Sheet changing - I don't get it

[Danestress]

I feel like I must be missing some essential step of bed sheet changing, lol. There a lot of things I feel I don't do well because time is short. Bills. Finances. Cooking from scratch. Ironing. Mopping floors.

 

But changing sheets seems to quick and easy. You pull off the old, throw them in the washer and then dryer, and put them back on. I used to iron them but rarely do now, it I think actual work time is maybe 10 minutes. I don't understand why people think they don't have time. Not that they shouldn't change them as much as little as they want, of course. I'm not criticizing. But the thread is strange to me. I definitely don't have time to make homemade bread all the time. But sheet changing?

[Daisy]

I think this is the issue for me.

 

Take sheets off DS's bed.

Throw in wash (can only fit on bed's worth at a time).

After schooling, remember them.

Throw in dryer.

Forget about them until bedtime.

Scramble really quickly to put them on the bed before DS goes to bed. :eek:

Wrestle with a sheet that is slightly too small for those big pillow top mattresses.

Finally finish. :D

 

Get a call from DS 40 minutes after bedtime that he opened his sippy cup and spilled water all over his bed. :(

 

Take sheets off DS's bed.

 

And that is only ONE Of them. So all I was saying it that sometimes I don't get all the beds changed everyweek. And if any one bed is going to go 2 weeks instead of one, it'll be mine. LOL. Life just happens.

[unsinkable]

and this is hypothetical...ha-ha!

 

Maybe it is hard b/c a mom has many, many clothes piled on the end of the bed and her kids ask her tosleep/babysit their stuffed animals and dolls...many, many stuffies and dollies.

 

Maybe it would take 20 minutes just to get to the sheets.

 

Hypothetically. :)

 

unsinkable

[Jennifer in MI]

Same here! And, now that my kids are older, THEY bring their sheets down to the washer, put them in, switch them to the dryer and actually make their own beds back up when they're done!! Gotta' love child labor. LOL :)

 

And, making bread can be just as easy! Get a bread machine!!! Honestly, I grind the wheat (2 minutes), throw in the ingredients (2 minutes), push the buttons and in a couple hours, I have my loaf of bread. The clean-up takes about 3 minutes to wash the dishes. So, total time is about 10 minutes (leaving a couple minutes for set-up.) Actually, I've taught my oldest to do it too! See? More child labor!

[StacyWithFourRugrats]

I definitely don't have time to make homemade bread all the time. But sheet changing?

 

(I hope I did that quote thing right)

 

For my family, when you change sheets, there are 6 beds in the house. That adds up to a LOT of washing. Inevitably I will forget they are in the washer or the dryer. It also ends up being between 6-8 loads if I need to wash the comforter or quilt. Then add in the mattress protector.

 

Once they are washed, putting them on is a pain. The mattress protector is tricky along with the bottom sheet. Doing the top bunk (we have 2 of those) always is hard.

 

Then you also need to add in all the interruptions from the children and other things and it can take a while altogether.

 

I don't wash them as often as I would maybe like (between clothes and towels and miscellaneous, the poor washer/dryer needs a break), but they do get washed when accidents occur. Most of my trouble with doing them isn't necessarily the complete time it takes but the amount of the day is spent trying not to forget about them, inevitably forgetting and then putting them on without cursing at the mattress protectors. :D

[Rhonda in TX]

There are lots and lots of chores that take very little time that people don't get around to doing. I hate to mop my floor. Really, really hate it. It only takes me 10 minutes to do it, once I get around to it, yet I still put it off.

[Mary H]

I need some feed back about what everybody else does. I did explain in my other post why i posted the pole. My dh does want the sheets changed more than I change them and I was wondering whan everybody else changed theirs.

 

Mary H

[Karenciavo]

I think this is the issue for me.

 

Take sheets off DS's bed.

Throw in wash (can only fit on bed's worth at a time).

After schooling, remember them.

Throw in dryer.

Forget about them until bedtime.

