This loverly little article flew by on Twitter a few minutes ago. Read it if you date dare. I accidentally wrote “date” but it kinda fits…

I wash my sheets once a week, more or less. In my current minimalist lifestyle, I only own one set of sheets for my bed and that means that I need to have time to wash and dry the sheets and put them back on the bed while still keeping my sanity. That usually means Saturday is the day. If we are outta town for a weekend (and we frequently are), I skip a week. I think I wash sheets every week because it’s what The Commander did when I was growing up. It was one of those unwritten rules that families live by. She knew how to use a clothesline, as this photoooo of her at a young age (at her parents’ home? I think but I’m not sure…) shows. But she was definitely willing to use a dryer and, when we were young, we spent many fun days at the laundromat during our summers at the moomincabin. And it *was* fun. We got pop and snacks and stuff. Laundromat Queen. A title I later wrested from her, albeit not without a bit of a struggle. She didn’t want anyone (me) to wash her unmentionables and I don’t blame her because I don’t like people washing mine either. In some ways, the apple hasn’t fallen very far from the tree.

Back when we had the Moldy Old Cabin at Houghton Lake, the sheets were not washed very often. Oh, I think Grandma Sally probably had something similar to a once-a-week rule when her children were young but by the time I was around, it was sort of a man cave much of the time and the Gumper did not systematically wash sheets every time somebody different slept in them like The Comm (and later on me) did at the moomincabin. What the heck, he had more important things to do in life. You know, like futz around with small motors or “organize” rope or curate his worm collection. I loved the Gumper and I miss helping him put lawn mowers up and down onto and off of the picnic table during intermittent rain showers (for example). I was more okay with the sheet situation than some might think. I mostly just ignored it and hey, nobody ever got sick from sleeping in not-recently-cleaned sheets at HL. Eventually I began hauling sleeping bags up there. Now that we have the loverly new Group Home, which has laundry facilities, the (unwritten) rules are different. If you use Group Home sheets, you put them on your chosen bed when you get there and *wash* them before you leave. Or else you haul your own sheets up there. Or sleeping bags, which is what I do. All of the families in the group do what they need to do and it all works. I *don’t* wash our sleeping bags all that often, maybe 2-3 times a year.

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