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Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Ode to My Ironing Board

The title may be an exaggeration, but I AM going to talk about my ironing board :)

It comes to my attention from time to time that people don't like to iron their clothes. Really?!? This always shocks me. I like to iron, there is such a sense of accomplishment with ironing. There is a task, it can be finished, and the results are visible. Perfect! Some may even say I love to iron...that probably isn't a far stretch. I even have "ironing shoes" I always wear when ironing. Crazy? Maybe, but we roll with it.

As people talk about not liking to iron I find that they have a terrible set up for it. No wonder they don't like it. To properly enjoy a task, one must have the right tools.

So I am going to share the best tools for ironing with you now.

*Disclaimer: All I learned about ironing I learned from my mother. She is totally the world's most amazing ironer (is that a word? oh well)*

Here we go:

First the ironing board. Oh this is so important. My ironing board came from Walmart. It wasn't fancy. But it HAS been modified!!


The standard cover that comes with a basic ironing board is AWFUL!! AWFUL!! For two reasons. One, it slides around all over the place. Second, there is barely any padding. And where there is no padding there is no good surface to really get in to the clothes and get the wrinkles out. This padding can also slip about because it isn't secured to anything. This will cause you to iron wrinkles INTO your clothes and potentially to say naughty words to your ironing board. This isn't fun for anyone.

So you MUST get a new cover. People, I am NOT talking a serious investment here. Maybe $15. and you are set. I have had the same one for years. Here's the thing: It must have elastic around it so that it fits snug on the board AND it must have a thick padding. This padding must be sewn into the cover otherwise it will slide around and make for an uneven surface. Again, most of the $15. guys will have this.


This picture here shows the padding inside and the elastic band. Super easy. Super important. Ironing board is modified. Done.

Next part. The iron. It kills me how people hate to spend money on household appliances. These are an important part of your life, folks.


I have a Rowenta iron and I refuse to buy anything less. This baby can make some serious steam and get wrinkles out in a New York minute. Since I use this every week, I am willing to spend some money here. Even so, you can get a decent Rowenta for about $60ish. Make sure it has a full range of settings and steams well.

And that is IT. With just two simple investments ironing becomes a joy (ok, maybe still not for everyone, but at least you are not fighting the process anymore).

Maybe I really am crazy with the whole "I like to iron, doesn't everyone" attitude. BUT I have introduces many people to the combination above and it never fails to make ironing at least pleasant.

Let me know if you try these tips and how it worked for you!

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

New Word, New Year, New Me

I first posted this entry at Inspire.com an online support community (for lots of things, but I am a member of the infertility section). After reading it over, I thought some who read this blog might also benefit...

I was so ready for 2010 to be over!! It was pretty easy to know it was the worst year I have had and I wanted it to go away!

So here is 2011 and I want to make it better!!! I often pick a word to focus on for the year. This year that word will be "joy". Finding joy, bringing joy, living joy! Not necessarily over the top happiness, but heart-level joy. Where my soul is at peace and I can see the wonder of the world around me. I often fill my home and office with my word so that I have a visual representation to remind me (and I need to go shopping now to find some word art!).

This morning Mark and I joined a gym. We have never been big work out people, but both of us were more active before we got married. I think this will be a great chance to do something positive together. We also went on a 6 mile bike-ride New Year's Day...the first time our bikes have been out in a long time.

With still doing acupuncture, trying to focus more on finding quiet time to read my Bible and pray, a new word, and a gym membership... I am ready to take on the year.

I hope it is a year filled with our greatest blessing, but even if it is not, I want to know I did count my blessings!