Scramble really quickly to put them on the bed before DS goes to bed. :eek:

Wrestle with a sheet that is slightly too small for those big pillow top mattresses.

Finally finish. :D

 

Get a call from DS 40 minutes after bedtime that he opened his sippy cup and spilled water all over his bed. :(

 

Take sheets off DS's bed.

 

And that is only ONE Of them. So all I was saying it that sometimes I don't get all the beds changed everyweek. And if any one bed is going to go 2 weeks instead of one, it'll be mine. LOL. Life just happens.

 

Word. :cool:

[JudoMom]

We have 6 beds. 1 king, 1 full, 2 twins, 1 toddler, and 1 crib. That means 7 people are living in this house, wearing clothes and using towels. I already do 7-10 loads of laundry a week, without counting bedding. If I washed bedding weekly, that would be an additional 3-4 loads a week. I just don't have time in between everything else required of me to run the house, and when I do have time to do laundry, I place underwear, towels, and other clothing at the top of the laundry list. This also means that the washer and dryer are often busy, too :D.

[T Baer]

DS has a loft bed and changing the sheets is not an easy thing, esp if you have a bad back. Also if you have a mattress cover, which DS does (allergy) then it's even more of a challenge. Then trying to get the mattress back up into the bed..

[DIY-DY]

My x-mil used to wash and iron all the linens on all the beds twice a week. She also mopped daily, vacuumed twice a day, and cleaned all her windows and ceiling fans weekly, at least. Those were her priorities. They were important to her. She was mortified to learn her newly married daughter (not I) only washed the sheets when it was, erm, obvious they needed it. ;) (My current mil washes sheets when she knows you're coming to visit. I like her a lot.)

 

For me, well, I've never really thought about it. I wash what needs washing when it needs it. Ceiling fans, less often. :) I try to keep the number of loads I do to 7-9 per week. With six people, sometimes that takes a little creative organizing. I'd rather organize that than do 12 loads a week. Priorities.

 

My priorities? Fresh baked bread makes my husband make wonderful noises at the supper table. That's a prioritiy for me. A decluttered home makes me feel like the house is working for me, rather than the other way around. That's a priority for me. Clean undies? Major priority! Fresh sheets? Eh, not so much. They don't get gross, according to my standards, but they don't get a regularly scheduled attention to detail, either. I'm just coming out of the age of nighttime accidents, projectile vomiting, and what-on-earth-is-that-stuck-to-your-pillowcase. I'm enjoying the reprieve. That, while not necessarily a priority, is rather nice.

 

So, when people say they don't have time for this or for that, I filter it through my experience and read it as, "this isn't one of my top priorities. i have other things i'd rather be doing" - and I can definitely appreciate that. Maybe that filter would help it make more sense to you, too?

dy

[Daisy]

You know I will also mention that we ALL shower BEFORE bed. So none of us is going to bed with sticky sweaty bodies. I think that has to count for something. If you consistently shower in the morning, then yep, I can see changing the sheets far more often.

[MoniMoni]

For me, well, I've never really thought about it. I wash what needs washing when it needs it. Ceiling fans, less often. :) I try to keep the number of loads I do to 7-9 per week. With six people, sometimes that takes a little creative organizing. I'd rather organize that than do 12 loads a week. Priorities.

 

My priorities? Fresh baked bread makes my husband make wonderful noises at the supper table. That's a prioritiy for me. A decluttered home makes me feel like the house is working for me, rather than the other way around. That's a priority for me. Clean undies? Major priority! Fresh sheets? Eh, not so much.

dy

 

 

I knew I liked you :) I didn't answer the first poll, but I change the sheets once a week except when I don't. I do change pillow cases often. Confession: I am struggling with the clutter. I am considering hiring a professional organizer. This house is not working for me... Priorities...Priorities... Clean undies, I'm there... Trying to make a schedule... Ug...

 

I think I can. I think I can. (I'll get back to you.)

[Needleroozer]

I think this is the issue for me.

 

Take sheets off DS's bed.

Throw in wash (can only fit on bed's worth at a time).

