EPISODE 1
Fitted Sheets
Did you know 27,000 men a month Google how to fold a fitted sheet? (1)
Yes, they do. Google never says if even one man succeeds.
I know I haven’t succeeded in folding the sheets. Instead of appearing neatly folded, they look as if they were wadded up. My efforts seem as if I have failed.
Here’s an article on how to fold a fitted sheet from Woman’s Day. After reading the article, I still couldn’t fold the fitted sheets where they looked like anything other than a twisted and tangled mess.
Living With Everyday Challenges
After my wife passed away, I found myself struggling with the everyday challenges of living. So don’t feel bad if you’re struggling with the daily tasks of maintaining a household.
Fitted sheets serve as an example of what I felt was my incompetence in handling routine tasks. I found myself wondering how often I should change the sheets? Do I rotate the bed linens with clean ones or simply wash these and put them back on the bed? Do I launder them by themselves or just throw them into the washer with whatever dirty laundry I can stuff into the machine to get a full load?
Hmmm.
The answers for such rudimentary questions were not found on Google.
Don’t Be Afraid to Ask
Don’t be afraid to ask. Don’t let your silly pride get in the way of getting the answers you need.
Wash
I started searching the Internet for answers. I found other men had asked similar questions. I also asked for recommendations on how to fold sheets on social media.
The social media answers were the most helpful. Not surprisingly, not one man answered my cry for help but plenty of my female coworkers, former coworkers, and high school and college classmates, as well as church friends and relatives, chimed in.
My favorite answer was to wait to wash them when they are dirty. How do I know when the shirts are dirty other than when I can see a visible stain? That wasn’t answered.
A better answer was if you sleep in the bed, change the sheets and wash them once a week. If it is a guest bedroom, don’t change the sheets unless someone has slept on them. Then even if they have slept on them for only one night, wash the sheets.
To Fold or Not To Fold?
Next, I asked how do you fold the fitted sheets?
Grrr, best describes the answers I received. Not grrr from me being unhappy with the answers but rather because folding fitted sheets challenges even the super homemaker.
Some women suggested rolling the sheets. Others suggested try your best and don’t worry when the finished folded product doesn’t look pretty. Another said sent them to the laundry and pay to have it handled. This suggestion had me having nightmares of receiving heavily starched cardboard-stiff sheets to sleep on.
My Solution
The recommendation I liked the best and the one I followed came from a coworker. Her guidance was simple.
- Remove the sheets.
- Wash the sheets.
- Don’t fold the sheets, instead put them back on the bed.
Avoiding folding the sheets resolved the problem.
As a widower, we are facing many challenges that seem simple to others.
The Key
The key to remember is if you don’t know what to do or how to do it, ask. You’ll come up with a solution. The best one is the one that works for you.
Photo Source: Pixabay
(1) “How To Fold a Fitted Sheet In Three Easy Steps: This simple technique guarantees perfectly folded sheets every time. “https://www.womansday.com/home/organizing-cleaning/tips/a677/folding-a-fitted-sheet-video/“
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