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rockybird

How often do you change your sheets?

rockybird
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago

I was at RH today putting in an order for some sheets that are on sale. I mentioned that I already have three sets of sheets for one person and a guest room and it was probably silly to have so many sheets, but since I change them every 3-4 days they get washed a lot. My friend and the salesperson were utterly flabbergasted that I change them this much.

I change them before I got to work in the AM. I work a lot of hours and coming home from work to a made bed with clean sheets always makes me feel good.

Also, do you all keep one set of sheets for the guest bed, even if it is the same size as the master bed? I use the same sets as i sleep on, but wash them on the 2 hour sanitize cycle before and after guest use. I had a new set for the guest room, but they were so new and crisp looking that I broke down and used them for myself.

Comments (90)

  • Butternut
    8 years ago

    The housekeeper comes once a week, so that is when sheets get changed. We don't always make the bed daily. My DH is an awful cover-hogger and needs his feet out of the covers to sleep, so he always pulls the top sheet out of the bottom of the bed and it unzips all the way to my side, which I hate. I usually attempt to tuck it back in the next night but it always comes out again. I hate sleeping on bunchy sheets, but don't have a choice really if I want to keep my DH. Good thing he's cute :)

    rockybird thanked Butternut
  • busybee3
    8 years ago

    mine too, butternut! :/

    rockybird thanked busybee3
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  • skibby (zone 4 Vermont)
    8 years ago

    Stealing 'Glorious Bed Night'. Perfect description!

    rockybird thanked skibby (zone 4 Vermont)
  • pippiep
    8 years ago

    Once a week, but had to train myself to do it! (It's been a few years now, so it's set in.) It used to be months between washings...

    I have separate set(s) for the guest bed. I have two sets for my bed; I put the already-laundered set on my bed the day I take the sheets off to wash. I don't like the smell sheets get after sitting for weeks unused.

    We have two linen closets now, so I keep my bedroom stuff in one (towels, sheets, blankets that I don't like to share), and all the rest in the other.

    rockybird thanked pippiep
  • rockybird
    Original Author
    8 years ago

    Thanks guys! This sure makes me feel better that many people would do it more often if they had the time. I also shower before bed and in the AM before work, But I still like my clean sheets twice a week. I do not have a cleaning service because, like lisad82, I have issues. I had one service scratch my new chrome fixtures and sink. I had another one, recommended by a neighbor, who did her whole family's laundry in my washing machine!


  • sjhockeyfan325
    8 years ago

    Once a week. Although I do love to get into bed on clean-sheets night (most often Sunday), I have no time for changing sheets during the week. We do make the bed every morning. (Different sheets for guest beds - I'm glad they're a different size, because I'd feel really persnickety if I refused to share "my" sheets with the guest bed otherwise, but I would)

    rockybird thanked sjhockeyfan325
  • Lisa G
    8 years ago

    Once a week and we shower at night because we exercise in the evening. I'll was them more often if there's a need. We don't have a guest bedroom yet but will when our house is done and We'll have separate sheets for it.

    rockybird thanked Lisa G
  • pamghatten
    8 years ago

    Once a week, usually on Sunday also ... other beds in the house are smaller than my bed, so separate sheet sets. Shower in the morning, so I'm fresh for work .. helps me wake up at 5 am.

    rockybird thanked pamghatten
  • tishtoshnm Zone 6/NM
    8 years ago

    We are also once-a-weekers. Before making the bed, we pull the sheets down to give them a chance to air out. If I lived in a more humid climate, I might be inclined to do it more often but would feel terrible about the water consumption. I love ironed sheets but not enough to put forth the effort to do the ironing.

    rockybird thanked tishtoshnm Zone 6/NM
  • runninginplace
    8 years ago

    I also change my sheets weekly, but nobody has mentioned the rest of the bedding. Sheet change day is Saturday and on the first Saturday of each month I also strip the bed completely to wash all the pillow shams ( no head touches them), the bedspread and the mattress pad. Do other people wash those separately or is that included in the sheet washing? I don't quite know if I'm obsessively clean by washing everything monthly or a filthy pig by only washing everything monthly :)

    Also, I have never washed a pillow. I keep my pillows always with a zippered cover and then the pillow case (both of which get washed weekly), but never wash the actual pillows...have to confess I never even thought of doing that!

