081012_hairstraighteronclothes.jpgSleep is good, right? So anything you can do to get a few extra winks in the morning is going to be good idea. For instance, you could try to combine parts of your get-ready routine to save a little time and effort. Me? I swear by this trick: Before I use it on my hair, I use my flat iron to smooth wrinkles in my shirt.

I find that my hair straightener does a great job of smoothing out small creases and wrinkles from my blouses and shirts. It's more compact and quicker to use in the mornings than a proper iron (no table required!) and it does a better job at getting wrinkles out from collars and between shirt buttons.

If you need to look pressed when you're pressed for time, you can steal this trick too. I first learned about this idea from Real Simple, and I've developed a few tips of my own for ironing clothes with a flat iron:

081012_flatironclothes.jpg• Make sure your iron is clean of hair products, which could stain your clothes. Clean your flat iron's plates while it's cool with a moist cloth or styling iron cleaner.

• Because you want to avoid getting hair product on your clothes, it's best to use the hair straightener on your clothes, then use it to style your hair.

• If your hair straightener has adjustable temperature settings, you can use it on everything from from silk (very, very low setting) to sweaters (high setting). If not, play it safe with durable fabrics and small applications of heat.

If you don't already use heat styling tools in the morning, you're either going to have to sneak into the bathroom while your long-haired housemate gets ready, or buy a flat iron of your own. They're inexpensive — you can probably find a cheap one for $20 — and way easier to bust out in the mornings than an ironing table.

(Images: Shuttertsock, Kana Okada for Real Simple)

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