After schooling, remember them.

Throw in dryer.

Forget about them until bedtime.

Scramble really quickly to put them on the bed before DS goes to bed. :eek:

Wrestle with a sheet that is slightly too small for those big pillow top mattresses.

Finally finish. :D

 

Get a call from DS 40 minutes after bedtime that he opened his sippy cup and spilled water all over his bed. :(

 

Take sheets off DS's bed.

 

And that is only ONE Of them. So all I was saying it that sometimes I don't get all the beds changed everyweek. And if any one bed is going to go 2 weeks instead of one, it'll be mine. LOL. Life just happens.

 

Yup!:o Add in a bad back or neck injury, a sprinkle of procrastination, and the inability to ever seem to tame the laundry monster, and that is all the explaination you need!

[Jackie in AR]

I used to iron them but rarely do now . . .

 

Oh my stars. Please don't ever drop in on me unexpectedly. :o

[GreenKitty]

I feel like I must be missing some essential step of bed sheet changing, lol. There a lot of things I feel I don't do well because time is short. Bills. Finances. Cooking from scratch. Ironing. Mopping floors.

 

But changing sheets seems to quick and easy. You pull off the old, throw them in the washer and then dryer, and put them back on. I used to iron them but rarely do now, it I think actual work time is maybe 10 minutes. I don't understand why people think they don't have time. Not that they shouldn't change them as much as little as they want, of course. I'm not criticizing. But the thread is strange to me. I definitely don't have time to make homemade bread all the time. But sheet changing?

 

Well....I have no problems changing them...being as I do it every other day!! I did not realize that I was the only one:confused:

 

And yes, there are piles of stuffed animals that by all means MUST be put back on, in order as they were before, and at all times will forever be :)

[j.griff]

How high is your loft bed? 13yod wants a loft bed, ds wants a loft bed, and the 2 youngest are likely getting a bunk bed when we move. DH and I were planning on building the beds, but I"ve been thinking about the issue of making the beds. I guess it's just somethign I'll have to deal with, in exchange for having room for their junk in their rooms. :-)

[Needleroozer]

My x-mil used to wash and iron all the linens on all the beds twice a week. She also mopped daily, vacuumed twice a day, and cleaned all her windows and ceiling fans weekly, at least. Those were her priorities. They were important to her.

:eek:Eek! That scares me!

And I just don't measure up to that!

[MomofSeven]

I have two sets of bunkbeds and a crib...oh how I wish it added up to about 10 min. Those stinkers take a long time and effort to make. I inevitably end up in a sweat. lol.

[Robyn]

I would change them far more often if I didn't have a coin-op washer/dryer in my apartment complex. It gets pricey, esp since none of the sheets, blankets, or the duvet for my king size bed dry in one cycle. I usually end up draping them all over the place. That drives me crazy, though my toddler thinks it is great fun.;) I stick to a couple of times a month here.

[sdWTMer]

My sheets are wrinkle-y but man, they still feel good! :D

 

I also have 2 sets of bunkbeds as well and there not easy to do, especially when there is not enough room to squeeze your hand in to put the sheet under the bed! Oy. Then, you end up having to lift the mattress up and when they're older ones they can be soooo heavy!

[LauraQ]

Daisey, your description of how you *forget* things repeatedly I think is key to some of us not liking certain chores. I would much rather do a chore that takes 30 minute in one chunk than a chore that I have to do in 3 or 4 2-minute chunks because, inevitably, the 2nd 2-minute chunk will not get done on time. LOL! Some of us (me me me!!) are just too ADD to do sheets with any sort of consistency.

 

For instance, if I get behind on laundry, I would rather go to a laundromat rather than wash at home because it saves me time. If I try to do more than 2 loads a day, it won't get done because even though the cycle only takes 30-45 minutes, it takes me sometimes *hours* to remember to rotate the clothes.