    I iron my top sheet because like others have said it's such a lovely little luxury. Do it on the ironing board along with the rest of my ironing so it's not too onerous.

    I read in that housekeeping manual that was popular a few years ago that it's good to let bedding air a bit before making the bed, so I do that. My bed is made daily though, I never ever leave a bed unmade.

    rockybird thanked runninginplace
  • sjhockeyfan325
    8 years ago

    Do it on the ironing board along with the rest of my ironing so it's not too onerous.

    I had to laugh - there is no "rest of my ironing" in my house. I don't iron, period. I might take out the iron if I'm headed somewhere and a particular item has a wrinkle in it - but that hasn't happened in the 3 years I've lived in this condo (hmmm, do I even have an iron - not really sure!!)

    rockybird thanked sjhockeyfan325
  • artemis_ma
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    My sheets are every two weeks, and I have three sets for myself, My guest sheets are different sheets (different color scheme in that room).

    I have never ironed a sheet in my life. In fact, I don't even own an iron. I hang my clothing up as soon as it comes out of the dryer (unless I'm hanging stuff outside to dry).

    When my new house has its C of O, and I can move up there part time, the guest bed will continue to use those sheets even though they won't match that room. That's because the guest bed will move up, while my master bed will stay down here until this place sells. Once it sells, the rest of my furniture and everything moves up north, and I will retire those sheets, and buy guest sheets that match that room, just for that room.

    Both beds I own are queen sized. And it is just me and the cats as regular occupants here (and the cats usually don't sleep with me, as they prefer to be nocturnal, and I don't). There is no "sanitize" cycle on my 25-year-old washing machine.

    PS: on the very few occasions I had clothing that absolutely seemed to require ironing no matter how fast I got to the finished dryer load -- I never wore the stuff again, and eventually it no longer fit anyway. Goodwill. Or, yardwork garb.

    rockybird thanked artemis_ma
  • User
    8 years ago

    Once a week. Never iron. Take the comforters and large blankets to the laundromat once or twice a year.

    rockybird thanked User
  • busybee3
    8 years ago

    i wash our down pillows 2-3 x's/yr...

    i wash the mattress pad, comforter and shams, etc every month or 2... i would wash the comforter more often if we let our dogs on the bed!!! (but, we don't!)

    rockybird thanked busybee3
  • User
    8 years ago

    We sleep with dogs, too ;-)

    rockybird thanked User
  • Bumblebeez SC Zone 7
    8 years ago

    I read in that housekeeping manual that was popular a few years ago that
    it's good to let bedding air a bit before making the bed, so I do that.

    I do that too, every once in awhile, not make the bed, for my health. It's not a planned item though.

    rockybird thanked Bumblebeez SC Zone 7
  • OutsidePlaying
    8 years ago

    Linelle, the reason for using the sanitize cycle for some of us is dust mite allergies. It is also recommended to pull the bedding back and let the bedding/sheets air out a bit before making up the bed. You can't ever totally get rid of dust mites but these are a couple of the mitigation methods. I have a slight sensitivity so we encased our mattress, box spring and pillows with the dust-mite-proof cases.

    rockybird thanked OutsidePlaying
  • cpathens2
    8 years ago

    I wash the master sheets once a week, along with the top blanket. The mattress pad and inside pillow covers are washed maybe once a month. The only sheets I iron are the expensive ones on the guest bed that the clerk talked me into getting. They wrinkle the most of any sheet I've ever owned.

    rockybird thanked cpathens2
  • runninginplace
    8 years ago

    "I had to laugh - there is no "rest of my ironing" in my house. I don't iron, period. I might take out the iron if I'm headed somewhere and a particular item has a wrinkle in it - but that hasn't happened in the 3 years I've lived in this condo (hmmm, do I even have an iron - not really sure!!)"

    SJ, I live in Miami so a large percentage of what I wear is 100% cotton for both work and play attire, so ironing is just something that comes with the humid sticky territory. I set up the iron in front of my tv and do it while I watch something mindless, so it's not too bad.

