Sheets and mattresses are the challenge for this week.
So how do we decide what stays and what goes?
As always, the criteria you created during Week 1 of our challenge will assist you in making decisions about your items. If you are new to the challenge, you can see our Week 1 post here.
For this particular category, you should also consider the following:
- How many beds, and of what size, do you have in your home?
- Do you have sets of sheets that:
o have holes or tears;
o are never used because you don’t like the fabric or the colour;
o don’t fit any of the beds in your house;
o just won’t stay on as the elastic has gone in the fitted sheet.
- Is your mattress no longer supportive and leaves you feeling tired or achy?
As a good rule of thumb, 2-3 sets of sheets per bed is usually enough.
What do I do with the keepers?
Store your sheet sets together inside one of their matching pillowcases. This makes life very easy when you are changing your bed as you can grab a set very easily without riffling through all of the piles trying to find that second pillowcase.
If you have multiple size sheets in your home, allocate a section or a shelf for each size and if it helps, pop a label on the shelf. This also helps everyone to keep things organised.
What do I do with the ones that no longer have a purpose for me?
For your sheets that are well worn, you could consider keeping one for a drop sheet for maintenance tasks around your home. Some Charity shops also recycle textiles for industrial rags and textile by-products. Please contact your nearest charity to find out if they accept sheets for recycling. Please ensure that they have been washed in advance of donating them for this purpose and label the bag appropriately.
If they are still in good condition but no longer have a purpose in your home, here are some sell/swap and donation options for your sheets.
- Sell or Swap:
o Swap with your friends or family
o Gumtree
o Facebook Marketplace or any of the myriad of Buy/Swap/Sell groups
o Garage Sale
- Donate options:
o Charity shops such as the Salvos or Vinnies
o Green Shed (Mitchell or Mugga Lane)
o Let’s Recycle Canberra (Hume)
For your used mattress/es and base/s, if they are in excellent condition with no marks or stains, you can drop them off to the Green Shed (Mitchell or Mugga Lane). If not, due to health considerations, the only valid option is to recycle them through the Soft Landing mattress recycling program. The other added benefit of this program is that it provides employment for disadvantaged job seekers at the same time – how fabulous is that!
To arrange a collection, you can make a booking online, or contact Soft Landing via phone or email to arrange a pre-paid pickup. They cost is $30.65 per piece (current as at 3 April 2018) with the mattress as one piece, and if you have an ensemble, generally the base is also one piece, or sometimes two for a king bed. You can also drop off to the Mugga Lane or Mitchell tip sites which is a slightly cheaper option.
How did you go? Feel free to share your successes, challenges and tips on our Facebook page.
Happy decluttering!
Melissa x