Boy those were the days!!and I for one am glad they are over! Getting our hands and arms caught in the wringer...ironing boxer shorts, ect...hanging wash outside, even in the winter...my kids don't know how easy they have it!

Okay, I remember putting my father's pants on pants forms and hanging them out to dry, and when I got married, ironing chino trousers and oxford cloth shirts for my husband took forever it seemed.

I have never ironed sheets, t-shirts or socks and such in my life, but I think in former times, especially before antibiotics and anti-fungal creams, and before clothes dryer that heated things up, there was probably a health benefit from getting those items hot enough to kill germs. My husband grew up in the Panama Canal Zone, and his mom used a big Mangle iron on everything. Living in the tropics would make that even more important, maybe.

As a kid I learned to iron my dad's shirts and a few other things for our family, and I always kind of liked doing it. At least it's better than cooking because the results stay done for awhile and don't cause a pile of dirty dishes. Now for the last 30-40 years we have had almost no need to iron, and it seems like more of a burden on the rare occasion when something needs it - other than quilt fabric.

Wow, I can so remember those days. I was the oldest girl (well, oldest of kids) and I had to iron my father's white dress shirts. Yep, the old starch, roll, put in refrigerator bin until ironing day, sprinkles with top on coke bottle. I was about 10 when I started. I burned my wrists so many times! I also hated when I would scorch the shirt which then had to be rewashed and go thru the process all over again.

I still have to iron my clothes since I have to wear 100% cotton because of allergies. But I only iron when I'm ready to wear the item!!