Hang up clothes in the bathroom while you shower, i.e. steam them. I do this all the time and it really works!

These are good ideas - I had no idea that vinegar would help w/ releasing wrinkles...

However for those of us who rent and don't have free/in-unit laundry, putting things in the dryer for 10 minutes isn't a viable solution.

I might add that ironing isn't so much of a chore when the iron you own is a quality piece - Those el-cheapo irons with the aluminum sole-plates are terrible for ironing...
...step up to a Rowenta with their polished stainless steel soleplates and massive steam output and you'll wonder how you ever got along without one.

@bepsf - the lack of a washer/dryer inside the apartment was one of the huge factors for us when we were looking to move. It doesn't seem so inconvenient until you spill something on your shirt and you have to interrupt whatever you were doing to take it three floors to the laundry facilities and hope there's an open washing machine. This is even worse if you don't actually have to do laundry.

"Is there anything better than slipping into crispy, freshly ironed, even slightly warm, sheets at night?"

Slipping into crispy, cool sheets. I hate being hot at night.

I use a spray bottle to mist the wrinkled garment. Then only 2-3 minutes in the dryer usually does the trick.

Here's the trick: a mangle iron (AKA rotary iron). They are incredible!! Miele sells the professional (very expensive) version for about $2,000; however, you can usually find a vintage one on eBay (maybe Craigslist, too) for around $100 to $150. Even the ones that are 40 years old work incredibly well. Ironing your sheets to crisp perfection will never seem so easy.

@goodpanda, if you search the web, you'll find lots of tips that might save you that panicked three-floor run. Look for tips on pre-treating stains, and for a list of how to pre-treat different kinds of stains (esp. red wine.) Assemble a kit with the ingredients needed, such as white vinegar, baking soda, a bar of Ivory soap, etc. Then, when something happens, you can simple pre-treat the stain and run a load of laundry sometime in the next day or two.

@bepsf, can you recommend any particular Rowenta model over another?

Oh also, as rex mentioned above, misting with water makes the ironing process much easier. I just fold my sheets length-wise in quarters, spray lightly with water, then send them through the mangle twice (once on each side). Instant success!

I use Downy Wrinkle Releaser. That stuff is a god-send. It gets wrinkles out of virtually everything. I almost never use my iron anymore. I don't like to steam the clothes in the shower because afterwards all the stuff in my bathroom has a moist film on it from all the water vapor and it seems to attract a lot of dirt for some reason ...

What percentage of people actually iron their sheets? I'm curious. I never have, and am not even remotely careful when I fold them up, either.

My best bachelorette trick is a moist wash cloth in the dryer with (already dry) clothes. Steams out the wrinkles...

@rapunzel --

I must admit that my Rowenta Professional w/ Auto Shutoff is about 7-8 years old so I don't know precisely where in the model heirarchy mine would be...
...but I'm certain I didn't spend more than $80 for it via Amazon - so that's probably about equivalent to the current Focus model.

One thing I certainly wouldn't pay extra for is the model w/ the auto-reel cord - Those things just never work well for me and the balance of the iron seems thrown off by the extended/light tail end.

I have never ironed my sheets, nor would it have occured to me to do so.

I promptly take dress clothes out of the dryer to avoid wrinkles, but I don't care if my sheets are wrinkled or not. I just wrinkle them when I sleep anyway!

1. Ironing your sheets? You guy must have a lot more time than I do. I don't believe one of you, not a one!
2. Drying? For those of us who are truly broke, drying is out of the question. Besides which, not using the dryer is one of the easiest ways to save the planet. Even if you disbelieve in global warming (so trendy lately), avoiding using the dryer will help reduce coal-fired plant emissions, dependence on foreign oil, et cetera--you know the spiel.

Even if dryers had no eco impact, they destroy your clothes. I only use mine to shrink my jeans, once a year or so.
***
Rant over. Now, back to the point--try turning off the spin cycle on your washer and hanging things sopping wet--once dry, they will look as crisp and delightful as if you had taken them to the dry cleaner. It's a bit messy--I use a tub to carry the dripping items into the bathroom. If you have a balcony and can hang them outside in the hot sun, even better. This method works better than an iron on my khakis!

why do you need to iron your sheets at all? you're just going to sleep in them and make them wrinkly.

You could always just fake it and only iron the part that folds over onto the comforter/duvet.

Also, if you put your sheets back on the bed when they are fresh out of the dryer they pretty much flatten themselves.

I just put them on the bed when they're still warm from the dryer. Being stretched over my mattress takes care of it.

I also try to hang my shirts and pants straight out of the dryer. It's been years since I used an iron for anything but sewing projects.

i've never ironed sheets in my life.

and there's nothing better than sinking into bed and the scent of fresh-off-the-line bed linens!

Where can I get that ironing board? I need one, and the one above is beautiful.

