Bedroom Day 1

My next stop on this journey is the bedroom. Standing at the door, I look around. I see two beds. How very Flinstones of us! If only my parents knew the truth. I’m banished from the family because I sleep with another woman, but technically we don’t even sleep in the same bed. Ironic. Anyway, we have two beds because my back is so fracked up I can’t sleep on a regular mattress. There are many pillows, two sets of sheets, down comforters, and covers. There are also two side tables from Ikea, two lamps, and a bunch of electronics chargers. On my bedside table I have two cell phones and one lamp. There are also a bunch of books and magazines. VSC has a lamp and at least 3 chargers. In one corner is an antique cabinet and a hanging light string from Monterey. There are some pictures on the wall.

This should be simple enough …

Bedding: The most common material used for bedding is cotton. Although “natural” the cotton industry bathes the stuff in chemical fertilizers and insecticides. Cotton growers also like their child labor. Now, in the past I was definitely PRO child labor … but now that I’m all hippi I have to be anti child labor (insert sigh here). Although I question many of the facts in my Self-Sufficientish Bible I will share them just in case they might be true. According to Andy and Dave, “cotton accounts for just 3 per cent of farmland and 15 – 55 per cent of pesticides used in its production”. 15 – 55 per cent? Quite a margin for error there guys. Anyhoo … moving on.

Suggested alternatives to cotton are hemp and wool. The price hierarchy is as follows hemp $$$, wool $$, and cotton $. Hemp takes less time to grow, and is 4 times more durable than cotton. Wool has excellent thermal properties and will usually last longer than cotton. When deciding which option you may choose, consider where the materials actually came from. If the wool is being shipped from the UK and the hemp comes from India, you aren’t really “saving the planet” much after shipping and handling.

So, let’s go shopping. My one criterion was that the materials were grown in the United States. Holy Lamb Organics is located in Northern California which was an added bonus.

Twin Hemp Comforter: $399 at http://www.rawganique.com
Twin Wool Comforter: $289 at http://holylamborganics.com
Twin Organic Cotton Comforter: $165 at http://www.theorganicnest.com

Of course, I have no intention of trading in my Ikea bedding until my toes start getting caught in holes, but its good to know that the next time I have to replace my bedding I’m going to need a whole lot of cash. Good thing I’m saving all that money on toothpaste.