This is a quick and easy weeknight activity that’ll make you feel SO GOOD when it’s done! In fact, this is so easy, we’re giving you a triple-header: Linens, Cushions and Sofa. The goal of this exercise is to Spring clean (of course) but it’s also to get you into the habit of rotation so you don’t wear out one side of your mattress or cushions, or just use the same set of linens over and over again.

TIME: 1-2 hours

YOU’LL NEED:

  1. Furniture & Upholstery cleaner
  2. Clean, terry cloth rags
  3. Rug beater (optional)
  4. Jumbo, Zip-Loc bags for storage

HOW TO DO IT:

The very MINUTE you walk through the door, go and strip your bed right down to the mattress.

  1. Use the brush attachment to thoroughly vacuum your mattress. Don’t forget under the bed and against the wall! Do the baseboard behind your head. There’s always a dust bunny army down there. Grab an extra pair of hands if you can and flip and rotate your mattress 180 degrees (so the head of the mattress is now when your feet were before).
  2. Spray liberally with upholstery cleaner and wipe with a clean, terry cloth (I use an old washcloth for this). Let it air dry.
  3. Now go and chuck ALL your bedding in the laundry: Sheets, pillowcases, pillows, pillow protectors, mattress protector, bedspread and decorative pillow covers. If you aren’t using mattress & pillow protectors, first of all, YOU SHOULD and secondly, GO ONLINE AND BUY SOME RIGHT NOW. Get 100 % cotton ones. You should ideally have at least 2 for every pillow and mattress you have. They are the underwear for your bed and you DON’T want your bed to go commando.

HERE’S WHY YOU WANT MATTRESS AND PILLOW PROTECTORS:

We all shed skin cells every night (all the time, in fact). Dust mites feed on the dead skin cells that we shed and then POOP. If you don’t use a specially woven protective pillow protector, that dust-mite poop gets imbedded in your pillows. Once it does, you are basically inhaling microscopic poop, which is why we feel stuffy sometimes and sneeze at night.

    FLIP THE CUSHIONS:

    Super easy.

    1. Spray the entire surface of your sofa generously. Wipe with a clean terry cloth rag, taking extra care at the arms and edges.
    2. Remove all the cushions and vacuum the sofa base while they dry.
    3. I have an old-fashioned cane rug beater and I like to go to town on the cushion, to knock out all the dust. It’s like therapy.

    Put all the cushions back, in reverse, if you can. If you can’t flip the cushions, at least place them back in another spot. Or turn the so the seams face out for a little bit. No one will notice and it’s good to even out the cushions.

    Done!

    Now, let’s do the Linen Cupboard:

    1. Take everything out and put it on a clean sheet on your bed.
    2. Spray the closest with Furniture cleaner and wipe dry.
    3. Take a long look at everything you’ve got. Weed out the random old sheets, tired towels and any torn or stained linens.
    4. I cut that stuff up, fold them into a bamboo caddy and use them for rags, but you do what you like with them, just get rid of them. FYI: Animal shelters are a great place to inquire about donating your no-longer used and tired linens.
    5. This is also a great time to box or bag those extra heavy blankets or duvets that you won’t use again until next autumn. Wash them first and then store them. I like those huge Zip-Loc bags for this so they are fresh when I take them out again, later in the year.

    Once your bedding is dry, make your bed and make a mental note to always put the sheets you just used at the bottom of the pile, so they are used in rotation. Look at you, Martha! You have a neat, pristine linen closet and perfectly fresh bed. You’ll sleep like a baby tonight.

    xmk