Why ?

When I was little , we lived in an old , uninsulated house with heating provided during the day by the cooking Mum did on the wood-fired cookstove . At night , a little coal oil heater by the front door kept the house a little above freezing . The stovepipe from each of the stoves rose through a pipehole in the ceiling , on up through a bedroom and into the main chimney flu . The hotair that circulated in these pipes warmed the bedrooms.

Once the woodfire in the cookstove...
 was loaded with wood it was dampered down to smolder as slowly as possible for as long as possible before it became cold . The front heater was also turned low for a night of sleep . By morning , the house would be cold . Thick frost on the inside of the window glass obscured the view and the vapour from our breath froze white . On especially cold nights of -30 C or more , the moisture from sleeping people was collected as ice on the windows as well .

My Dad would wake well before daylight , jump out of bed and in his longjohns hurry downstairs . He turned up the heater and started a fire in the cookstove . Then he put the kettle on to boil  before he rushed back to bed to wait a half hour until the house was warm enough to get ready for work . By that time the water in the reservoir was warm enough for washing . The rest of us remained in our warm beds listening to the morning routine , not daring to emerge until the floor was tolerable to the barefoot and the tea was made .

That is where my inspiration to make a winter bed evolved . Of course , my house is insulated nowadays but I do like cool for sleeping so I can indulge myself in my perfect winter sleep . When the geese fly south I follow these steps .

1. Be sure the mattress surface is at least 30 inches from the floor . Heat hovers at that height .

2. Place a fibre / feather bed on the mattress . Sinking capability is essential .

3. Put a padded matress cover / or a lightweight fitted sheet over this to keep everything in place . This keeps the fibrebed clean as well .

4. Make the bed with plush flannelette sheets . They are cozy and warm .

5. Add a wool blanket . Even damp from body moisture will keep you warm .

6. Place a quilt / duvet / coverlet over the whole collection . Decor .

7. Turn down the heat . It's environmentally friendly .

8. Snuggle and enjoy .

Once every week  while you are laundering the sheets , hang the covers , fibrebed and pillows out in the winter cold . They'll come in smelling fresh and clean .