Wrinkle Treatment (with Guest Blogger Amber)

You don't have to tell me how lucky I am. I have a handsome and charming husband, a sweet dog, an apartment to call my own, great readers, and the best family and friends anyone could ask for. Case in point, yesterday my friend Amber just emailed me a blog post she had written for me, out of the blue, unsolicited (I didn't even have to guilt trip and blatantly hint, like I usually do). She said, "I have a blog idea for you.  I do it all of the time, and I kind of thought everyone did until I saw XX and XX do it all wrong" {names withheld  to protect the innocent}. You might remember Amber as the hottie with the genius bikini tricks from a couple months ago. Apparently, the huge fame she garnered from appearing on the blog went to her head, and she has come back for more (or maybe she wants something from me... Amber, do I owe you now?) At any rate, far be it from me to look a gift-horse in the mouth, and, as a bonus, Amber is a veritable font of good, practical ideas, including these about minimizing the wrinkles in your laundry. I don't know why I didn't think of them myself, but I tried these techniques on my laundry last night and they really, really work. I wish I could take back all the hours I've spent ironing unnecessarily. Wait, Amber, why didn't you tell me these sooner? Okay, fine, I forgive you. I guess we're even, now.

Let's Straighten Things Out A Bit

If you are anything like me, who washes all my clothes on cold-delicate so I only have to do one load, is not about to start polishing silver or ironing sheets anytime soon (although these tips will make ironing easier), and only read this blog for entertainment and the occasional mascara recommendation, then these tips are for you.  And they'll make life easier for everyone else, too.

In order to cut down on the amount of time I spend ironing my clothes, and on the number of things I actually have to iron, I fluff (shake vigorously) each item  of my wet clothes before I put them into the dryer, instead of just transferring them all in one wet wad.  This straightens out all of the twisting and turning that happens in the washer that can leave big wrinkles and folds in your clothes (and sometimes prevent your clothes for drying completely).  This is especially helpful with jeans and other clothing items made from thick heavy fabric- it seriously makes all of the difference.

Then, after the dryer cycle ends, I take the warm clothes out immediately (okay, or soonish) and shake each item out again (the same way you would shake out a beach towel before you lay it down on the sand).  After shaking each item, I lay them flat over the dryer door, the top of the laundry hamper, the bed, or the back of a chair while they cool.  This helps prevent creasing from leaving the clothes in a pile in the hamper for too long, or from folding your clothes while they are still warm from the dryer.  It also helps eliminate that pointy shoulder thing that happens to our shirts from hanging them up on hangers.  You don't have to have clothes hanging all over your house for this to work, one pile of flat clothes on top of each other will do the trick.

After all of my clothes are totally dry and cool, I eventually do put them away (usually).  It may sound like a lot of extra work on top of all of the laundry you already have to do, but it really only takes a few extra minutes to shake out your clothes, and it is sure to save you a heck of a lot of time ironing everything out later.  It takes about as long to shake out your clothes as it does to read today's blog post, so no excuses.  Editor's Note: Writer is in no way insinuating that you should be shaking your laundry instead of reading this blog.  Besides, I know most of you are reading this at your desks at your offices, anyway, so what would you be doing with this time instead- work? Pshaw. 

 "Wait, so you shake it before and after the dryer?"

photo credit: Real Simple (just the top photo, not the ones of Amber and me. But that would be weird, right?)