Holy Moly - the IRONING is excessive!!!!

[Anonymous]

I have been a nanny for a long time. Seven years ago I took off seven years to finish my degree and work in a preschool. I've been back to nannying since January and I have been shocked by how much ironing is now involved in my job! I've always believed that the kids laundry was a part of my job and sometimes ironing is needed - but never this much! Every thing my charge wears seems to need ironing and not just her little dresses. Shorts, shirts, pants - did they stop making permanent press baby clothes when I was away?!!!

I love my job and of course will keep ironing but did something happen in the last seven years that made kids clothes all need ironing? Even with immediate removal from the dryer her clothes really are so crumpled looking and wrinkled they are unwearable unless they are ironed. She's only 9 months!

[Anonymous]

You're crazy!

[Anonymous]

They got a nanny AND a housekeeper for the price of one, or did they double your rates?

[Anonymous]

OP again - Seriously, you other nannies don't do your charge's laundry?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again - Seriously, you other nannies don't do your charge's laundry?

Of course we may do the children's laundry, but excessive ironing?
Absolutely not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP again - Seriously, you other nannies don't do your charge's laundry?

Of course we may do the children's laundry, but excessive ironing?
Absolutely not.

OP again - I am only ironing the child's clothes. It's just that nearly all of her clothes require ironing.

[Anonymous]

You're probably working for a higher income family and making more money now that you have a degree and preschool teaching experience. Yeah, wealthy people buy natural fiber (expensive) clothes for their kids with little or no synthetic fibers added to reduce the need for ironing.

I sneak in a little no scent fabric softener to make it easier!

[Anonymous]

My kid wears nothing but cotton to, and I'm a nanny. But hand-me-downs are great, as even new cotton clothes are FULL of chemicals and pesticides.

[Anonymous]

MB here. Do your employers care? My kids have a couple of fancy outfits that get ironed. Everything else does not - I can't imagine needing/requiring/or doing ironing for the majority of their clothes. I don't care about wrinkles.

Maybe you can ease up a bit without anyone noticing or caring?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You're probably working for a higher income family and making more money now that you have a degree and preschool teaching experience. Yeah, wealthy people buy natural fiber (expensive) clothes for their kids with little or no synthetic fibers added to reduce the need for ironing.

I sneak in a little no scent fabric softener to make it easier!

Or they are the crunchy-types like my employers. Two professors, not wealthy at all, who only buy organic cotton clothes for their child in the summer (untreated wool in the winter). I did the whole cloth diapers when he was a baby, now make only organic vegetarian food for charge and recycle way more than I throw out. I even have to iron the charges organic cotton sheets! I have him wear as much cotton knit fabric clothes as a I can!!!

I've gotten pretty good at ironing and can go really fast now - make sure you have a good steam iron.

I get paid very well so I just do it. No down-time however aside from the twenty minutes I take to eat my lunch.

[Anonymous]

Can you do the laundry more often?

I used to do the laundry twice a week (Monday and Friday) but I had two charges so the laundry doubled. It still evens out the same but in smaller doses.

Agree with other poster lots of steam. Also try to grab the clothes before they sit awhile.

[Anonymous]

OP again - I never asked my employer about the ironing but to my eye (and I am NOT particular) the clothes are unwearable without ironing. They look like crumpled pieces of paper with the hems of even the shorts are puckered.

I think the PP's observation about the wealth of my employers is probably why I'm seeing the difference in ironing from before when I worked for less money and less wealthy couples.

I do take the stuff out of the dryer immediately and fold it/smooth it - still most stuff needs to be ironed.

[Anonymous]

OP, my charges have a few outfits that I iron but they're young so not that many. Are you working with older children?

When I was an au pair for three children (6, 8, and 10) I had to iron everything INCLUDING their socks and underwear. I feel your pain. Next time start with babies

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again - I never asked my employer about the ironing but to my eye (and I am NOT particular) the clothes are unwearable without ironing. They look like crumpled pieces of paper with the hems of even the shorts are puckered.

I think the PP's observation about the wealth of my employers is probably why I'm seeing the difference in ironing from before when I worked for less money and less wealthy couples.

I do take the stuff out of the dryer immediately and fold it/smooth it - still most stuff needs to be ironed.

If they never asked if you could take this on, that changes things a bit. It's up to you to determine what's practical and doable, in the long run. Just because you wanted to try something, doesn't mean you should keep doing it forever, if it's not working for you.

I'd think the LAST thing they'd want, is a BURNT OUT nanny, dreading her days. Time to reconsider this, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again - Seriously, you other nannies don't do your charge's laundry?

He does the laundry but so far in two years hasn't ironed anything. DD was in one wedding and I steamed the dress myself before she put it on. Her clothes don't look particularly wrinkled at all. Are they squishing a LOT of clothes down into the hamper or laundry bag? I could see that causing the clothes on the bottom to get wrinkles. Does the dryer have a "fluff" option? My dryer does - and that would get out wrinkles.