MY FAVORITE SUMMER PET PEEVE

No iron cotton is treated with something that makes it stiff and hot to wear. Often, I do not buy clothes because they are "no iron".

If you want REAL cotton, order muslin, gauze or cotton knit. Chambray used to be OK, but now it also is being treated. Denim is sometimes treated, sometimes not. NO LABEL will tell you if the cotton has been treated.

I also NEVER buy something if it needs to be ironed. This is because I know I will only wear it once.

So how do I avoid ironing cotton?

Wash your cotton as usual. Stained cotton comes clean if you soak it for 10 minutes or so in detergent and OxyClean. To soak clothes, just open the lid of the washing machine, after the washing machine finishes filling up and just starts to swish back and forth. Then shut the lid to restart the wash when you are done with the soaking.

DO NOT put new cotton in the dryer. Hang it on a hanger, smooth out all of the wrinkles, straighten the collar and the button area. Then let it dry. After you have it on for 10 minutes, you will not be able to tell that it was not ironed. (OK, my Mom can ALWAYS tell that I did not iron it, but most people will not notice.)

When cotton gets really soft, you can dry it in the dryer. You might have to wet and straighten a few wrinkles.