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A Little Guide to Mindful Ironing
With a touch of Zen + a generous dollop of Feng Shui
The thing about ironing is — while you’re aligning the fibers of a fabric, you can smooth out some of life’s disorderly wrinkles.
I saw an early glimmer of this possibility “once upon a time,” when my grandmother showed me how to iron the back of a man’s shirt by (first) folding it under at the yoke seam and pressing the yoke flat. That makes it much easier to (next) press the seams where the yoke meets the shoulders — better result, less work.
Suddenly I realized that ironing could be a craft, with its own logic, instead of some haphazard activity that takes up too much time and produces a barely satisfactory result. Clearly, there were mysteries to be unveiled, techniques to be mastered, flourishes to be achieved.
As it turns out, ironing can be a kind of alchemy. A transformative practice that changes rumpled lumps into beautiful dresses or crisp shirts or invitingly soft bedsheets. And in the process, may relax a rumpled state of mind.
In an hour of ironing, I can fall into a gentle rhythm of accomplishment, and not worry about whether I’m being sufficiently “productive,” or making the “best use” of my time. Once I’ve made the decision to spend a particular hour at the ironing board, I can just…
