Kirstie Allsopp

Ironing is the chore I hate the most, I hate it with a passion, mainly because of shirts. Ex wasn't at home for most of the week, and would take away a dozen a week so that he could change for the evenings. In fact I am sure that his comment one night when he came home late one night to find me still up ironing of 'I do love to come home and see you sitting there ironing' was a factor that led to our subsequent divorce! I was outraged that he should enjoy seeing me doing something that he knew I hated. I farmed out my ironing for a year after that.

DBH has to dress smartly, plus there were two schoolchildren with strict dress codes. DBH has a huge wardrobe because he needs the space to store his dozens of shirts. He needs them all because I never get around to ironing them, but I don't let him do it either because he will only do it in front of the football which means wall to wall sport for me to endure, and it takes him 20 minutes to iron a shirt. I do them all the day before he goes back to school at the end of the holidays, and it takes me a day and a lot of wine.

So I have taken the very expensive measure of starting the slow process of replacing all of his beloved shirts as soon as is sneakily possible with non-iron shirts. This is hard, because due to the recession they are only available in very boring colours, and he does love nice shirts.

Kirsty Allsopp needs to spend a full day doing my husband's shirts, then she would know the utter tedium of it.

I take anything that celebs/pundits/journalists/actors say with several bags of salt.We all have that basket of ironing in a spare room [out of sight] that we mean to do vaguely another day.Sometimes, when I do actually do it, I discover that the last few things in there are too creased to iron, so go back into the wash [now that's what I call recycling!]

I don't mind any of the household chores when I'm in the right mood and sometimes ironing is a relaxing, mindless activity so I can see what Kirsty means. Sometimes I hate it all! It just depends on what else I have to do.

I like her, she's amusing and harmless and not as nasty or self-serving as some TV pundits can be. There are far worse personalities out there...

If you pay a cleaner - do you clean the house before he/she arrives? I don't think I would dare to let any cleaner see my spare room, or the office, or the two rooms at the top of the house (oh dear ). I do clean the rooms I use all the time - honest!

Stansgran I am with you 100%. I love a clean, neat and tidy house so I pay somebody to clean weekly.

Where does she get her information from? How many women has she actually asked? If she is one of them that secretly likes ironing I will gladly send her a couple of bags a week. She'll be in seventh heaven!

I have just posted on another thread about Kirstie but I'm with the gransnetters who love a clean and tidy house but hate the work. I live in a city where I've met academic types who think a clean and tidy house is the sign of a sterile mind. I'm the opposite. I think order and space produce a place where the mind can roam free and although I need a gun at my head to iron or dust I'm willing to make enough money to pay someone to do it

The woman is crazy, life is just too short to bother ironing - I do it about once a year. I finish of clothes in the tumble dryer for 10 mins then fold or hang them while they're still warm, no problem.
My husband and son occasionally iron a shirt, but as neither wears one very often it's not an issue.
I cannot comprehend ironing bedding!

About as sweet as a chocolate coated kalashnikov when

Tegan at the missing iron!

Just off to do my ironing which I have been trying to avoid for days. I do not enjoy anything about it and especially loathe having to put it all away when it is done.

I had an urge to iron something a few weeks ago [it happens to me sometimes]. Went to the cupboard where the iron is kept and there was no iron. All I can assume is that it was my sons and when he moved into his own house a couple of years ago he took it with him. I think whoever is guiding Kirstie career wise needs to have a bit of a rethink. I do like the girl, but she's pushing it a bit too far now. And it won't be long before she's named and shamed for having nannies/cleaners etc etc [I'm making an assumption here and could be wrong].

I'm another one who likes a clean and tidy home but doesn't really enjoy making it that way. Kirsty says she enjoys ironing when she has a chance to do it so maybe having the choice is key to enjoying it. Ironing. and keeping the cooker clean are my pet housework hates. I used to enjoy watching Kirstys' programmes but the not the latest ones. She is becoming quite condescending. The Christmas crafts one was dismal. I was also disappointed with the ones where she competed in shows. She won so many prizes with entries that looked nowhere as good as others. .

ironing whats that?

I agree with you Kiora. I love my house to be clean and well organised but I hate every aspect of getting it there (not that it is really but I do OK I think).

I love a clean well organised household.. But I hate all housework. I haven't got the 'touch' either. It's a constant struggle for me. I think she probably makes today's young women to feel terrible. Childcare, housework, going to the gym, spending hours to look just so, visiting nail bars, having hair extensions, having whiter teeth than you neighbour. Not to mention being a wiz at baking, cooking and the odd bit of gardening and indulging in their favourite pastime ironing. She should just shut up

I am sure I won't be the first to offer my unique de-stressing package to her (for a small fee) of course - Kirstie, welcome to my ironing basket!!

Kirsty can come to my house at the moment and do the load I have to do, as DD has broken her foot and I am doing ours and DD's SIL's and DGD's too!

I lost all patience with Kirsty Allsop when I heard her say on the radio that people should stop complaining about losing their electricity over the Xmas period. Said we should think back to our childhoods and realise how lucky we are today.

She obviously did n't spend a cold miserable Xmas.

I actually do enjoy ironing as long as there isn't too much. There is something therapeutic about it for me. Love listening to the radio while doing it too especially radio plays. Thank you Radio4Extra!

Each to their own. I wouldn't condemn anyone for NOT doing it. When my 4 children were all at school, the weekend ironing of school uniforms plus DH and my work clothes was horrendous!

Aren't T-shirts supposed to be casual and a bit creased anyway

I loathe ironing and seldom do it.

Has anyone else noticed that KA has many dresses in the same style, she must choose the fabrics then have them made. They are gathered at the neck so would be dificult to iron, I bet she doesn't do them!
I iron nothing but my starched sheets because, like you sunseeker, I love the feel of them. When I was young I discovered that I could fold T-shirts then sit on them instead of ironing them, very effective!

I am much cheered by the GNs response! I do hate it when someone who lives a very privileged lifestyle starts to pontificate about what the ordinary working woman does/should do. When I was working I would leave my ironing board set up in my spare room and iron things as and when I needed them! Many times my DH and I would go out for an evening with him wearing a "warm" shirt!!

I would like to see her swap with a normal working mum for a month - first I don't think she would agree to do it and if she did she would give up after a week.

What??? Of for goodness sake! I finally had to give in and do a tiny bit of ironing yesterday. It had lain in the little basket in the front room for a couple of months. After all that time the pile consisted of DH's shirt, and a duvet cover that was too wrinkled to get away with putting it on the bed.