[JudoMom]

Yep. I had to build it into my day. I set it to wash overnight. I flip before I start my day. I fluff and fold when I make lunch. Then I have the boys put it away when the stacks start tipping over. It helps that my laundry room is off of the kitchen. Even with this built in, I still forget sometimes :rolleyes:. And if I have to do more than 1 load a day---forget about it!

[Excelsior! Academy]

Wow! Some of you impress me. Washing every other day? You are superwoman!

 

To the MIL who vacuumed 2x, mopped 2x, ironed sheets. Oh, my!

 

I do bathe the kiddos daily, even with eczema. We just eat and scrub with lots of oatmeal. Sheets get changed at least every 2 weeks in the winter more in the summer.:cool:

[melissel]

There are lots and lots of chores that take very little time that people don't get around to doing. I hate to mop my floor. Really, really hate it. It only takes me 10 minutes to do it, once I get around to it, yet I still put it off.

 

Yes, this. There are a million things I'd like to do more often, many of which only take 10 or 15 minutes. All added up...well, lets just say there are not enough hours in my days lately.

 

Plus, my kids are small. They don't sweat much, or get that dirty (my toddler practically has a panic attack if her hands have yogurt on them, for example) most of the year. They wear long pajamas. We have air conditioning. Just how dirty are their sheets actually getting? When I wash them and put them back on the bed, they look and smell exactly the same as before. Plus, they both have those flingin' flangin' daybeds--I too am cursing and sweating by the time I'm done changing those beds :mad:

 

Now, our bed...that's a different story. I'd change our bed every week if I could, but it just always seems like the very laaaaaast priority, since it only affects us.

 

What I truly don't understand? WHY on earth would one IRON linens? Even the wrinkliest of our sheets look completely normal after a day or so on the bed, and when they get put on and they're fresh and smooth, they have people-created wrinkles by the next morning. And who's looking anyway? When guests come here, my bed is always made. I always feel like I'm the one who must be missing something when I hear people talking about ironing linens (and cloth diapers, I used to come across that on diapering boards when we were cloth diapering).

 

Is there some compelling reason one must iron linens?

[Mx5]

I feel like I must be missing some essential step of bed sheet changing, lol. There a lot of things I feel I don't do well because time is short. Bills. Finances. Cooking from scratch. Ironing. Mopping floors.

 

But changing sheets seems to quick and easy. You pull off the old, throw them in the washer and then dryer, and put them back on. I used to iron them but rarely do now, it I think actual work time is maybe 10 minutes. I don't understand why people think they don't have time. Not that they shouldn't change them as much as little as they want, of course. I'm not criticizing. But the thread is strange to me. I definitely don't have time to make homemade bread all the time. But sheet changing?

 

We have 5 beds, and even without washing sheets we do 3 loads of laundry per day, 6 days a week. That's the big issue for me.

[Mx5]

I need some feed back about what everybody else does. I did explain in my other post why i posted the pole. My dh does want the sheets changed more than I change them and I was wondering whan everybody else changed theirs.

 

Mary H

 

If it meant that much to my hubby, I'd do it just to do something nice for my sweetie. However, I wouldn't be doing it all the time for my 5 kids. :D

[Mx5]

My x-mil used to wash and iron all the linens on all the beds twice a week. She also mopped daily, vacuumed twice a day, and cleaned all her windows and ceiling fans weekly, at least. Those were her priorities. They were important to her. She was mortified to learn her newly married daughter (not I) only washed the sheets when it was, erm, obvious they needed it. ;) (My current mil washes sheets when she knows you're coming to visit. I like her a lot.)

 

 

My bet is your x-mil didn't homeschool a house full of kids. heheeh

[Ellie]

I feel like I must be missing some essential step of bed sheet changing, lol. There a lot of things I feel I don't do well because time is short. Bills. Finances. Cooking from scratch. Ironing. Mopping floors.

 

But changing sheets seems to quick and easy. You pull off the old, throw them in the washer and then dryer, and put them back on. I used to iron them but rarely do now, it I think actual work time is maybe 10 minutes. I don't understand why people think they don't have time. Not that they shouldn't change them as much as little as they want, of course. I'm not criticizing. But the thread is strange to me. I definitely don't have time to make homemade bread all the time. But sheet changing?

