Refresh The Bed Day....

It's allergy season, plus I'm still spring cleaning even though it's summer. I was reminded by an old post of Flylady's in my in box that it's time to do a periodic refreshening of my bed. In keeping with that mission, I'm washing the dust ruffle, mattress toppers, sheets, blankets, quilt, extra winter quilt, shams, etc. I'm fluffing the pillows in the dryer. I've sprayed the mattress with Febreeze Allergen Reducer. I will ask DH if he will mind helping me rotate the mattress tonight so that it will wear better.

Since we spend a good portion of our life sleeping and since the bedroom is also where we share happy moments with our husbands, recuperate from being tired or ill, or simply curl up with a good book at times -- it's well worth keeping our bed fresh and nice. Additionally, tending to the bed helps keep allergens down and makes for healthier sleep. And, healthier sleep makes for a healthier life.

I must confess that the one part of my bed(s) that I neglect is the dust ruffle. I can't remember the last time I washed that. So, I'm happy to tend to this little chore. After all, while we think of dust ruffles as being decorative, their purpose is actually to catch dust, and, thus, they need washing.

Since DH and I both have allergies, I wash what I can of my bedding in hot water in order to kill dust mites. In general, I prefer not to use hot water for washing, but this is one case where I view it as being necessary.

The irony of allergy/asthma season is that is when a home keeper should be most vigilant about her cleaning, vacuuming, and dusting and when this winded home keeper feels least like doing it! Here in Tennessee, we had a weekend when the air quality was extra poor, and I really felt it. After some fronts have moved through, I have more energy to tackle these important tasks.

I would love to take my mattresses outside and beat the dust out of them and let the sunlight kill any microbes, dust mites, etc. I'm not sure if that would be the good thing to do, though, given our area's continually high pollen count. I'm wondering if I'd end up catching more sneeze and wheeze producing molecules! If you live in a high allergy area like I do, I'd love it if you would let me know how you handle this.

For all my blog-o-sphere friends, I'd love to hear what you do to keep your bed and bedroom lovely and fresh.