    Bumblebeez, I always make the bed, just not immediately/as soon as I get out. I air it while I'm having breakfast and getting dressed, then it's one of the last chores before I start my day. It would bother me to get into an unmade bed at the end of a day, not to mention it would bother me to SEE an unmade bed during the day LOL.

    rockybird thanked runninginplace
  • User
    8 years ago

    I like white sheets. I have our queen bed and a guest queen bed. I have three sets of white sheets. One stays on the guest bed (until there is a guest and then I change the sheets) and the other two are alternated for our bed. I don't like to wash and put back on (can't stand an unmade bed) so I wash and put away. I change our sheets every Monday. I, too, love going to bed on clean sheets. If I were rich and had a maid, I would have them changed daily!

    rockybird thanked User
  • Rudebekia
    8 years ago

    Once a week for me, mainly for cat hair it seems. But I, too, love "clean sheet and jammy day! Pillows and comforter cover as needed (a couple times/year?). I've also never ironed a sheet in my life and never will. I mainly use the cozy T-shirt type sheets that don't need ironing anyway.

    rockybird thanked Rudebekia
  • lazy_gardens
    8 years ago

    Guest room is a feline-free zone, so it has its own bedding.

    I change sheets a minimum of once a week, more often in hot weather or if someone is ill. Two sets of flannels and two sets of percale.

    And before leaving on a trip, because coming back to a tidy house and clean sheets is awesome!

    rockybird thanked lazy_gardens
  • sjhockeyfan325
    8 years ago

    running, I'd get used to wearing wrinkled clothes LOL

    rockybird thanked sjhockeyfan325
  • JustDoIt
    8 years ago

    Once per week. I read once if you are not good at housekeeping, which I'm not, than one method to keep up with things is to have one set of sheets. Wash and immediately put back on the bed. This truly works. Never looking at a stack of sheets to fold.

    rockybird thanked JustDoIt
  • zorroslw1
    8 years ago

    Depends, they get washed more often than not.

    rockybird thanked zorroslw1
  • ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    We've had a drought for the last four years and the air is dry here so it's every two weeks. I've even stopping showering every day since I work from home in order to save water, just do a thorough wash in between, and I just don't perspire. Frankly I think some people go a little crazy with the constant showering and changing of bed sheets, but I've never lived in a humid climate, and I think that must make a huge difference. Here the mantra is conserve all the water you can. Besides, I need it for my garden.

    rockybird thanked ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
  • rockybird
    Original Author
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Thank you for all the responses! I guess I am in the minority, changing them 2x a week.

    I wanted to add my own pet in a bed. Scout is my rescue bird kept in a tiny cage with a broken wing that I found on craigslist. She loves to roll on her side and snuggle next to me while sucking on her foot. I let her on the duvet at night before I go to bed. She thinks this is SO special. She is a good bird and does not go potty on the bed (or in her sleeping cage for that matter!).

  • Errant_gw
    8 years ago

    My location and habits are about the same as Ingrid's. I do air the the bed for about an hour each morning before making it.

    i keep guest linens separated from ours.

    rockybird thanked Errant_gw
  • Bumblebeez SC Zone 7
    8 years ago

    I like to air the bed all day sometimes.

    rockybird thanked Bumblebeez SC Zone 7
  • User
    8 years ago

    rockybird- your little bird is so adorable!

    rockybird thanked User
  • rockybird
    Original Author
    8 years ago

    @mimipadv thank you! She is so great! I just totally love her!

