What do you have on your children's beds - sheets, blankets, etc.?

[taubel]

I'm wondering what others have on their childrens' beds in terms of sheets, blankets, quilts, etc. Especially those of you who live where it gets cold in the winter.

My kids each have a fitted sheet, a flat sheet, and a cotton quilt. We keep our house warm overnight because my and DH's room is an icebox if we turn the heat down at all.

Anyway, we have a lot of dust in our house and my kids get snot, drool, etc on the quilts, so I do feel that I need to wash the quilts at least every other week. This of course makes for a lot of laundry when you have three kids.

I'm wondering if there's a way to simplify their beds even more. Maybe I could use a fitted sheet and them some sort of down comforter with a cover over it? Then I could eliminate the flat sheet and just wash the comforter cover. But would this actually be any easier?

Thanks!

[tree_hugger]

Originally Posted by taubel 
Maybe I could use a fitted sheet and them some sort of down comforter with a cover over it? Then I could eliminate the flat sheet and just wash the comforter cover. But would this actually be any easier?

I don't think it would be easier because you actually have to go through the process or removing the cover, washing it, and then putting it back on. I hate doing that!

I think our bed system is as simplified as it can get, for us of course. In summer my children have a fitted sheet and one comforter / doona (with no cover) only. In winter they have a fitted sheet, a comforter / doona (again with no cover), a wool blanket and then a patchwork quilt that I made them over the top. If it is super cold, they take a hot water bottle to bed.

[SomethingAnonymous]

I stopped using flat sheets years ago.. they were too much work!  We have a fitted sheet, then a down comforter, then another poly comforter on top of that.  We take the poly comforter off in the summer.  Down is great for summer and winter. 

It is a pain trying to wash big comforters.  My washer is barely big enough.  Even though it takes time to take a duvet cover on and off, it's so much easier to wash and dry.

[ASusan]

heated mattress pad, fitted sheet, poly comforter. No flat sheet. Fitted gets changed every other week, comforter gets washed maybe half as often. Granted, DS has his bedtime routine and first few hours in his bed, then switches to ours around midnight, so his bed isn't getting all the sleeping that yours might be.

In theory, I like the idea of a duvet cover. In practice, I detest putting it on. I find myself climbing INSIDE the cover to get it on straight, and when I'm in there, I wonder, "how do people REALLY put these things on, because climbing inside has got to be the strangest thing." But I can't figure out how to do it otherwise.

[pear-shaped]

Originally Posted by SomethingAnonymous 
It is a pain trying to wash big comforters.  My washer is barely big enough.  Even though it takes time to take a duvet cover on and off, it's so much easier to wash and dry.

I agree, especially if you line dry. Comforters take much longer to dry than their covers.
 

Originally Posted by ASusan 
In theory, I like the idea of a duvet cover. In practice, I detest putting it on. I find myself climbing INSIDE the cover to get it on straight, and when I'm in there, I wonder, "how do people REALLY put these things on, because climbing inside has got to be the strangest thing." But I can't figure out how to do it otherwise.

Do you put the corners in first? I used to have a really hard time getting them on until I thought of doing the top corners (the side opposite the opening) first and then giving the whole thing a good shake (like putting a sheet on a bed) while holding it firmly at the top. Then I put the bottom corners in place.

[ChristyMarie]

Exactly.  Duvets and covers are a PITA to launder.

DS has a flat sheet, faux down blanket and a quilt.  The blanket comes off in the summer.
 

Originally Posted by tree_hugger 

Originally Posted by taubel 
Maybe I could use a fitted sheet and them some sort of down comforter with a cover over it? Then I could eliminate the flat sheet and just wash the comforter cover. But would this actually be any easier?

I don't think it would be easier because you actually have to go through the process or removing the cover, washing it, and then putting it back on. I hate doing that!

...

[SubliminalDarkness]

Fitted sheet, flat sheet, blanket, then comforter. Each boy also has two pillows with pillowcases. 

[Alyantavid]

My youngest has a waterproof mattress pad, fitted sheet, flat sheet and comforter.  I only wash the comforter if it gets peed on.  Otherwise, I let it go longer between washed.

My oldest changes his covers frequently.  Right now he's got a fitted sheet, an electric blanket and another blanket.  He's got a few blankets and comforters to choose from.

Both have multiple pillows and cases.

[SomethingAnonymous]

Originally Posted by ASusan 

heated mattress pad, fitted sheet, poly comforter. No flat sheet. Fitted gets changed every other week, comforter gets washed maybe half as often. Granted, DS has his bedtime routine and first few hours in his bed, then switches to ours around midnight, so his bed isn't getting all the sleeping that yours might be.

In theory, I like the idea of a duvet cover. In practice, I detest putting it on. I find myself climbing INSIDE the cover to get it on straight, and when I'm in there, I wonder, "how do people REALLY put these things on, because climbing inside has got to be the strangest thing." But I can't figure out how to do it otherwise.

heh I didn't even mention that we have a waterproof cover over the mattresses, then a softer mattress pad - but these rarely get changed unless there is a spill or accident. 