I don't have a dryer (which I thought was pretty normal, but anyway) so what I do is hang all my tshirts, cardigans etc. on coathangers. Then the key is to take all the washing straight from the line to put it away. The only things that need to be ironed are my boyfriend's work shirts and my jeans, although the more skinny jeans you have the less you need to iron as well...

About the only time I ever get the iron out is when I'm sewing something and, these days, I don't even have the time to do that!

me too!! I need a nice looking ironing board. Please tell us where the one pictured above can be found!!!

Wooden Ironing Board:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Large-Wooden-Ironing-Board-Beech/dp/B001OBMS4K

Also here:
http://www.pulleymaid.com/household_ironing_board.htm

The Pioneer Woman posted about how to make crisp beds in her lodge renovation project. Are we allowed to add links to comments? If so I'll try and post the link.

I don't iron my sheets b/c I typically use my flannel or jersey ones, but I do love the clean feeling of ironed sheets. My mother has a Mangle as well- heavy, huge, takes lots of space, but it gets the job done.

How do I get wrinkles out of my new fresh-out-of-the-package comforter? Do you iron a comforter?

Not delivered to U.S. :(

I never ironed my sheets to take the wrinkles out. I've ironed them for the stiffness and the way they feel when I first get into that freshly made bed. There's just nothing like it. Maybe a lightly starched linen shirt from the cleaners, but then I iron my own shirts too. The best way to get that crispness is to not dry them 100%, leave them slightly damp, spray with a heavy starch and put them into a plastic bag in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight. Remove them and iron right away. You can remist with a spray bottle (water) or with the starch. You can put them away or sleep on them that night! Yes, it only feels 'that way' for one or two nights, but I find it to be well worth it!

I am so lucky--my husband loves to iron (he watches movies) and he irons the pillowcases as well as shirts and other stuff (we use a duvet so don't use a top sheet thus don't need to iron it). There is nothing better than freshly ironed pillowcases scented with lavender water. It is a truly "cheap" pleasure.

"How do I get wrinkles out of my new fresh-out-of-the-package comforter? Do you iron a comforter?"

No, you don't iron a comforter - You steam it.

I bought a Rowenta DZ 1700 about 4 months ago at Target and LOVE it. I never knew that ironing could actually be okay, almost a pleasure, until I bought this model. Wow.

I do have to keep refilling it with water (I have a lot of cotton clothes which I fold rather indifferently) but you only have to make one pass and you're done.

Am very, very happy with this model. Worth every penny. Totally recommend it.

As to ironing sheets... manly in Europe people still iron their sheets. I used to think it was old-style, until I realized the cotton weave here (Italy) is very different from what is available in America. Most American bed-sheets don´t wrinkle much... but Italian ones - even folded just out of the in the dryer - come out looking, and feeling, like crumpled tissue paper. I think they have a higher linen percentage? I don´t know the actual cause but I miss my American bed sheets!

this is so interesting, I had no idea so many people iron their sheets. i don't even make my bed unless people are coming over. i just kinda toss the comforter over everything to cover up the twist of sheets underneath

as for clothes, the best thing to get is a steamer. after working retail for years, I am a true believer. and yes, like bepsf, i recommend rowenta. the only problem is you want the sharp crease in the pants but i recommend dry cleaning then...lol

We have always had very fine damask weave cotton duvet and pillow covers, and they need heavy starch and ironing -- an unknown concept in North America I have found. My grandmother always sent hers out to the laundry, but I couldn't find one in Ottawa that was able to do it. I remember when she would get them back from the laundry, you would literally peel the layers apart in order to unfold them, like turning pages in a book.

I use heavy liquid starch in the rinse cycle, and iron them myself, but cannot achieve the same effect.

There is nothing so wonderful as sleeping on crisp yet soft cool sheets... mmm...

Personally, I find crumpled sheets very unappealing...

Great tip about the mangles on EBay! I've always wanted a Miele mangle, but it is too expensive. I've had a Rowenta iron of one sort or another for 20 years, but this, this is my dream iron:

http://www.laurastar.com/en/products/ironing-systems/magic-i-s6/

It really cuts your ironing time.

I avoid nearly all ironing by implementing a three prong strategy:
(1) Shop carefully
(2) Fold carefully
(3) Every so slightly lower your standards
Works a charm :) (And I never iron beclothes either)

Ironing sheets....nope, life is too short.

I don't use a dryer and hang laundry to make them dry. Before I hang the sheets, I ask my fiance to help me by slightly pulling the sheets on each side and viola!

@ bepsf -- Thank you!

@idontdobeige_yesss! Good advice. I don't even understand why people iron. Unless you are only going to walk downstairs in your own home to attend whatever the function is, you're as good as wrinkled more or less by the time you get out of a car and arrive to your destination. I say dry clean the things that look absolutely wretched without a "hit" with an iron (like tailored shirts and anything with a lining, more for the material's sake), and shake out the rest before you put it on. Then get moving!