    I dont let the birds on the sheets, but they are so well behaved that I wouldnt have a problem with it. Scout's special time is at night on the duvet. She expects this time with me and is so excited when she sees that is where I am taking her. She looks so cute running across the bed shaking her little tail in happiness. Then she runs over climbs on me and gives me kisses. :)

  • User
    8 years ago

    Ingrid, you sound like my sister (also in S. CA). She foregoes daily showers in order to have water for a few things in the yard.

    rockybird thanked User
  • Bunny
    8 years ago

    Scout is adorable. I love how she sucks her foot. Birds are so funny. We used to have a cockatiel and I was always amazed by all the personality in that little brain.

    rockybird thanked Bunny
  • sprtphntc7a
    8 years ago

    i change ours every 10 days or so. i wait till we get a nice crisp day and hang our comforter and pillows on the clothsline and let them air all day. wash the sheets and make bed at night. i only have one set of flannel sheets for the winter so i wash and remake the bed with the same sheets. i use them till they are worn and then just buy a new pair. saves storage space. i wash the mattress pad and pillows every three months or so. i have a winter comforter and a summer quilt. kitty sleeps with us every night. i vacuum the comforter/quilt every week. i don't iron sheets or have a guest bed. DH showers every night as do i, so we are always clean when we get in. It is the best in the dead of winter when everything smells so clean and fresh!!! best night's sleep ever. summer not so great but still air out if its not humid....

    rockybird, love Scout, so cute that she gets so excited!!!!

    rockybird thanked sprtphntc7a
  • monicakm_gw
    8 years ago

    If I had maid service, they'd be changed everyday! Nothing better than to slip into fresh, tightly fitted sheets :) But it's not a perfect world. I don't have maid service but what I do have is a debilitating back (stenosis, sciatica and bulging discs). I wish I could say they got changed once a week. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. We have no pets in the house, I don't work and we bath at night. Still, I'd like to be able to change them once a week (or EVERY day if someone was in charge) :)

    rockybird thanked monicakm_gw
  • maire_cate
    8 years ago

    Twice a week. When I had a full house with all 5 bedrooms occupied I changed the sheets once a week and laundered the mattress pads and pillow protectors monthly.

    Now that it's just the 2 of us I love having fresh sheets so I usually change them every 3 to 4 days. I have 6 sets of King for our bedroom and the other rooms are Queen size. Years ago my MIL worked in a department store and every Christmas she gave us a new set of Wamsutta percale sheets for Christmas. Some of them are over 25 years old and I've replaced the elastic but they're in surprisingly great condition.

    I always let the bed air for an hour or two before making it - I swear DH is a heat machine and his side of the bed is always slightly damp.

    Maire


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  • Beverly Hills
    8 years ago

    Mine, too! I put double pillowcases on the pillows on his side.

    rockybird thanked Beverly Hills
  • homepro01
    8 years ago

    Twice a week or weekly. I have about 12 king sized flat sheets that fit in all the beds in the house (two queens and one king). I do iron my sheets because ironing keeps them fresh longer. I have a Rotary iron that makes fast work of it. I also use pillow covers that get changed weekly. Mattress pads are cleaned monthly. Pillows are sent out for cleaning twice a year. Duvet covers are changed every two weeks. No pets in the house. I use the sanitary cycle for my sheets because most of them are white sheets and it keeps them white without the use of bleach.

    Good luck!

    rockybird thanked homepro01
  • JennaVaNowSC
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    In the winter, wash sheets weekly , usually friday which is my main cleaning day. Sometimes twice a week....the dreaded night sweats and hot flashes, you know! Summertime, twice weekly. wash the blankets monthly, don't wash pillows but I do wash the zippered covers I keep on them under the pillowcases, weekly. I replace my bed pillows regularly. Really love climbing into bed on fresh sheets......joke with dh that when he puts me in the nursing home, to make suee I get clean sheets weekly at least!! JK, not anywhere near nursing home time ...I am a young 65!!! Haha

    Both beds are queen size but do not share sheets between master and guest room. I dont actually keep sheets on guest bed until guest are on the way. always wash uest room mattress pad after guests leave. I also re-wash the already clean guest linens including towels right before our guests arrive. DH thinks that is crazy but since we don't have visitors but every few months, I feel that the stuff needs freshening.

    rockybird thanked JennaVaNowSC
  • sprtphntc7a
    8 years ago

    jennava19, instead of re-washing clean towels & sheets before guests arrive., try just putting them in dryer on"fluff" cycle with a fabric softener sheet to re-fresh. saves time, water & $$. i totally understand your idea though, b/c i feel the same way :)

    rockybird thanked sprtphntc7a
  • gardener123
    8 years ago

    I'm in the once a week camp.

