Saturday, January 10, 2015

She doesn't know how to make the bed!

"She doesn't know how to make the bed!" Cried hubby.

This phrase still linger in my mind. It was the first time I visited France, he brought me to his grandmother's house, and we were asked to make the bed. I stood in the room, didn't know where to start. That was when hubby realised that I didn't know how to make a bed, so he shouted to inform his parents.

I don't know why people created such a tedious job to make the bed, and thus making my life miserable doing this task. Just so you know how easy it was when I lived in Malaysia : a bed sheet that covered the whole mattress, plus a blanket. So very morning I just need to fold the blanket, that was it.

Back to the scene in France. I discoverd that making the bed involves changing the pillow cases, putting a bed sheet on the mattress, adding another top bed sheet, following by several layers of blankets depending on the weather condition. When bed sheet + blankets are aligned, tuck the sides under the bed. A person then lies in between the top and bottom bed sheet.

Photo shows a bed that needs to be made before sleeping in.

It doesn't seem so complicated right? Well, let me tell you the tradition in my French family (the other French are probably practicing the same thing). When you invite someone over, you are normally responsible making the bed before they arrive. So, if you are inviting several people, all of the beds have to be done. In the case above we were asked to make our own bed because grandma was too old to have to make all the beds alone. In my house we use duvet with cover, so another thing to do is to dress the duvet. And most importantly, the pillow cases + bed sheet + duvet cover need to match in colors and design! My bed sheet in Malaysia was bought separately from the blanket, so they didn't match. I didn't know it was a big deal in France. Wait, we are not done yet, I have to also provide towels to the guests. Yeah, we are talking about providing services like in a hotel.

The worst thing is the laundry after our guests left. Even if they only stayed for one night, we have to wash all the pillow cases + bed sheets + duvet covers, and iron and fold them. I was shocked to see my MIL ironing all the bed sheets, towels, table clothes, napkins...it was a long process...

I do not think making the bed this way is more comfortable. For myself, I still do the same thing like in Malaysia, just a bed sheet + a blanket. And, I asked my guests to bring their own towels. I know, I'm bad.

12 comments:

  1. I don't do my bed ^^.

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    1. I think people at our generation don't do it anymore. :-)

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  2. Yeap..guest most of the french are having this tradition. My MIL used to iron her dish towels too :( that was shocking to me, as if ironing is the best past time ones can get.. :P

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    1. Yes yes, my MIL, our grandmas iron their dish towels too.

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  3. My dad told me that when he was a student in France, his host family asked him to do his bed. He folded the sheets and he was told that it wasn't done that way in France. In Cambodia, it's too hot to have that many sheets. lol I had my sister and her bf for a couple of days and I'm still not done with the washing.

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    1. Good luck for the washing, especially now you have to also take care of a baby.

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  4. hahaha ... funny post. I am doing the Malaysian way ... how many layers of blankets to put on a bed .. duvet is not enough?

    Mmm .. I think that's why my MIL even irons underwears!!

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    1. It depends on the weather and people. Some people still put layer of blankets on top of the duvet.

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  5. Lol, it does depend on the family. My MIL keeps it simple - even if in matching set (I like matching set myself) - fitted sheet for the bed, pillows with pillow cases and duvet with duvet covers. Our idea of making the bed is to air the duvet and align it properly on top of the bed and the pillows.

    There are good reasons for sleeping in between bed sheets that are neatly tucked, although perhaps more relevant to the past than now. Think back when there weren't modern duvet so layers to keep warm consisted of wool blankets and the likes, and heating up a room requires woods or coals. Tucked corners keep the heat in the bed, so no getting up at night to stoke more fire. Sheets are easier to wash than blankets/duvet, so by sleeping in between sheets, only those need washing (easier to wash, resistant to multiple washes, not to mention quicker to dry) and not the whole blankets/duvet set! This is a practice pretty much everywhere in Europe with wintry weather.

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    1. Thanks for the explanation. It does make sense in the past, but now most of the households have heaters at home. Sometimes I have to pull hard the corner to be able to tuck myself in the bed.

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  6. So complicated as compared to hot weather countries like here. We don't need many layers of blankets although I know people who would purposely put on very cold air using air cond just for an excuse to have many layers of blanket to snuggle under in this hot country.

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    1. Yes, I think it is quite weird in Malaysia, that we set the ac so cold that we needed jacket in the offices / shopping centers / cinemas.

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