A Simple Mattress Can Help In Many ways

For quite a while now,Rick and I have been complaining about our mattress and how we really needed to get a new one. We slept on it for 10 years. It was a no name brand that we could afford at the time. It was comfortable back then. It worked.

The last few years,however the signs of wear and tear were starting to show on our old mattress. There were lumps and valleys. We flipped,re-flipped,turned and re-turned that sucker over the years. We put one of those "egg carton" type foam toppers on it. It was to the point where none of it made a difference. We would wake up with back aches, hip aches,etc. We would toss and turn all night,and not all of it was due to nightmares or minds racing. Many times we just couldn't get comfortable. We complained about it- a lot.

Sleep is a very important factor in life. Those of you who have a hard time obtaining a good night of it,for whatever reason,know what I mean. A few nights of fitful sleep can really affect your mood,thought process,and motivation.

Of course,we have other contributing factors. Rick gets nightmares and has sleep apnea,so he sleeps with a sleep apnea machine.( For those who are not familiar,it's a device that has a mask that one wears over their face so air is being forced into the body and helps keep the throat open to prevent snoring and keep breathing regulated-Rick stops breathing over 50 times an hour) I have nights where I just can't shut my mind off and I toss and turn and turn and toss-which also affects Rick's sleep patterns. I also am bothered with RLS ( restless leg syndrome) once in a while,as well as night sweats on occasion (ah,the joys of being a woman!!!)

Wednesday in the mail,we got a flyer for Big Lots. They were having a sale on mattresses. Now, one may not think of Big Lots in terms of  great mattresses. However,when we woke up yesterday morning both sore yet again,Rick said to me,"We need a new mattress. NOW." We figured we would take a drive down to our local Big Lots and see what they had.

Well, I must admit I was actually impressed. All the mattresses were Sealy brand. Not no name generic. We laid down on all of them (which did feel rather strange with people walking around). We laid on our backs. We laid on our sides. We laid on our stomachs. We compared every one. We read the literature. We finally decided on a good mattress with a 800 coil count. Our old one probably had less than half of that. You could feel the body support.It wasn't the most expensive( memory foam) but it wasn't the cheapest,either,which would've been our first pick in the past. Even better,the box spring came with it for only $10.

Why am I mentioning our mattress? Because it ties in with my theme of late-surrounding yourself and clearing out clutter. 

Clutter? How does that play into it?

Have you ever looked under some one's bed? Apparently we had not looked under ours for quite a while. We found socks,a staple gun that was missing, a hammer, a level, a hat Rick was looking for,VCR tapes we no longer want,assorted other items,and plenty of dust. Blech. Under  the bed clutter! Who knew?? We cleaned everything up,and now  under the bed is very nice. No junk.

So,we placed the mattress on the deck. I know what you are going to say- "Donna,how long is that sucker going to decorate your deck?" Not long. Rick is inspired to clean out the garage today,to we are going to put it in there until town pick up in a few weeks.We joked that we could lay it on the deck if anyone wanted to sleep outside one night ;)

One thing I thought would be neat is having a raised bed. I don't know why,I just always thought

that a bed that was higher than the normal ones would be cool. For some reason,it never occurred to me while we were setting up the new bed,until Brother B suggested,"Why don't you 

put the old box spring on the bottom,then put the new box spring and mattress down?That way you can have a raised bed." DUH! The one thing I had been wanting to do for years! At first,it was too tall for me to even climb on ( I'm 5'2"),so we took the wheels off the frame,which lowered it by three inches,so now the bed comes up to just below my belly button. I need to hop a bit,but that is no problem. I could use a little stool if necesary. Before, I could just roll over in the old bed to shut off the alarm. Now I have to reach down to do so-which is no big whoop to me. Here is a photo to give you the idea of the height:

You may notice my lack of bedspread. I had one up until five months ago. I had a very pretty quilted spread which matched the pillows above. I loved it. Until the dogs started ruining it.The spread would get dirty.They would get it wet when they washed themselves. I would wash it. It would get ripped from their nails. I would fix it. It was a cycle. I finally gave up and  had to get rid of the quilt.The fabric got too flimsy and you can only repair the same areas so many times.You could say,of course,"Donna, just close your door.Put up a gate. Don't let the dogs in there." Been there,done that. This is the problem: our bedroom is right off the dining area. It gets a lot of light during the day that our dining area doesn't get,so I like to keep the door open to brighten things up as much as possible. We also get a lovely breeze through the bedroom windows that we don't have in the kitchen. Having this door open creates a fabulous cross breeze.Plus, I don't always remember to fully close the door behind me if I am in the middle of something and I am on a mission."OK,but what about the gate?" you may ( and rightfully) ask. We did that,too.It was too much of a pain taking the gate out of the doorway and putting it back up when we had to go in and out of the room . I guess you could say I paid for my own need for convenience.Now the bed is too high for the dogs to jump on. When we repaint the bedroom,our new bedding will not get ruined.