    I'm always tempted to try ironing the sheets, but have an issue with the clean sheets hanging off the ironing board and dragging on the floor...I'm not much of an ironer, so I imagine there is a trick to that that I haven't figured out yet. The burrito duvet technique is enough fun for sheet changing day!

    rockybird thanked gardener123
  • maire_cate
    8 years ago

    Gardener - I have ironed sheets a few times and I put the ironing board next to the bed while ironing. That way I could lay the sheet on the bed and just rotate it on the ironing board. That was in my younger days when I was wild and crazy! lol

    rockybird thanked maire_cate
  • zorroslw1
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    If freshening the sheets and towels also throw in a damp/wet towel. It will create steam and get the wrinkles out. Would need it on the heat cycle for a few minutes, remove damp towel and put it on fluff.

    rockybird thanked zorroslw1
  • petalique
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Up until recently our sheets were flown to Iceland where they were sanitized in a 170 deg. F geothermal pool, dried in glacial air, pressed with a lava mangle, then flown back to us.

    That got expensive three times a week. Nowadays we wash them for an hour, spin them out and dry them in a hot oven before hanging them outside between two birch trees. Occasionally we'll let them sit next to the reactor for an hour.

    My mom used to dry sheets (all clothes, laundry) outdoors -- even in icy, windy January. The sheets and towels would be as stiff as boards until they "dried". They would be fragrant of fresh air and saltwater cove. Sometimes they would stay overnight on the pulley line.

    One spring morning we awoke to the bay and cove smelling of smelts. Of course the laundry on the line was redolent of smelts as well. Sound awful, but, although I wouldn't want daily laundry smelling of them, smelts don't smell fishy at all (neither does fresh fish, btw). They actually have a very clean fragrance. Smelts were all over the nearby ledges and shore -- stranded there when the tide went out.

    Pogies in July? That's another matter entirely.

    I love the bird and dog/s in the bed.

    rockybird thanked petalique
  • motherof3sons
    8 years ago

    Sheets are washed weekly with bleach in hot water on the sanitize cycle. Once dried they go back on the bed. We are picky about sheets and have found only one brand so far that we like. Mattress pad and comforter are washed once a month along with blankets in the winter. Sometimes I use a scented spray on the sheets - especially during the winter months. Guest rooms have their own sheets and towels.

    Love sleeping on ironed sheets! If ambitious I iron the pillowcases. When I was a kid, Mom had a lady that did the ironing. We had a water bottle with a sprinkle head to dampen our clothes and bedding. We rolled the items and put them in a wooden clothes basket with wire handles. Oh the memories.

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  • User
    8 years ago

    I remember sprinkle and roll. Hated ironed pillowcases. Probably why I don't like sleeping in hotels.

    rockybird thanked User
  • gsciencechick
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Aim for once a week, but since both DH and I had colds, we've changed more often lately.

    Sometimes we go to two weeks.

    There was one producer recently on the Howard Stern show who didn't change his sheets for a year, yes, a year. Now he understands the importance of laundering sheets. I think he took them to a laundry and purchased an additional set to swap out.

    I used to love to help my mom iron the sheets when I was at home. We'd hang them outside and they would smell so fresh.

    rockybird thanked gsciencechick
  • tinam61
    8 years ago

    My mom and grandmother had an ironing lady too - who did the sprinkle thing. I don't remember if she ironed our sheets. I do wash our blankets weekly too and pillow covers (inner cases). Mattress pad, not as often - probably monthly. Honestly, I don't feel like our sheets are that dirty - I don't like the smell of bleach, plus I don't use alot of white sheets. I limit the amount of bleach I use period (along with certain other cleaners). Our top covers are washed/dry-cleaned only occasionally as we do not use them to cover up with.

    rockybird thanked tinam61
  • handmethathammer
    8 years ago

    I miss having a clothesline and the smell of fresh sheets that were dried outside.

    I don't change my sheets often enough....probably twice a month. I try to have three sets for each bed...one in the linen closet, one on the bed and one in the wash. For awhile, my 16 year old was changing his pretty often.

    rockybird thanked handmethathammer
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