5 uses for an ironing board that don’t involve ironing

We have what is known as a “formidable” ironing board.   It arrived recently and really did remind me of a robot.  Or an alien.    And as I put it up in the spare bedroom I considered how under utilised ironing boards can be.  Especially in this house <cough>

You see we leave ours up all the time, it is a great piece of equipment.   Really well made, nicely padded, a great colour and to only use it once a week for an hour seems like a bit of a waste.  Plus it has the big steam iron on it (there is a really sturdy platform for it so it can sit there quite happily and not wobble like it did on the old board) so putting it down every time is just too much of a faff.   And also we can hang coat hangers on the bottom of it and I really can’t be bothered to move all of those.   Which probably means I am just lazy, doesn’t it?  But I like to think of it as more that I am being economical with my time by leaving it up between uses.

Which got me thinking that actually maybe I could use it for other things too.  Things other than ironing.

Surf board

Turning it upside down and use it to surf down stairs.

Oh apparently this is not a good idea.

A present wrapping station

I like to get myself super organised when I have a stack of presents to wrap, all laid out, gift bags at the ready, rolls of paper sorted and then just dive in and get it all done in one go.   Because the ironing board is up and ready to go I don’t need to spend half an hour clearing a space on it.  Plus it is the right height for me to stand at comfortably for an hour.

Dressing table

When people come and stay I can chuck a pretty cloth over it, that covers not only the top, but the side so all the hangers disappear, put a mirror on the top, a lamp on one end and ta dah, instant dressing table.

Decorating table

Clearly I wouldn’t suggest doing this with a brand new ironing board but…. if you are painting and need something to just put some tools on it is great to be able to do that and not have to bend down to the floor all the time.    Also a good height if you are up a step ladder and need to grab something or put something down so you can have your hands free to get down.

Picnic table for the back of your car

Okay this might sound like a bonkers idea.  But picture it.   You go somewhere like the polo (okay maybe not the polo but picture the scene) and you don’t want to sit on the ground because it is wet.  So you lift up the boot of your car, take out the ironing board, throw a table cloth over it and then lay it for your picnic.   You can then sit in the boot, with your back to the inside of your car and look like the most organised and brilliantly genius family in the history of picnicing families.

NB if you do this on the hard shoulder of the M6 you may find yourself being questioned by a nice man in a hat and a uniform.

Beldray ironing board is model’s own.  But if you want one of your own then you can buy one here: Beldray and if you quote MummyBarrow50 you can get 50% off the price!  And they really are rather splendid ironing boards. 

And if you don’t have an ironing board like this one, you have to do your ironing like this, by getting a fat cat to sit on it, which makes all your clothes hairy and need washing again:

Not to be recommended.   So do the right thing.  Get yourself a decent ironing board.