How did getting a simple mattress help in many ways? For us:

1) It helped us get a comfortable nights sleep,which is a good thing physically and mentally (pain and a tired mind lead to body and mind clutter!)

2) It allowed us to see the crap under the bed and clean it up (junk clutter!)We are now mindful that we need to keep an eye on that.

3)It let us get the high bed we both wanted (Rick loves it!)and is a first step into creating the type of bedroom haven we want. We feel like royalty on that bed!

4)It gave us a way to save future bedding,and stop the dogs from climbing on the bed without closing off sunlight and lovely breezes. It also stopped annoyance.

All from a simple mattress.

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!!!

Being Inspired By What You Love-The Laura Edition

One of my goals for helping with mental clutter and home clutter is trying to surround myself with items that I LOVE. Like many of us,for a long time if I needed something I wouldn't wait to find what truly spoke to me. I would get it out of necessity even if I didn't like it very much,or if someone was getting rid of something that I might be able to use,though it wasn't my ideal,I'd still scoff it up.I would see it on a daily basis,and while it might be functional, it wasn't me. This wasn't such a bad thing when I lived in apartments (which was really someone else's property,so why bother?),but now that I have my own home and finally discovered what style I like,I am more than willing to wait until I find the piece that speaks to me.Even if it takes years. Once I get an idea of what I want in my head,it's pretty difficult to change my mind. I am looking for the exact same thing I see in my mind's eye. However,I can be flexible if I find something that 

hadn't considered that I think is really cool. It still has to be something I will love,though. I want to surround myself with inspiration,things that make me think and things that make me happy,such as photos,books,and functional items. I want my home to be a haven.

I want to share my latest step.

Our computer is in a corner in the living room.Now,I do have two windows to the right of the this area which has a lovely view of the trees in our front yard. However, when I am banging away on the computer,this was the view in front of me:

Ah,yes, a lovely barren wall,completely with holes from where we hung our old computer monitor. Guess what? This wall has been empty since we painted the room about three years ago. Didn't I say at one point I was going hang the photos back up? ( Remember my Queen of Procrastination post? This is a prime example). To the left on the wall on top of the black speaker is a Limited Edition Print ( 111 out of 500) I bought from my journey to the Wilder Farm in Burke NY three years ago called "Coming Home." I still haven't framed it. (hangs head in shame). I know, I know. (Refer back to the Queen of Procrastination post,please!) I will take a photo soon,I promise..and it will be in a place of honor and suitably framed.

Back to the barren wall....so,I needed inspiration. I knew what I had to do. I had to find some shelves to put things on them that I loved. But what kind of shelves? I didn't want some regular old pressed wood shelves from a box store. I wanted something unique. Something different. Something that spoke to me and spoke about me. I stumbled across this gem in Dover:

This was that white shelving unit that was in the pile on my bed in that post yesterday. I was not going to let it sit idle for months! It had to get up ASAP!  I just thought I was adorable. Not only could I use the shelves,but the drawers for storage. Perfect!

So...now that I have the shelf up(actually, I must give credit where credit is due-Rick and Brother B put it up) what am I going to put on it?  I already knew well in advance.

My collection of Laura Ingalls Wilder books.

Yes, I am what is affectionately called in the World of Laura Ingalls Wilder a Bonnethead.I grew up reading her books,and I still do. I get much inspiration from them. I also have books about her and her impact written by different authors-Bill Anderson,Wendy McClure,Kelly Ferguson,and John Miller. I also have "The Prairie Girl's Guide To Life" by Jennifer Worwick. I do have Melissa Gilbert and Allison Angram's autobiographies,but they did not make the cut for this area,as much as I enjoyed them. The ones I put up on this shelf are about Laura and her world. Notice the green apple on the pile of books to the left? That is an apple ornament I got from The Wilder Farm in Burke. The little white sheep in front of the yellow books? Well, to be honest, I put it there because it was cute and I wanted to stop my cats from carrying it all over the house. Then,this morning,I remembered that in "The First Four Years" Laura and Manly have sheep. So there you go! To the right is my favorite photo of my parents,taken in 1948,a year after they were married. Top shelf is my Beekman Boys cookbook,which is really a temporary place until I can get my shelf up in my kitchen. I do have a bit more Laura/Almanzo memorabilia, I just haven't put them out yet. But it's a start! I am also going to put up family photos.

