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Post by snailspace on Apr 15, 2009 8:58:29 GMT -5
I hate making the bed! There, I said it. I struggle with this chore so much, and have my whole life. Sure I love sleeping in a nicely made bed with freshly laundered sheets as much as the next person, but it is an overwhelming task for me. I’m going to try to figure out why.... Components: I don’t have a dryer, so just physically getting enormous sheets and blankets pinned up on a clothesline is always something I dread. (Other family members can hang sheets up so beautifully straight, I can’t even do THAT right, mine look like the sails on some log raft. But I digress.) I only have one set of sheets so once I’ve committed to washing them, it all MUST get dry before nightfall. This stresses me out. I also go nuts if anything touches the ground while I’m grappling with it, and I have to wash them over if anyone starts up a smoky BBQ or a garbage truck goes by, or the neighbor on that side decides to mow, or anything else happens to ‘contaminate’ them. (I know that sounds overboard, but the smoke thing is because I have asthma. Everything else, I was taught, ) Actually making the bed: I hate running back and forth from side to side getting everything lined up. I have several beautiful crocheted afghans but they are heavy, and a real bear to get arranged so they look good. Timing: I can’t make the bed when I first wake up because I have to take the dog out straightaways and then of course we get all distracted by shiny things and breakfast and forget about going back to make the bed. The rest of the day I conveniently ignore it, and at night I am ‘too tired’. Logistics: I have an enormous waterbed that I inherited. I love it, and I’m grateful for it, don’t get me wrong, it’s an awesome luxury. But it is so hard to make. I had to cut up a fitted sheet to fit it and that looks tacky. Nothing stays tucked in at the edges. Dust and fur and yarn snips and hair elastics all get down between the wood frame and the mattress cover and just ferment and of course the vacuum has no crevice attachment. I have a patch of mold in one corner I don’t know how to eradicate. I don’t want the sheets touching the mold, but I have to cover it up somehow because I’m allergic to mold. So, even though I wanted to make my room a ‘zen retreat’ and did clean it up in all other aspects, and have made the bed on many occasions, the truth is most of the time it’s an overwhelming jumble I just want to hide from. Every once in a while I go on a big campaign and ‘fix’ it, but I’m a long way from it being an everyday habit. I want it to look good every day. I loved the post so much that someone here wrote about discovering THEY were now the laundry fairy, I need to become my own bedmaking fairy. OK, reading back over this, it sounds like a lot of excuses, but there’s the thinking behind it all. I secretly want to get rid of the waterbed and buy a regular bed. But it would be such a monster to move, and I don’t have the money just yet. But maybe someday. I could get new bedding and paint the walls green. That sounds very zen! (by the way, I checked off 'somewhere between a week and a month' on the poll)
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Post by Script on Apr 15, 2009 9:04:17 GMT -5
I make the bed every day NOW. For the first 35 years of my adult life, I made the bed NEVER.
I change the sheets weekly, sometimes more often because of my sweating. In my squalorous younger years, I would sometimes sleep on the bare mattress, in my clothes.
I wash the NEW duvet cover infrequently, but at least I do wash it. I washed the OLD duvet cover never. I washed the NEW bed-skirt for the first time on Good Friday (4 years of use). I washed the old bed skirt NEVER: tossed it in trash at it was a mess of dust, dirt, stain: maybe 20 years accumulation?
thank you, SOS and Squalor Survivors, for helping me to learn housekeeping skills.
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Post by iprocrastinate on Apr 15, 2009 9:13:08 GMT -5
I too NOW make the bed everyday thanks to SOS. It has become a habit (yea), Never thought I'd develop any cleaning habits but I have this one. Dishes are becoming more of a habit but I still have lapses with them!!
