It is natural to think you should iron linens before putting them into storage. [...]
However, consider this labor-saving information...
I was taught in conservation classes that although it is imperative to wash
linens immedately after use (remember white wine and milk spills do not show,
but develop into brown stains later) -- that unless you have a museum-quality
storage system of rollers onto which you can put your linens or a way to store
linens flat without folds -- it is best to put the linens away without
pressing or ironing.
<VBG> I never took any conservation classes, but my innate laziness with common sense and experience following closely, taught me the same lesson :) *Not only*, may you have to "touch up" your linens when you're ready to use them after a long "rest"; you may have to re-launder and re-press them, because ironed "stuff" (tablecloths, napkins, etc), if stored folded, tends to develop "yellow" along the creases. For the birds... <g>
While I'm less concerned about the potential damage to threads than Jeri is (am not a collector; don't have anything that's museum quality and worth babying), I resent any time spent on household chores, since it's always taken away from lacemaking (or lace discussing, or lace designing)... So. If it's "really nice", I wash it, fold it, but stuff either tissue paper or cotton fabric between the layers, to make the folds rounder. Iron it when it's needed (usually once or twice a year, at most). If it's "nothing special", I wash it, and don't worry about it; leave it in the "one day" basket. When the day comes that I do need it, I re-wash it, and *then* iron :)
There! I've admitted to my shortcomings it in public... Dare say it'll curl Jeri's hair in horror, but I find it amusing that being lazy and being trained can produce similiar end-results... :)
Yours, about to ditch a couple of pairs of DH's trousers. One's white, one light blue, and both develop a yellow crease without ever being ironed -- just by being hung for more than a couple of months on the same clothes-hanger. So, back they're sent to the laundry room, and he ends up never (or almost never) wearing them... Surely, he doesn't need them? <g>
----- Tamara P Duvall mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Lexington, Virginia, USA Formerly of Warsaw, Poland
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