[whathousework?]

A friend of mine has started doing some cleaning and ironing to bring in some $ over the holidays. She's doing quite well with it and loves the flexibility it offers her around her kids schedules. I don't mind ironing, and am considering taking in some ironing for the same reason. Uni starts back for me in the new year, and I'll have placement for three and a half months, so there's no point me looking for a job at this stage. I'm thinking $30/basket and $5 extra for pick up and delivery? WDYT? Would you use an ironing service? If you have, either now or previously, how do my proposed rates compare? I'm allowing and hour and a half of my time per basket an envisaging a 24 or 48 hour turn around.

[~*Twilight~Zone*...]

Price is about right but you will need more than an hour and half per basket. I do ironing and it takes me almost 3hrs per basket. Sometimes less but it really depends on what is in there. Those baskets fit quite a lot in there.

[Mozzie1]

I would definitely pay that much for someone to do our ironing - I pay our local dry cleaner $2.50 per shirt. However, I think it depends entirely on where you live. Do you live in a well to do area? Are there lots of double income households who may need to outsource? Or are there lots of single income families who are time rich but cash poor?

[mumto4boys]

I have an ironing lady and she is worth her weight in gold!

I take my ironing to work in the car each Wednesday. The ironing lady gets my keys from the office, gets the ironing from my car and the following day returns the ironing to my car the same way. A few people at my workplace use the same lady, we all just have different days.

Your fee may be a little high but this could also depend on supply and demand where you are and how good a job you do.

[whathousework?]

We live in a military town, so I'm also banking on the fact I've been ironing military uniforms all my life (including own at one stage), and I know how much people hate ironing them

[~Bells~]

Hey if you can stand ironing other people's clothes as well as your own I say go for it.

My mother used to do ironing for extra cash when I was at school. I think your rates are extremely reasonable. In fact it is a bargain - especially considering my mum charged a similar rate about 10 years ago, which was considered cheap.

I do have a few suggestions to make sure you are not taken advantage of:

• Stipulate that baskets need to be level
• If the level basket takes you more than your estimated 1.5hours because of a surplus of fiddly items, that an extra charge applies (eg $10 per extra half hour required)
• If they want you to use starch (eg on business shirts) that they need to provide their own - otherwise that gets expensive for you
• ensure they provide their own hangers

Obviously you should do as you think is right, but from my mums experience (which was mostly positive) a few guidelines are good to have to prevent your getting one basket piled with 2 baskets worth of clothes with the expectation that it should total at $30. Otherwise I would consider charging by the hour.

Hope it goes well! All the best.

[Pearson]

$30 basket is reasonable.
$5 for pickup and delivery is reasonable

However, you need to define a basket size.

I pay my mum $30 per week to iron our clothes, (we were paying an ironing service, and this is ou average we paid them) mum is happy to iron our clothes (business clothes, kids clothes, including frills etc. DS will also have business shirts next year for school.

[whathousework?]

Thanks for the advice and info

I was thinking to specify a 'basket' as one of those oval ones, and I like the pp's suggestion that clothes be folded and level with the top of the basket.

Anyhoo, am just thinking about it for now. Will see what happens after the Xmas rush is over.

[epg]

Our ironing service does a $30 minimum - $2.50 per item plus $5.00 delivery / pickup fee. We have to have it out by 7am, get it back around 5pm the next evening.

$30 / basket sounds quite cheap - I suspect some people will take advantage!

[halcyodays]

Our ironing service charges per item, and this works out better for us, as I don't particularly want to fold clothes to make them sit flat in the basket etc etc. We also have fairly fiddly bits of clothing- dress trousers and skirts with pleats and so forth.
If you google ironing services, a lot of companies have advertised their costs- I think $30 for a basket of business shirts is a bargain!