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Post by messyjedi on Apr 15, 2009 9:16:32 GMT -5
I chose daily on the poll, although in reality I miss a day here and there. I probably do it 5 days a week reliably though. I also used to never make my bed. I honestly didn't see the point of it, I was just going to mess it up again at night after all. I grew up in a house where making our bed was not required, but my mom always makes her bed, I don't think I have ever seen it go unmade. My bed in my room got made maybe once a month when mom and dad cracked down and made me do the big room clean, usually to go somewhere. When I grew up and had my own house, I didn't make my bed and I didn't make my kids make theirs. I have been much better with later children in being consistant with their chores/ responsibilities, which includes their beds. Beyond teaching them responsibility, it solved an issue in our hosue because inevitably someone would be missing a blanket or pillow come bedtime when the beds weren't made. Now everything is accounted for every morning. Recently I was hit with the inequality of the boys having to make their bed while mine went unmade. Once I started doing it, it kind of became like getting dressed is on flyladys list. It is a simple thing that only takes a few minutes and makes a huge difference in the way I look at my room. Plus it makes my husband happy (my mil is a cleanie, and she did everything when her kids were growing up). Some thoughts on your reasons snailspace. Who said beds had to be made perfectly? Mine certainly isn't. I smooth things out and straighten up, but my goal is not a magazine cover. Can you link bedmaking with something else in your schedule, a little later in the day? I rarely make mine first thing when I get up because I have little people who sleep with me and they may not be up yet. I generally make mine before lunch so it is neat before nap time.
Oh, as far as washing bedding, we have to do ours at least once a week because of aforementioned little people. We do have more than one set of sheets and I highly recommend aquiring another when you can. We are sometimes guilty of not putting sheets on before bed in a crisis (or during the night if there is a problem), but we always put down a blanket or comforter to lay on.
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Post by cando on Apr 15, 2009 9:26:54 GMT -5
Hi Snailspace. Well, I, too, have an enormous Oakwood Interiors waterbed that I absolutely love!!! My DH and I sleep much better in this bed. My DH has not complained upon awakening of back sore or hurting ever since we got it ... oh.... let's see.... about 20 years ago!!! It is a California King size -- Extra Long. I have to admit to not changing the water in it for years! Also, have been without heat in it for years. We bought a new heater a couple years ago, but haven't installed it. So, it is cold unless we have several layers. Yes, this bed is extremely hard to make unless I have waterbed sheets to fit it. And, even then, I still hate making that bed! I am sad to say that I only have one set left & I do use other sheets most of the time. The hardest thing is having a mattress pad to fit it! I may have 1 left after all these years. The others I struggle with as they do not stay on good since they are a little too small. It is hard to make since I have to walk back and forth around it and try to maneuver in all the clutter that's on the floor around it. Actually one side is clear around it at this time & the end is clear at this time. The other side has some stuff but at the head of it on that side is really bad... It is much easier to make the bed when I have a comforter on it. Right now, the dog peed on the comforter and has torn it and soo needs repair & hope I can get the smell out of it. It is very easy to just pull the sheets, blanket & comforter up when everything fits the d*mn bed. (I know that I curse it, but in all honesty... I truly love it). At this time, when I make the bed... I consider it made if the multiple Mexican blankets that are on it at this time are smoothed out pretty good and no sheets are showing except up around the pillows. I especially hate making the bed when I have to switch to the bankets since I can't use the comforter. The blankets are small and that is why there are soo many. To me, it doesn't have to be made perfectly... just acceptable. So, when I say that I have made the bed. It does NOT mean that the sheets are totally clean... they may not be... but they are good enough for me to sleep in and are covered up by the blankets and/or comforter. I usually make the bed (even if DH is still in it) every morning when I get out of the bed either right after using the bathroom or before I go in there. If DH is in it... I just make my side and consider it made & believe it or not... my DH will actually pull up the blankets or comforter on his side if he can tell I attempted! (This is highly different than his behavior over 20+ years ago when we first got married!!) Occasionally, on rare occasion... if I haven't made it... He will actually pull up the covers!!! WOWWW!!! He never did anything like that for many years in our marriage.... If I do skip making the bed... because no matter what... it is still not an absolute habit. I will make it when I get dressed for the day or at some other point during the day. Making the bed was something that I learned from Flylady--believe it or not. It is nice to climb into bed with kind of neat sheets... not all crumpled up at the foot of the bed. There sometimes is still clutter on the foot of the bed... only on DH's side these days. I somehow stopped leaving stuff on my bed due to Squalor Survivors. Washing the linens is another matter entirely from "making the bed". I do not do this often enough... and when I do... I don't think they really get clean. The sheets, mattress pad and big blanket seem like they just don't get clean in my washing machine... So, I don't want to go to a laundromat or to wash them in the bathtub so just accept them from my washer anyway... even though they are not like crisp, clean linens. So, to answer your question... yes, I make that waterbed everyday... but certainly not up to a "cleanie"'s standards... It is acceptable and I like that I "make" the bed. (Oh, and btw, making the bed daily didn't happen for about the first 8 years of my marriage). CD
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Post by Di Dreaming on Apr 15, 2009 9:31:22 GMT -5
Shouldn't the REAL question be, "How often do you change the sheets?" It's easy to pull up the sheet and quilt and neaten the pillows so I do that fairly frequently (if only to create a flat surface on which I can do something else) but to actually pull off the sheets, put on clean ones, and wash, fold and put away the current ones; well......