So as I type my blog,I can look at my Laura items and glean some prairie inspiration and determination. When I crochet,I can look over to this spot and remember the sewing/knitting/crocheting Ma did in her rocking chair by the fire on cold nights . When I clean, I can remember how difficult life was on the prairie (imagine having to beat rugs! or having a dirt floor! ). I also find myself asking sometimes,"WWLD?" (What Would Laura Do?)

Just sitting here right now,I am in heaven,motivated, and feeling fabulous.

Thank you helping me create my haven,Laura!

Mental Clutter =Physical Clutter

We all have some form of clutter,don't we? Physical household clutter,body clutter (ie weight),or mental clutter. My goal is to rid myself of all clutter possible. It may take months,it may take years. But that is my ongoing goal. I need to free up my surroundings,as well as my physical and emotional being. ( Remember I alluded to making the home I want in a previous post? This is what I was referring to). I believe that our physical surroundings reflect our inner self. If we are not comfortable and happy,how can our homes be? Or our bodies?

This is something that I have been reading about and mulling over for quite awhile now. Controlling anxiety, minimalism,zen habits,etc. It's been very eye opening....what Oprah would call an "a-ha moment." I love those!

I cannot speak for anyone else,of course. I can only speak for me.I am tired. I am tired of being fat,being anxious,or looking around and wishing for something else. Not a different house,but a different home. It's not bad by any means,but it doesn't reflect what I really want it to be. 

I am grateful that Rick did not inherit his mother's hoarding gene. She should've been on the Hoarders show. It took us three weeks to clean out her tiny apartment after she passed-once we made pathways to get around. I couldn't live like that. Nor do I want a museum for a home. It will get dirty.It will get messy living with two dogs,two cats,and three males. Rick has a hard time remembering to put things away,and when I try to do it for him,he says he will take care of it,because if I put it away,he won't know where it is. Which is fine,except he will take forever to put something away,and when he does,he doesn't remember where he put it anyway (part of the TBI). So,I do have to be mindful of that situation. However,I do want a home that is clean enough for folks to come into and I don't feel like I owe them explanations"Oh,we are going to move this and do this,but we haven't done it yet,"etc.,etc. 

Since my down days have been pretty bad the last few months,and I probably should just go to the Dr to either up my dosage or see someone one on one,I am determined to try and do it myself. I have been reading. I have been following blogs ( among them,two great ones, Be More With Less and Zen Habits,which I have links to on the right).

Now,if you enter my home,right now it's not bad. Let's face it-there is nothing to spur one on to make a good cleaning than relatives who have never been to your home. Our mud room is all cleaned up. I washed walls (amazing how if you see dog slobber often enough that you don't see it anymore!). I was further inspired by my Dear Friend Michelle's closet-though I had it in mind to organize mine,seeing hers spurned me on. I was able to get rid of 7 photo albums that were taking up space,and got rid of photos of things that I just didn't need (why did I take 5 photos of the same damn statue kind of thing). I got the photos down to three photo boxes. I still need to weed through my clothes,though.  At least I have started. A bit everyday adds up.

The big room to do was our bedroom. I usually just close the door when company comes over.  It was an embarrassment. In all honesty,most of the stuff is Rick's. He has backpacks,clothes,a dry vac,etc...again,things that I say I will take care of and he gets annoyed. I finally convinced him that I had to wash the walls and move his stuff. Here are a couple of photos of the lovely pile that was strewn across his side of the bedroom:

I took all the crap,shit,stuff,junk,whatever you call it,and piled it on the bed. You can see on the left a white shelf item. That is going to hang over our computer,and I had put that and two other shelves in the bedroom until they got hung. I then changed my mind and put them in the rooms they are going to be hung in.

Here is the back side of the pile. The big bear is mine,it was a gift from Zach. You can see a bit into Rick's closet in the back of the photo on the right.


Rick did finally go through everything and put them away. I don't have a photo of our bedroom after,but it is nice and tidy and I have been working to keep it that way. I am also going to paint it. It needs it.

It's so much nicer coming into the bedroom now. I want my whole house to be a cozy space where one feels they are enveloped by happiness and contentment.

I did help Zach clean out his closet and we had two garbage bags full of clothes that we donated to Planet Aid.

This is going to be an interesting journey. Anyone else out there going through the same thing?