Monday, April 23, 2007

A mangle: who knew?

Sometimes you put an item on your imaginary yard sale list, something so obscure you just know you'll never find one. Such was the case with my dream ironing machine: a Miele rotary iron. Our grandmothers called them mangles and used them to press sheets and such.

Once upon a time, I linked to a European homekeeper demonstrating her own crisp tea towels. What an interesting tool, I mused online. Debbie pointed out a Miele rotary iron costs just under $2000 new; it irons a king-size duvet in only 4 minutes. "Oh, well!" I thought, mentally crossing it off my list.

Fast forward a year later. We stopped in a nearby thrift store on our way to a play date. What is that strange machine with the Miele logo? I nearly dropped the baby when the thrift store clerk told me this "German presser" cost $24. It's not quite as sleek as the latest folding model, but it works. My husband let me buy it for an early Mother's Day gift. Now I need to adapt our plug and master the art! If I don't get the hang of it, I'm sure I can sell it for a small profit.

Tonight I am dreaming of freshly ironed bedsheets, smoothly pressed t-shirts, and a stack of starchy handkerchiefs for my husband each week. Oh, to be blessed with such a dream gift on top of all I already have...it's just too much for words.

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow!!!!!!!!!!

Maggie said...

Neat!

Anonymous said...

Cool beans! I am envious. I've wanted one for quite some time. A sprinkling of lavender oil on the sheets - divine!

How sweet of God to grant your hearts desire.

Laura Talbert said...

What an amazing Providence! You must be tickled to death:)

Indie Pereira said...

My church needs one of those. You should see the little old ladies ironing the altar linens with little hand irons. It takes hours and they still end up with wrinkles, but I don't dare say anything because they would start all over again in an endless cycle of imperfection. Its painful to watch.

Anonymous said...

That is really cool. However, to each his own...I don't wanna iron sheets. :) But I can understand the extreme thankfulness after finding something your heart desires. Every time it happens to me, I am so thankful and consider it a proof of how intimately God knows each of us.

Candy said...

That IS an awesome gift :)

Anonymous said...

Meredith-
I'm truly im"PRESSED"!! :-)
I was a foreign exchange student in Germany my senior year of high school and one of the host families I stayed with had one of these. That started my love affair with these things. Then, when I worked in a nursing home years ago as a nurse, they had a big commercial one that they used for all the linens in the home. I was fascinated watching clean, wrinkled sheets be fed into their giant mangle, and emerge a few seconds later completely crisp and wrinkle free...it's pretty neat. I like to iron my linens, but it's just too much work most of the time on a regular ironing board (although I do still always iron my pillowcases!). About the closest I can come is when I hang my sheets out on the clothesline and they dry "crisp" and almost wrinkle free. I told my husband one time I would buy a new commercial-sized mangle if we had unlimited money, but of course, that isn't the case! What a tremendous find! I can't wait to hear how you like it. Hope eveything works on it, and that you get many years of enjoyment from it.
Susan :-)

DonnaB said...

Oooh and AAAAAH! So happy for you!

Goslyn said...

Oh, my dear, you are an impressive overachiever. I'm glad you found a nifty new tool that excites you.

Pressed sheets? What a novel idea. I call it good enough if I can get them from the dryer before they wrinkle and put them straight on the bed. LOL.

Tracy said...

Can you take pictures of some before and after ironings? How fun! I tried to iron my sheets (I read about it in Martha Stewart) but it took to long and I wrinkled them up before I could get them on the bed. It was the thought that counts! : )

nancyr said...

When I was a child, I used to watch a great aunt use her "mangle". She ironed sheets, dish towels, tablecloths, pillow cases, with it, and they always looked so nice.
What a great find. Having one for tablecloths, alone, would be worth the investment.

Anonymous said...

Providence, indeed! And only a few days after your confession of needing to catch up on your ironing. God is good, good, good!
Rita

Anonymous said...

Gosh, I saw one of those (granted, more of the "antique" variety) at the Salvation Army awhile back for $40 and I almost bought it.

I've always been intrigued by mangles and have wanted to watch someone in action with a wrinkly men's shirt because I can't imagine how such a large, unweildy looking machine could handle sleeves and collars, which it evidently does. Your purchase has made me want to go back and see if the mangle is still available. It had all the instruction booklets--and looks well maintained.

What fun!

Cat
http://20dollarsaday.livejournal.com/

Amy said...

I had never even heard of this. How cool! Enjoy and can't wait to hear the updates!

Roberta said...

How neat!
A few months ago I saw one at our local thrift store, for $25, I stood and thought about it, and while I was thinking another man bought it. Ah well. Enjoy your domestic tool! :)

Hyperactive Lu said...

I need you here in town to go shopping with! I bargain hunt a lot, but you must REALLY hunt to find such good deals! I come over from SideTrack'd.....:) I enjoyed reading your posts!

Mrs. S said...

How exactly do you pronounce the 'mangle'? Just curious cuz it sounds like mangle to me lol.

Diane @ A Watered Garden said...

Hi Meredith, I've enjoyed visiting your blog and reading some great posts on "thrifty living"! I've come from Maryanne's blog and am getting inspired with all your frugal "finds". Keep up the good work! Blessings, Diane

Meredith said...

Mrs. S., it's pronounced exactly as you thought! My mother thinks I should sell it immediately lest I hurt one of the children--I can't help but think its name is scaring her!

My husband has to pick up an adapter for the plug before I can try it out. I don't iron my sheet normally (tried it once and stopped halfway through) but it does make folding them up so much nicer. It will just be so much fun to try new things with this!

Anonymous said...

FYI - I live in Charlotte, NC and we have TWO mangles in our family - both grandmothers owned and used them for decades! These are electric ... but I don't use them at all (too little time for other "more pressing" tasks). Any serious interest in adopting one of these?? I'd rather avoid ebay ...

Miss G said...

Meredith, just reading back through some of your older posts. :) This is cool, cool, cool! Kelly