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Post by AnnieOkie on Apr 15, 2009 9:44:30 GMT -5
I make my bed every day before I even turn on the light. I sleep alone when I am at my house, so the bed doesn't get too messed up at night. I pull up the sheets and the quilt, fold them over neatly, prop all of the pillows up at the head of the bed and that is it. Like some have said, I don't make it for a magazine shoot, just to look neater and to have a nice spot to crawl into at night. Even though my room is still on the de-squalor schedule at my house, by golly, that bed gets made! I haven't used my decorative pillows for years, they may have to come into play once I get the room in order.
I change the sheets every couple of weeks if I can. (I sleep at fiance's a little less than half the time.)
From looking at your post Snailspace, here are things I would do to make things easier if it were my bed you were talking about.
-I would go with the decision to change to a conventional bed. -If the bed is up against a wall, move it to the center (or at least make a walkway along both sides) so it is easier to get to to make it. -Buy a spare set of sheets to trade out when washing. -Use a pretty quilt as a topper instead of the many blankets you mentioned that have to be "just so". On my queen size bed, a king size quilt will almost reach the floor and is so easy to just pull up in the mornings. A queen size will come down over the edges and will look nice if there is a bed skirt. -A bedskirt always helps things look neater when not using a full spread.
Hope this helps!
P.S. Another thing that makes a huge difference to me....a bed with an actual footboard. Fiance's bed doesn't have one and the blankets just slide off the bottom every night!
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Post by Alexandra on Apr 15, 2009 10:19:46 GMT -5
The bed gets made whenever I change the sheets. As long as everything's on the bed and not the floor, it's all good.
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Post by moggyfan on Apr 15, 2009 11:02:30 GMT -5
I have found that if something is too complicated or awkward or time-consuming, I just don't do it. The simpler and easier to handle my possessions, the more likely I am to do what's necessary to maintain them.
If making the bed is such a chore, I would try to simplify as much as possible. If getting a regular bed is not affordable, I would at least invest in some made-for-a-waterbed sheets that fit properly, and use some bleach to remove the mold.
I don't have a washer or dryer, either, but I have trained myself to go to the laundromat once a week. It's not so bad--I can do several loads at once and catch up on reading :-) (Sounds easier than struggling to get those big sheets, etc. on the line anyway!)
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Post by sleepymom on Apr 15, 2009 11:54:30 GMT -5
What is it with us and waterbeds here, I`m, what, the 3rd one on this thread . I have to say I love sleeping in mine, even though it`s such a pain to change. I have a really hard time sleeping elsewhere because the mattresses are so hard. Where, exactly is the mold? I`ve cleaned up funk on mine (it got wet underneath from a small leak) with a bleach solution- it really probably will be easier to clean it up than avoid it forever. And definitely yes, get some sheets that fit. They are still a pain, but better, and should stay on longer. Waterbed accesories are hard to find these days. I got some sheets on freecycle, but had to order a mattress pad online. I think we have one place that still sells waterbed stuff here, but they are expensive. I like getting into bed with clean sheets, but never have seen the value in actually making it everyday. If you like the look, why don`t you just straigten out the blankets and toss a comforter or your afghan over it? It might not be perfect, but will look neater. I wash everything once a month and make it fresh then, but the only thing I do everyday is shake out the blankets so we don`t fight over them. CD, I can`t believe you`ve gone without a heater for so long! I am challenging you directly- one weekend soon, when it`s nice out, get your DH or one of the kids to help you drain that thing & put the heater in. Are we supposed to drain it every so often? I think mine has only been drained completely when we`ve moved & last a couple of years ago when we had to get a new mattress. Mine needs some water added, but since it`s not an emergency, we`re waiting for warmer weather since it involves tossing a hose up to a 2nd floor window.
