Clothing rack on wallpapered wall.

You see, I hate ironing. Can I get an amen? Do you know why I hate ironing? BECAUSE I’M AWFUL AT IT. I am fully convinced that there are two people in the world — those who can iron effectively and those who will burn down the house and still have wrinkled clothes. But a few years ago, I realized that my clothes weren’t showing up as best they could on the blog. The solution was oh-so-simple and sitting right in front of me at the shop — our clothes steamer.

We had a steamer for our clothes that were wrinkled in shipment and it dawned on me — I should be steaming my clothes before our shoots. And the rest is history.

But over the years I widened up and just started steaming my clothes at home for on and off the blog. And I’ve learned that there are other benefits to steaming. Let me introduce you to the many reasons why I love my best friend, the clothes steamer:

It helps your clothes fit better.

If you wash something and it feels a bit snug, give it a quick steam. The steam opens up the fabric a bit more and it will fit right once again. And if you’re like me and sometimes throw your clothes everywhere — on a chair, under a chair, over the chair — then they can become unreasonably wrinkly but still clean. A quick steam and you’re out the door! No one knows you’re a secret hot mess.

Best option for delicate + synthetic fabrics.

When dealing with silk, you want to be the most careful because silk is easily damaged. I always give my silk tops a nice steam and the wrinkles just fall out. And with crepe or rayon, a clothes steamer is often times the only way to get out deep wrinkles that seem to never go away. I find cotton and linen is better with an iron, but most other fabrics steam out best.

My favorite travel secret.

I bring a handheld clothes steamer with me on every trip and this takes the stress out of those crease lines from packing. You know no matter how carefully you pack there are going to be wrinkles. A handheld clothes steamer makes it easy to look pulled together even on the road.

And lastly, the best reason ever — IT ISN’T IRONING! And isn’t that reason enough?

***

PS — I use this clothes steamer one from Target and LOVE it! I’ve used so many over the years, but this one has been my fave. They last for years by the way. This is the handheld steamer I travel with. It’s light enough for travel, so it doesn’t add weight or bulk. 🙂

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21 Responses

  1. A steamer is the best thing I ever bought for my clothes! It’s amazing how much better you look when you take 2 minutes to get the crease out of your blouse before heading out for the day.

    classicsidewalk.com

  2. When I used to work at Ann Taylor Loft we steamed every item of clothing! I burned myself way too many times hahaha.. but so much better than an iron!

    Kim

    http://bit.ly/2dkPLGO .. 10 ways to wear a blanket scarf!!

  3. This post was made for me. I HATE ironing and was just struggling with it over the weekend with a new dress that was shipped to me a wrinkled mess. No matter what I did, some of those wrinkles never came out!!

    Fizz and Frosting

  4. I never would’ve thought of a steamer as a packing essential, but that’s so true! Ironing is the worst, so most of the time I stick stuff in the dryer for a few minutes, but the idea of a steamer is sounding pretty nice… haha!

    Katie // thekatiebaker.com

  5. Ugh..I’m one of those rare folks who loves ironing and does it well 🙂 My mom taught me early (and from that 60s generation that sewed everything, including their own wedding gowns) so ironing was something we girls learned. Key to ironing: get a heavy, stainless steel iron. The weight does all the work and you move with the seams of the fabric. Practice helped, a lot. However, I have been eyeing the Rowenta steamers, but I always hesitate because of the heavy water where I live. I know calcium build up happens with my iron, so you’d think that using loaded tap water would kill a steamer? Or clog it? I don’t see myself using purified water for it..so I’ve always held off because they are pricey (over the price of an iron). But steamers are so much faster…Gah. 🙁

  6. I was folding clothes yesterday that I had left wayyyy too long in the basket and thought, “I really need a steamer!” I worked in retail too and realized they were awesome. It’s going on my list!

  7. I’ve been on the fence about buying a steamer but I feel like I totally need to now! Such good tips, I’ll be purchasing one.

    Karly xo

  8. Yes! Steaming is reason enough! I hate ironing not only because it’s ironing, but the fabric that covers my small ironing board keeps falling off. Threw away the whole thing, lol!

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