I find air mattresses–at least the one I’m using–extremely uncomfortable. They’re fantastic on a metal cot, easy to lift, clean, etc., but not a long-term solution for me, or is it a matter of quality? I have a really cheap one. As I’m sure is the case with most of you, I get so little sleep as it is, and hate to be in bed any longer than absolutely necessary… but I also want to think ahead to a day when I may want to shop for a new mattress. Just thinking about it makes me nervous.

If no one knows, I will start making calls after the holidays and will let you know.

Thanks

Yes, Bugalina and Parakeets, I have been calling myself a minimalist ever since I threw away almost everything I owned. It was then that I realized life would never quite look the same to me.

I’m hanging in for as long as I can to make sure the bugs here are truly gone before I leave this place to some poor unsuspecting soul, but I DREAM of what my new apartment will look like. Okay, actually, the only thing I really care about is that every single piece of furniture or shelving will have legs that will fit into bed risers. I’m telling you, people, EVERYTHING will be up off the floor and in risers full of tea tree oil. Tea tree oil has been wonderful at preventing the bugs from crawling into bed with me, and I’ve grown to adore the smell. I’m serious. My new apartment will REEK of it, and my new furniture (simple, basic, not-fluffy-at-all) will be protected by it forever. I think I’ll ask to be doused in tea tree oil when I die. I’m not kidding.

Jess

I forgot to say that regarding furniture, I also threw out my bed and matching nightstand–furniture that was in our family for 60 years–and replaced them with a simple metal bed. My previous wooden bed had a mahogany veneer over hardwood, and a man I know who was very knowledgeable about bedbugs visited my apartment and told me the bedbugs could be living between the veneer and the wood on my type of bed, they are that thin.

So my new furniture so far:
–inexpensive plastic utility shelves as bookcases
–a metal bed
–bridge chairs, replacing a stuffed chair and love seat that I had to toss.
It is beginning to look like “police headquarters” around here, if you ask me.

For example, I bought stackable plastic utility shelves at BJ’s (similar ones available at Home Depot) that you might normally use in a workshop, basement or garage. They come in black and white. I use them instead of bookcases. They are inexpensive, sturdy, and don’t look too bad when you put things on them. Sort of “student decorating” in style, but I feel very comfortable knowing they are just for the time being. I can take them apart, look inside of them; they have no screws or wooden parts, just all smooth plastic. Best of all, I know I can toss them when I move. Utilitarian is the word.