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Post by breakingfree on Apr 15, 2009 12:13:32 GMT -5
I try to change/wash the sheets every Saturday AM. Note I say TRY, haha! I do make the bed every day, but it isn't "perfect." I make sure the sheets and blankets are pretty straight, then line the pillows up and then flip the blanket and sheet up over the pillows. It is far from military perfect, that's for sure!
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Post by DJ on Apr 15, 2009 14:45:48 GMT -5
heyla.. i finally got a second set of sheets and washing the sheets is much less of a chore. i always washed them once a week but now i don't dread doing it.. i make the bed every day. i make the bed every day because i stopped turning it into a huge ordeal. we make the bed with hospital corners after we launder it. after that in the morning after my shower i stand at the head of the bed. grab all the lawyers at each corner and fluff and let them fall down. then romp down off the far corner of the bed and walk around staightening. then i flop down on newly made bed and put on lotion, do my makeup and brush my hair and drink tea. no, my bed is rarely made perfectly but now it's made every day. and there's nothing dreadful in it.
like i said i wash the sheets once a week.. when i line dry them i do it indoors on the shower rod, i clip the corners to a hanger so the whole thing drapes without folding back in on itself so it airs out and dries without staying damp. and i hear people talking about running back and forth to make a bed.. my rule is- if you sleep in the bed you help make it. so making it with clean sheets goes way way faster with two people. you don't get to sleep in the bed if you don't partake in the maintenance of the bed. i'm a mean nasty one huh? but with two people it takes a few minutes. with one it takes me probably half an hour. that's one task that is certainly easier for 2 people with a large bed.
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Post by messymimi on Apr 15, 2009 20:23:42 GMT -5
I make the bed every day.
No matter what else happens, I have the right to have the biggest piece of furniture in my house look good, and I have the right to the luxury of climbing into a nicely made bed at night.
messymimi
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Post by Meme on Apr 15, 2009 20:31:35 GMT -5
I now make the bed up everyday(sometimes just before I get into it- but mornings are dog time etc but I like it made to be in--) and change generally around the week end - sometiimes in 10 days but now there is only me it to mess up - Papa hubby always made the bed- it was just something he liked to do for us- I also keep it simple with no top sheet to get tangled in- I have those quilt tops from bed in a bag- generally wash that every two weeks - I often rest on my bed now rather than the couch as Miss Ashley is the potato there--
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Post by snailspace on Apr 17, 2009 10:39:26 GMT -5
Wow, thanks for all the replies! Some random responses as they come to me: 1. You have to change the water? How embarrassing is it I did not know this? 2. There's no heater in mine but it's encased in a heavy cover so it's not cold. I remember my parents had one back in the eighties I used to call 'the pineapple bed' because it had big yellow rings in it for stabalizing, anyway, they often complained about how cold the thing was to sleep on and how they had to layer and layer blankets over it. 3. The mold is on the cover, down at the foot of the bed, in the corner, down inside the frame. After some discussion with a family member, they kindly offered to clean it with bleach early some morning for me so I can stay out of the room the rest of the day. (I'm asthmatic, and can't handle being around mold or strong cleaning fumes, wimpy I know, but I've learned the hard way discretion is sometimes the better part of valor) 4. Now that it's mid-April I took the biggest and heaviest afghan off the bed, to wash one more time and then put in storage. That should help with the general unwieldiness of the bedding. AnnieOkie gave me an idea when she mentioned quilting - since I can't ever find anything the right size and weight for my purposes, I might just make myself a light, custom-fitted quilt-top. That at least I could toss over the top of everything else and it will LOOK nicer, at any rate. (and if I make a crazy-quilt, I won't even have to fuss with lining up squares, ) 5. I definitely need an extra set of sheets. And a second towel. Honestly, I buy this stuff over the years, I don't know what happens to it. Thanks for listening to me mull over my bedmaking challenges! I did get it sort of made yesterday, I vacuumed the cover, and laid everything back on neatly, it's lots of little blankets scattered about, but it helped! I think the dog prefers everything heaped into little mountains, but he didn't complain about the arrangement last night, so it's OK.
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