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LadyMaggie, you are a treasure! Believe me I AM counting my blessings.

Now I'm not as old as Methuselah, just almost. I too remember cooking starch. Although we had a washing machine I helped my mom do the starch thing with ALL the family's clothes.

I was a sickly kid (count blessing #1; if I had been born "Back Then" I would most certainly have died in childhood. but I digress...) but even though my mom believed everyone should have a chore to do. Mine was helping with the starching and ironing. I couldn't do a whole lot but I *could* iron! Mom was one smart cookie 'cause having said chore kept me from feeling useless.

Anyway, my dad wore 6 white cotton shirts every week to work. That's right, it was my job to make sure they could stand up by themselves after I starched & ironed them! If I couldn't get to them right away the sprinkled and rolled up shirts went in the refrigerator so they wouldn't 'sour' in the meantime!

When Dacron and spray starch came out I thought I'd died and gone to heaven!

"When Dacron and spray starch came out I thought I'd died and gone to heaven!"

Add to that the better polyester fabrics that succeeded Dacron, and STEAM IRONS!!
What an improvement that was, ironing faster and allowing you to 'sprinkle' accidentally wrinkled spots.

After retiring from outside work, however, most fabrics I have are wash and wear, or require minimal touchup.
I also do not bother to iron t-shirts if I'm staying home or working in the yard..:))