Posts Tagged ‘discount’

Eco-Friendly Bedding

Saturday, December 17th, 2011

Are you concerned about doing your bit to help salvage the planet? I mean, are you prepared to pay a little bit more for something that has been made in a manner that is less polluting to the environment and the planet? Do you encourage organizations that sell goods made in far off lands in time-honored ways that are ecologically friendly?

These are the minimum measures that people in the West ought to be prepared to take in order to support those who are trying to reduce our impact on the environment and dispense some of the West’s wealth to the poorest peoples of the world.

There are lots of organizations which say they do this. There are probably also a couple that say they do, but do not. An Internet check should weed these rogues out.

One of the easiest methods to help reduce your effect on the planet and help poor peoples living in remote places abroad is to take more care where you purchase your fabric from. These days the only cloth that people purchase in large quantities is clothes and bedding, so you ought to strive to buy materials that are natural, not man-made, which necessitates the use of a lot more chemicals.

While it is true that bleach has always been used a great deal in manufacturing material, it is not completely necessary to have pure white sheets or duvet covers, even if tradition does demand that you put on a pure white shirt to go to the office or a pure white gown to walk down the aisle.

Buying bedding made from 100% cotton is a great way to reduce your effect on the environment. In fact, 100% cotton sheets and 100% woollen blankets make a perfect combination for any bed in any season and your impact on the environment would be negligible. Cotton is cool and wool warm, but in fact acts as insulation, so can be warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

Another fantastic natural fibre is silk. Alright, it is a lot more expensive than cotton, but it is also a lot tougher, so you will find that silk sheets last a lot longer than cotton ones. This means that silk sheets are not as expensive in the long run as they first appear. Silk has a lavish feel to the skin, but it is not as warm as cotton. Ideal for the summer months and 100% non-chemical as it is made by silk worms and spun like wool.

Other fibres that you can obtain from the Far East, Africa and South America are flax, hemp and coconut fibre materials. If you make a point of checking out the stores that sell objects such as these you really can make quite a difference and help poor trades people in far off lands for just a few dollars more.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many subjects, but is at present concerned with the college for massage therapy. If you have an interest in massage, please go over to our web site now at Classes For Massage Therapy

Electric Blankets

Friday, October 21st, 2011

Have you ever used an electric blanket? Some people are scared of lying on something that is plugged into the national grid and I have to admit that when I think of electric blankets in that manner, they do sound pretty frightening.

However, there are two kinds of electric blankets: there are those that are intended to stay on all night and there are those that are intended to be turned off and unplugged before you get into bed.

The second sort is of course the one to be suggested for those of a nervous disposition. I have never owned an electric blanket, because my father thought that they were for ‘sissys’, but I have slept in beds that made use of electric blankets.

Whilst I stayed over at my maternal grand-parents’ house or my Aunty Lil’s there was always an electric blanket in the bed. My aunty used a pre-warmer and my grand-parents used the ‘always-on’ kind. As a young boy, I have to say that the ‘always-on’ type of electric blanket was too warm for me.

However, in those days, in the Sixties, homes were not as draft-proof as they are now and I did not know anyone whose house was centrally heated or double glazed. In fact, everyone that I knew used to put an overcoat on the bed in winter if it got particularly cold. It did not cross my mind that that was unusual, everyone did it.

The fact is that some people feel the cold more than others and there are many reasons for this ranging from frailty to age and sickness. Another reason for using electric blankets is if it is too expensive to heat the whole house or bedroom. It is always going to be cheaper to heat a bed that it is to heat a bedroom. The cost of pre-heating a double bed is still pennies compared with utilizing an electric fire.

Some individuals, my wife included, likes to keep the background temperature in the bedroom cold. OK, cold in Thailand is about 20c, but whilst we were in the UK, she insisted that we slept with the windows open in winter and it was truly cold. She is not alone in liking to sleep in a warm bed when her face is cold. She says that she gets a better night’s sleep in this fashion.

If you or a sick or old relative wants to try an electric blanket, be careful where you get it from. In saying this I mean be cautious of purchasing a cheap electric blanket from abroad off eBay in case it is not made to run off the electric supply that you have in your country.

You also need to make certain that the blanket conforms to the health and safety laws in your country. Electric blankets are safe if you follow basic health and safety rules, but be wary of ‘always-on’ blankets if you eat in bed.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on a variety of topics, but is now involved with Personalized Throw Blankets. If you would like to know more, please visit our website at Woollen Blankets.