We recently replaced our entire bed (frame, mattress, sheets, blankets, pillows, etc.). The bed we got came in a kit that we assembled ourselves, as did the mattress and pillows. With the exception of the lumber, we now have a bed that is completely organic.

Our backs and necks no longer hurt every morning after a night of tossing and turning and we don’t wake up with sore throats or post nasal drip. We’ve actually joked that we need to get rid of our new bed because once we’ve laid down we never want to leave it. And the mattress stays a consistent temperature and doesn’t trap in heat.

Pillows

First we started with the pillows. We were using special memory foam pillows because they supposedly helped support your neck and didn’t trap in heat. With my neck constantly in pain I could never figure out how many pillows I needed or if my pillow stack was too high or too low. I realized that I slept at a funny angle between being on my side and being on my back and I needed a pillow that wrapped around my whole head so when I turned over my head was still supported. I got us these J-shaped pillows (affiliate link or no?) that did in fact help with neck pain significantly, however, they were made out of gross things and I would wake up with post nasal drip and a sore throat.

We upgraded our pillows to these nice long two-pocket pillows from OpenYourEyesBedding(become an affiliate here). We filled one pocket with lavender hulls and the other with buckwheat hulls. The lavender hulls are soft and cradle your head nicely. The buckwheat adds some structure so that when the lavender hulls get compacted you still have a solid pillow underneath you. It took a bit of trial and error to get the pillows to the right size but they have definitely been the best pillows we’ve ever had. And they don’t trap in heat and they’re super easy to fluff back up when they get compacted. The length of the pillow allows me to wrap it around myself so when I turn over my neck is still supported and I have something to hug.

Sheets & Comforter

I first fell into the trap of buying a bunch of bamboo things. I got the bamboo pillowcases and the bamboo sheets, but the problem with bamboo fabrics is it’s actually a synthetic fiber called rayon…(do some research here)

We first got our sheets and duvet cover along with our blanket from a European company called Greenfibres(don’t see an affiliate program maybe we can ask them…). The sheets and blanket felt amazing and the blanket wasn’t too hot. The one mistake we made was that everything was white so we worried about getting it stained. However, the white blanket did make it easier to see when the cat hair built up enough to where we needed to wash it. The blanket also had ties to tie it to the duvet cover, but the duvet cover didn’t have any ties or loops to which we could tie the blanket so it was always shifting around inside the cover. And it was hard to find another cover with the loops that would be the same size because the blanket was sized to non-American bed sizes.

When we got our new bed and needed something bigger, bought our sheets and duvet cover (what’s the difference between a duvet and a comforter?) from Maggie’s Organics (affiliate? maybe we can ask them…). While their dyes are still not the ideal natural stuff we wanted, the materials are comfortable and we no longer have to worry about staining the blanket and they were fairly affordable. We got our comforter/duvet insert from a company called Coyuchi. (Don’t see an affiliate link program).

Mattress & Platform

The problem with conventional mattresses…(do some research here)

The mattress we got is not your typical boxspring or memory foam mattress that takes two people and a lot of grunting and yelling “pivot!” to move up a flight of stairs. This mattress can change size and shape so you can easily pack it up and take it with you when you move or when you want to go to the drive-in and want some extra padding in the back of your truck or hatchback. It’s made up of two ingredients and neither of those is something gross you’ve never heard of.

Our mattress is the “Pod” Mattress from OpenYourEyesBedding, made out of 100% organic cotton and certified organic buckwheat hulls. The first time I pulled their sample pod out of the box I instantly wanted to hug it and use it as a pillow. In fact I’m still using it as a seat cushion that I sit on while I work all day at the computer. The buckwheat is nice and firm but soft enough to be comfortable, and only takes a minor amount of fluffing before it’s good as new. (more notes about the mattress…)

Our bed platform also came from OpenYourEyesBedding and is a kit that only requires you to source lumber locally, but it allows you to easily customize the length and width of your bed and it doesn’t have any bolts or screws that have to be taken apart when you move and will wear down over time. (more notes about the bed…)

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