Organic Sheets

About 3 weeks ago our old "safari" sheets got a little rip in them. Though I have no evidence to prove it, I suspect that it may have occurred when my oldest little man was having his rest time in my room. You know how with 4 1/2 year old boys "rest time" for them really means "playing with my legos and having a Star Wars fight really quietly so mom can't hear"? Yeah, well I think the Star Wars fight segment may have accidentally created a little tear in my sheets, which I was fine with. I mean, they ARE 5 years old and were basically the only pair of sheets we ever used on our bed (I'm just not one of those people who likes to buy 4 pairs of expensive sheets and rotate them in between . . .it'd kind of be nice if I was made like that, but alas, I have realized, and accepted, that I am not.) And, what started out as an incidental little tear soon turned into a rip the size of my arm. How do I know so? Well every night I inevitably woke up with my arm stuck between the airy safari sheets and the confines of the mattress. That's how. Tired of my already precious sleep being interrupted by my jailed arm, I set out on a quest to find some economical organic sheets.

"Economical" and "Organic", I have discovered over the past several months, do not often go hand in hand. It is quite sad for me to realize that with a healthier version of something comes a heftier price tag, but alas, it is true (at least for the time being). I suspect the fact that the proliferate use of chemicals propels mass production of commodities such as cotton, for example, which in turn creates a larger production of things such as cotton sheets, and subsequently a cheaper price tag. Well. Where do we go from here?

I have pretty much resigned myself, at least temporarily, to the fact that choosing an organic (o.k. mostly organic) lifestyle comes with a higher price tag. This higher price tag, however, is offset by the comfort of having more peace of mind . . .peace of mind that what I am putting into my kids' bodies is real food, is healthful, and will help them grow; peace of mind that the beds we sleep on and the pillows that cradle the heads of my most precious possesions are providing not only comforting but safe places to sleep. And so, I ventured on in my quest to increase the healthy quotient in my home by researching organic sheets for my bed.

Along my journey to seek out economical sheets, here are some options I came across:

Coyuchi: (about 270.00 for a Queen size set of sheets)They have a great reputation for high quality organic bedding and their prices prove it. I bought the Coyuchi jersey knit sheets in indigo for my oldest little man's new bedding and I love it (so does he). It's soft, stretchy but not as stretchy as a t-shirt, and is a great color.

Gaiam: (129.99 for a Queen set in white, 250 thread count). There are mixed reviews on the softness of these sheets but that was a common concern for most of the organic sheets I researched. This is a good moderate price for organic sheets but they didn't have the color I wanted.

Target: (49.99 for a Queen set, available in stores). I was hesitant about these sheets. I mean, it seems the best option money-wise, but would I be compromising healthiness? How are they offered so, shall we say, economically? My sister warned me that some reviewers had complained of a chemical-ly smell.
Well. What was I to do? I slept on it (ha!) for a week or so, diligently researching and re-researching my options each night. I finally decided to take one for the team and opted for the Target sheets. One, because I could see and feel them in person. I gave them the sniff test and didn't detect any chemical-ish smell at all. They were even certified by Oetek as organic. That's what sold me. I couldn't find any untruths about the validity of them truly being organic, so I went with it. Got 'em home, gave them a good wash (and a quick ironing . . .more on that later) and ta-da! they are nice and at home on my loving bed. Here's my lowdown on them:
1) They're exactly what I was envisioning. From all the research I've done, I've realized that organic sheets are not typically as soft as standard, conventional cotton sheets. This is due to the absence of harsh chemicals used during the processing of the cotton. I can deal with that. I haven't been sleeping on 1500 thread count sheets anyway so I figured I'd hardly notice 300 thread count instead of 550, and it's a worthy trade-off.
2) They are wrinkly. As in pug-dog, wrinkly all over wrinkly. Even fresh from the drier and I mean fresh as in I pulled them out even before the drying cycle was done, they were wrinkly. This too, I had read about. At least a handful of reviewers from every online store I looked at commented that the sheets were pretty wrinkly. Now I don' thave any scientific evidence or research findings to prove this, but I would surmise that this factor too, is due to the absence of harsh chemicals that are used to create softness in conventional sheets.
I gave the top 1/3 of the sheets a quick ironing, as in 3 minutes tops, and then made my beautiful new bed, hospital corners and all (it's the nurse in me!)

And here's my final verdict: I love them. My husband loves them. Bedding gets wrinkly after a night of sleeping in it anyway, so what's all the fuss about wrinkles anyway? I love the color, I love the fact that they have zero harmful chemicals, and I love love love the fact that I paid only 50 bucks for them. Now, someday, someday I have promised myself that I'll splurge on fancy schmancy bedding. And I will. Someday. Just not when Star Wars lego fights threaten the integrity of my precious bedding.

Lifekind Update
Remember a couple of weeks ago when I posted about having bought an organic, all natural latex mattress for my son? But that it arrived too soft, then too firm? Well, they said they were determined to get me the right firmness and sent out a third mattress, at absolutely no additional cost to me. And it arrived. Perfect. I LOVE Lifekind. They are very customer service oriented. They didn't harass me for being unhappy with the firmness of the first two mattresses. They just worked to get it right. I would highly, highly recommend them to anyone looking to invest in and create a healthy sleeping environment. By the way, for a great medium-firm feel, order a firmess of "20". It has just the right amount of give to cradle your shoulders and hips (if you're a side sleeper) but plenty of support at the same time. Ahhhh, makes me want to go nap on my son's bed right now. Guess I should start saving for a Lifekind mattress of my own!

And just as a sidenote, the sheets we bought for his bed are Coyuchi organic jersey cotton sheets.
I wanted organic sheets of course, but some of the reviews I read about organic sheets were that they were always wrinkly, or too rough/crisp. I wanted something soft, something cozy for him, and that's when my sister recommended looking into organic cotton jersey. Their lightweight so not as heavy as flannel, yet sturdy, soft, and perfect for his bed. I'll post a pic soon so you can see the finished product. I've been looking for a good headboard/footboard option but am running into trouble since we ordered a twin XL length. I ordered the XL length (basically a dorm room size twin) because we plan on the little man having this "investment" of a bed until he goes off to college, and being that his daddy is 6'3", his uncle is 6'4" and his grandpa is 6'3", I didn't think a standard size twin would cut it for him as a teenager. I'll keep you posted, though. Might have to get creative and make our own headboard for him!