 

It used to be trickier for me when I had only one set of sheets per bed. However, it's amazing what happens when you have at least two sets per bed (I have three for mine).

 

1. Take one set off and put in laundry.

 

2. Put clean set on bed.

 

3. Done.

[kokotg]

I definitely don't have time to make homemade bread all the time. But sheet changing?

 

now, see, I make homemade bread all the time (without a breadmaker. I knead it by hand and everything), but I am, ahem, not so great about changing sheets. I enjoy baking more, and I'd rather have homemade bread than new sheets every few days, so that's just how it works out. I would have time to change sheets if I cared more. Like when I had new babies and diapers and breasts were leaking on my sheets every night, I somehow found the time ;)

[sdWTMer]

if my dh requested it as such. I would find some way to accommodate him, because I do love him and he works hard so that I can stay home.

[MoniMoni]

It used to be trickier for me when I had only one set of sheets per bed. However, it's amazing what happens when you have at least two sets per bed (I have three for mine).

 

 

 

Aaakkk! Ellie, I thought you were putting 2-3 sets on at the same time! and in that vein, I thought you were making me look really bad! Whew! Mental image of the effort and time involved made me tired! (I get it now.) :o

[PariSarah]

There a lot of things I feel I don't do well because time is short. Bills. Finances. Cooking from scratch. Ironing. Mopping floors.

 

 

I think this is the crux of the matter: there's not enough time in the day to do everything, so people will choose what's most important or urgent to them. Fresh sheets are lower on my list than toilets, cooking from scratch, the garden, and anything urgent or gross (spills, mold, bodily fluids), but higher than tubs, bath mats, and orderly closets. I don't think ironing is even on my list. It's not a matter of time so much as time + feelings + urgency.

 

Everybody's different, I guess. I just couldn't choose clean sheets + Rice-a-Roni over week-old sheets + homemade soup, but Rice-a-Roni seems to sell just fine, so I imagine other people think differently.

 

*shrug*

[melissel]

I don't think ironing is even on my list.

 

LOL! Me either. If it is, it's right down at the bottom with dusting (knick-knacks are my nemesis). Since I discovered the trick of throwing wrinkly clothes back in the dryer with a wet sock, I've been a much happier woman!

[Ellie]

Aaakkk! Ellie, I thought you were putting 2-3 sets on at the same time! and in that vein, I thought you were making me look really bad! Whew! Mental image of the effort and time involved made me tired! (I get it now.) :o

 

I guess I didn't 'splain myself well enough, did I? My bad!

[Ellie]

I would change them far more often if I didn't have a coin-op washer/dryer in my apartment complex. It gets pricey, esp since none of the sheets, blankets, or the duvet for my king size bed dry in one cycle. I usually end up draping them all over the place. That drives me crazy, though my toddler thinks it is great fun.;) I stick to a couple of times a month here.

 

Not having your own washer and dryer really puts a crimp in your laundry routine :-o

[Jenn in Mo]

Yup - not a 10 minute job here. Beyond the ADD/Procrastination aspect, it takes forever to get the boys' bunkbeds made. They make their beds daily, but getting the sheets on there is a chore and half. The fitted sheet is fine, but the top sheet - Oy! It is just too big. If I don't put it on and get it tucked in just right, it is hard for the boys to get their beds made neatly each morning. If I get it fit just so, it's a breeze for them every day. But it takes me a good 10 min. per bed just to put the sheets on.

 

Also, with six of us, it takes several loads of laundry to get it all washed and dried. I wash pillowcases weekly, but sheets biweekly. Sometimes 3 weeks. :o But we bathe at night! Does that help? I'm not skanky - honest!