For a duvet cover you put the farthest corners in, like line them up, then do just like a pillowcase and shake it while you hold onto the corners.  That should get the duvet at least halfway on, then you can just pull down the rest.  Does that make any sense? Kinda hard to describe! Think of it like a big pillowcase.

[ASusan]

I still end up inside it. Maybe it's because it was a large one - queen size. I could never get the top middle to fill out, even when I did the corners first. And I'd end up standing on the bed in order to be tall enough to shake it all out.

I cannot imagine doing our king sized bed, but I guess I'd enlist DH. We usually make the bed together now.

If DS were in a twin, I'd entertain the idea of using a duvet cover.

[taubel]

Well...looks like there's not much I can in terms of simplifying the beds! The duvet covers seem like they're a lot more stressful to deal with! Plus I'd have to buy three comforters and three covers, which would be a significant expense.

At least in the summer I can just do a sheet and not have to worry about the quilts.

[chel]

i have a king duvet and use pins at the corners and top middle, but it is a pain.

for an easy wash routine i would suggest a fitted bottom sheet and blanket that is twin size no matter what the size of the bed. (smaller = less wash).  i have a fleece blanket that is double sided , one of those tie blankets, that is very warm for a fleece.

[JesKace]

My 2 older kids have a mattress pad, fitted sheet, 2 fleece throws, and a comforter... 1 pillow and a couple stuffed animals.  I don't bother with the flat sheet in the winter.  My 22mo old (in crib) has a mattress pad and fitted sheet.  I folded a comforter in half on top of his mattress because the mattress was really cold feeling and I don't want the twin size comforter on top of him inside the crib, he has 3 fleece throws that I put over him and he seems to stay pretty warm.  As they all get older and we invest in some better comforters I'd like to get them nice down ones with covers since I keep the house pretty cold at night (60 degrees on the first floor, so it's probably colder upstairs).

In the summer they usually only sleep with a flat sheet, or a flat sheet and a fleece throw.

[NikonMama]

Greyson has a fitted shit, flat sheet, a cotton woven blanket, and a quilt.  That's year round.  He's old enough to choose if, in the summer when it's hot, he wants to use the quilt or not. 

[Coconut Chronicles]

Originally Posted by pear-shaped 

Do you put the corners in first? I used to have a really hard time getting them on until I thought of doing the top corners (the side opposite the opening) first and then giving the whole thing a good shake (like putting a sheet on a bed) while holding it firmly at the top. Then I put the bottom corners in place.

this is what I do also...

DS has a fitted sheet, flat sheet, quilt and toddler size duvet.

[luv my 2 sweeties]

My 3 kids like to use our sleeping bags, unzipped, like a comforter.  Usually they do not use a flat sheet (though I wish they would), so the sleeping bags need laundering every couple of weeks.  They are not hard to wash though.  They are smaller than comforters and dry faster.  Ours are fairly warm since we live in Michigan where it can get chilly at night when camping.  The only downside is that they've used them so much for everyday sleeping (with all the subsequent washes) that they are not the best for camping anymore!  The other potential downside is that they don't look as cute as comforters, but I personally don't care about that.  I can't remember why they started using them this way -- maybe because we needed an extra cover one night for some reason. 

[Shannie77]

We just do duvets.  The short time my DD slept in her own bed all that was on it was a fitted sheet, and then a baby blanket.  No matter how cold it is she sleeps in the nude with no blankets!

I have had duvets since I was a teen so I feel like I have it down pat.  It also helps to have a light cotton duvet cover.  We got a fancy linen like one for our wedding and quickly packed it up because it was so hard to put on.

[karne]

I would definitely do the duvet cover for a down comforter.  A nice flannel duvet cover over down is extremely warm, and prevents any feathers from floating around.

We live in a big old farmhouse, and basically, the bedrooms are unheated.  We use wood during the day, and have an oil furnace set to 55 at night, but really, little heat makes it's way upstairs.  SO, I think a lot about warm bedding.  My kids have soft flannel sheets-fittind and flat, flannel pillowcase covers, a blanket, down blanket, and then a fluffy down comforter in a flannel duvet cover.  I have patchwork quilts on the ends of their beds to use if necessary.  They often look like they are sleeping in mounds of fluff, but they are toasty warm.  In fact, none of us really care for warm bedrooms anymore.  I wash one set of sheets/comforters at a time, and make sure the bed is fully re-made before moving on to the next one, or else I drown in laundry.

[SAHDS]

Flat sheet, fitted sheet, comforter.  In the winter we change to flannel sheets and add a blanket under the comforter.

[OkiMom]

Mine have a comforter and a fitted sheet, several pillow, stuffed animals etc. I wash the pillowcases, comforter and sheet weekly when they sleep in the bed. When they aren't sleeping in it then they get washed every other week to a month (no one sleeping in it, no one is getting it dirty). I do all my linens on the same day: 1 load for sheets/pillow cases (theres and ours), 1 load for their comforters (thin, where we live it doesn't often get to cold0 and 1 load for ours.