I am not a joiner. This is almost something of a joke at our house, because usually my opposition to anything can be traced back to not wanting to do what other people are doing. Who knows why this is, being an only child? A general case of B.A. Baracus? Whatever the case, just because something is wildly popular, I probably won't participate.
via Wanderlund
What does this have to do with beds? Downton Abbey.
I refused to watch it. Everyone loves it, my sister loves it, my entire twitter feed loves it, other blogs I read talk about it. Each additional vote of confidence in the show added to my determination to never watch it or like it. So I have been watching really awesomely stupid TV shows with a gloating satisfaction that I wasn't giving in. When the last season of White Collar ended, {don't judge, I did become a little fond of it...} I couldn't find anything to watch that wasn't completely unbearable. So, we ended up giving the 'boring british period piece show' a chance. Needless to say, it has been better than I thought it would be.
via Wanderlund {I love this bed. Love it.}
In one episode, some of the staff were discussing bed making, or rather, if it was necessary to strip the bed and remake it if no one had slept in it. This reminded me of Anne's first day at Green Gables, when Marilla asks her to strip the bed and air out the comforter in the morning. My mom taught me how to make my bed when I was little, but at this point I feel like I've gotten something done if I merely pull up the covers. What is the proper technique for a well made bed? Do I need to wash the sheets every day? Should I iron them? Spray them with something? There are days when it is so stuffy in our room at the end of the day, it's almost like someone has been sleeping in there all day. It is not clean and fresh, even if I have pulled up the covers.
I read the chapter 'The Care of Rooms' in The American Woman's Home, which is one of my favorite references for things like this. Catherine Beecher recommends starting from scratch, or taking everything off the bed and re-making it. Bottom sheet first, then a top sheet, then a blanket, and so on for each layer you utilize. The first thing to do though, is throw open a window. She is really big on fresh air in the house, claiming that old air is a poison to the body and the reason for numerous ailments.
The method of 'Stockading' your bed is more akin to the Anne of Green Gables scenario, where you pull everything down to the foot of the bed and let the mattress air for the day, re-making the bed in the evening. I think this might be more of a weekly occurrence, but I'm no expert.
Overall, it seems like I need to step it up a bit on the bed making routine, since it shouldn't take more than a minute once I have it down! I always feel better when I have a clean and well made bed to fall into at the end of the day.
Missing my clothesline, Alice
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