going to be necessary for your intended use.

2. Unfold your ironing board near an electrical outlet. If you opt to not use an ironing board, but plan to use the floor or a bed, spread out bath towels to use as a protective covering.

3. Decide which clothes you're going to iron. If you're new to the ironing process, start with a small ironing project and work your way up to bigger tasks. It may be smart to choose clothing that you can discard in case of burns or irreparable damage.

4. Plug in your iron and turn on the power. Choose the setting for the clothing chosen in Step 3. While your iron is preheating, stretch your ironing project out onto the flat surface you're using.

5. Begin ironing the portion of clothing facing you. Flip the item of clothing to the unpressed portion, and again spread it out over the protected area to resume ironing.

6. Finish ironing by placing your clothing onto a hanger or clothing rack. If you cannot hang your freshly ironed clothing, neatly fold it and place it into a dresser drawer temporarily.

Tips & Warnings

• Use a spray starch for a crisp look and long-lasting ironed effect on your clothing.
• Ironing may cause burns, so use caution.
• To prevent a fire, don't leave your iron on unattended.