I have my iron on a "power surge protector" that I can turn on and off. That way, if I'm not going to be using the iron for a little while, I just turn off the surge protector and no electricity goes to the iron. When not sewing, the iron is put away, so of course it's unplugged then.
I learned about the surge protectors when our house was hit by lightening and it blew out all of the electronics in the house except the few who had surge protectors (stove, laundry machines, fridge). Fortunately, I just happened to have my sewing machine unplugged when it happened. It was so strong it blew 2 wall lamps right off the wall and left burnt streaks in the wall board. We lost every appliance that was plugged in, including every TV, several kitchen appliances, some lights, and my husband's copier, printer and fax machine. I've been obsessive about keeping everything that cannot be unplugged on a surge protector, and keeping things like the coffeemaker, iron, sewing machine, and other small appliances unplugged between use.