I did my ironing today. I have been putting it off this year. Literally, this whole year.

I ironed last Thanksgiving, because I had mounds of wrinkled holiday linens. Okay, one table runner. It was an important autumn table runner, though. It had been used as a stage prop curtain. It was a long, as well as important, table runner. And since several of the cast members were joining us for Thanksgiving dinner, I figured I needed to at least wash and iron the table runner before using it again.

After Thanksgiving the ironing began piling up. However, with Christmas on the way, I had better things to do than iron. And then it got cold. See, the ironing board is in the laundry room, and the laundry room is in the basement. The basement is cold, all right?

Well, then came Easter, and my mound of Easter linens – okay, one small tablecloth with embroidered rabbits – was made of no-iron fabric. I had no reason to iron that no-iron tablecloth, even though we were again entertaining a table full of guests. Same crowd as the Thanksgiving guests. Different dinner menu, though.

By the time spring rolled around, the stack of ironing was fully grown. But, hey, it was mostly my flannel shirts which I would not need until fall. There were some real linen napkins, also used as stage props, too. Everyone knows you must be in the right mood, and your horoscope must predict ironing, before you ever attempt to iron real linen anything. I thought, “Why bother ironing until September or so?”

And that is why I have not bothered to iron this year. Until today.

Today I spilled hot scented wax on my favorite sweatshirt. It was a disaster because I only have a dozen or so second-favorite sweatshirts. But none of them is bedecked with furry black stars, like my fave. It is easy to understand why the furry-starred one is my favorite, right?

We all have read the helpful hints about getting candle wax out of tablecloths by ironing them on paper towels. Scented wax should, theoretically, work the same way. I let the wax dry on my shirt as I iced my burns. I then tried to scrape off the excess wax, which ended badly with me scraping off a furry star or two.

Down to the ironing board I went, with a roll of paper towels and low expectations. I turned the iron to medium heat. I put paper towels under the sweatshirt. I put paper towels on top of the wax stain. I meditated upon my sins. Then I ironed.

Son of a gun. It worked. All the wax was transferred to the paper towels. Who knew?

Some of my furry stars are now a little less furry. But, bonus, my sweatshirt is permanently scented with Yankee Candle’s Silver Birch fragrance.

Jackie Hope is the longest running Dickinson Press contributor and columnist. "Hope's Corner" is a weekly humorous column centered on a message of hope for residents in southwest North Dakota.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Dickinson Press, nor Forum ownership.