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

 

What I truly don't understand? WHY on earth would one IRON linens? Even the wrinkliest of our sheets look completely normal after a day or so on the bed, and when they get put on and they're fresh and smooth, they have people-created wrinkles by the next morning. And who's looking anyway? When guests come here, my bed is always made. I always feel like I'm the one who must be missing something when I hear people talking about ironing linens (and cloth diapers, I used to come across that on diapering boards when we were cloth diapering).

 

Is there some compelling reason one must iron linens?

 

Ok, ironing diapers is beyond the pale (:D), but I know why SOME people iron linens.

 

Ironed linens store smaller than wrinkle-y ones. You can fold them tighter and they will actually all fit on your shelves (maybe) if you have limited storage space.

 

But ironing them just to put them on the bed? I don't get that either. It's probably like cutting the ends off the ham before putting it in the oven. It's what mom did, and what gramma did. But gramma did it because she didn't have a pan big enough to hold a whole ham!

[Mom2GirlsTX]

ironing! please, this is a polite forum, lets not use use vulgar language...:p

Oh, sorry, I guess it is only me who sees ironing as bad language...;)

I'm waiting for wrinkled clothes to be in style, don't suppose there is much chance of that!

As far as sheets, well, I change them once a week because I keep 2 or 3 sets for each bed, so I just pull out a clean set and put on just as soon as I pull off the dirty ones. If I don't do it right then, well, it will be 9:00 at night I'm facing a naked bed, and I don't like facing a naked bed at 9:00...:eek:

[Tess in the Burbs]

I hate putting sheets on the kids beds. I don't know if it's the mattress or what, but I hate it. My bed requires too people to put sheets on b/c it's such a thick mattress the sheet won't stay on the corner when I go to do the other one.

 

We change every other week most of the time. I personally LOVE the feeling of new sheets. I think it would never get done in this house unless a kid peed on the bed or I do it ;-)

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

ironing! please, this is a polite forum, lets not use use vulgar language...:p

Oh, sorry, I guess it is only me who sees ironing as bad language...;)

I'm waiting for wrinkled clothes to be in style, don't suppose there is much chance of that!

As far as sheets, well, I change them once a week because I keep 2 or 3 sets for each bed, so I just pull out a clean set and put on just as soon as I pull off the dirty ones. If I don't do it right then, well, it will be 9:00 at night I'm facing a naked bed, and I don't like facing a naked bed at 9:00...:eek:

 

I joke that one reason I married my dh is that my MIL figures if God had wanted her to iron, he wouldn't have given her permanent press clothing. :D

[sdWTMer]

I joke that one reason I married my dh is that my MIL figures if God had wanted her to iron, he wouldn't have given her permanent press clothing.

 

Oh my! That is sooooooo funny! :D

[Plaid Dad]

We have a small washer, and although ee have only two beds, ours (the parents') is a king. One sheet takes up the whole washer drum. If we want to wash the duvet cover, our bed alone takes three full cycles to wash and dry - four if we're doing the mattress cover, too. I'm washing bedclothes today, and it will take me about eight hours from stripping the beds to putting on the last duvet cover. :mad:

[DIY-DY]

My bet is your x-mil didn't homeschool a house full of kids. heheeh

 

She did work FT, managing a bar, and raised the three kids. Her DH was the most laid back guy you could ever meet - just a delightful couple, all around. She was/is a truly fantastic woman. And she didn't look down on anybody for doing things differently (except, perhaps, the aforementioned DD - but in her words, "She wasn't RAISED like that!" ROFL. It still makes me chuckle.)

 

The happiest I've ever seen her was when one of her grand-daughters (3yo at the time) was walking through Sears and stopped to admire a vacuum. The little one said, "Oh, gwandma! What a wonderful vacuum! I'd like 'dis for my birfday!" The gd's mother and I just about choked on our sodas, but xmil just glowed for weeks after that! lol.

[Tia in Wa]

I unfortunately live in an apartment w/o a washer so I have to drag them down to the laundry room. In the laundry room live freakishly small washers with a huge appetite for quarters. I still change the sheets every few days.

I would love to convince my dogs that they are not people and do not belong in bed. Any ideas?