Mattress Switching

Ok…it’s not what you are thinking. Really….do you not know me at all???

A friend from church contacted me and said that she and her husband were upgrading from their queen size bed to a king size bed. She asked me if I would like the queen size bed and, since I have a full size bed, I said yes. So the mattress switching began.

First I asked my brother if he knew of someone who had a pickup truck who could help me and he recommended a friend of his, let’s call him Kevin. I contacted Kevin and he said he would be happy to help me. I said I would bake him a pie, which he said wasn’t necessary, but of course it is.

The next step was to find someone to take my old bed. The friend who is giving me the new bed mentioned that Caring Unlimited, our local abused women’s shelter, just received over 50 mattresses and box springs from a motel who bought all new ones. So they weren’t interested in receiving any more. I called the York County shelter and they said that, due to the bedbug issue, they weren’t taking mattresses and box springs anymore and they were pretty positive no one else would take it either. I had forgotten about the bedbug problem and decided that the only thing I could do was to throw my bed away. It seems a shame to toss a perfectly good bed but there was really nothing else to be done.

So I called the transfer station for my town and they said that, since I didn’t have a transfer station sticker, I would have to pay $28 to dispose of the bed. That sounded fine to me, mostly because there wasn’t anything else to be done with it.

Between all the parties, we arranged for 10:00 this morning to be the start of the mattress switching. I met Kevin at the Wells park & ride parking lot and he followed me to my friend’s house. The men handled the carrying of the mattress and box spring out and loading on to the back of Kevin’s truck. Kevin then covered it with a tarp and fastened it down securely with bungee cords.

They then carried the frame out and we tried to figure out where we were going to carry that. I said that the only option was to put it in the back of my van. Unfortunately my van is narrower than a queen size frame. But they do fold but I was the only one who seemed aware of that. So I unhooked the ends of the frames and folded them in. We then moved the sides so that the middle section was diagonal and we slide it into my van. It just fit with one end between the two front seats and the other end touching the back door.

After saying thank you and good byes, Kevin and I were on our way. We decided to take Route 1 north rather than the turnpike just so that the mattress would stay firmly on the back of the truck.

When we arrived at my house, I asked my neighbor (let’s call her Carla) if she could come out and help us. She agreed and we began the process of switching my old bed for the new one.

First, Kevin and I moved the old box spring out and put it on the pavement next to the truck. We figured it was going to the dump so it didn’t matter if it got dirty. Actually if it got dirty, I would feel better about tossing it so the pavement was the best choice. We then tossed the mattress on top of the box spring.

As I carried out the folded frame, I realized that I really didn’t want to just toss it in the trash. It was perfectly good and seemed like such a waste to get rid of it. So I decided to save it and put it in the shed out back.

Kevin then asked me if I remembered how to put the other frame back together. I said I did and Carla and I unfolded the frame and snapped it back into place. Then Carla and Kevin carried it into my apartment and in the bedroom. Thus began the next discussion. How should the bed go?

I explained that the head of the bed needed to be next to the dresser by the window and the foot of the bed goes at the wall. Carla explained that it should be the other way around. No, I slept so I could look out the window. She and Kevin looked at me like I was crazy and I further explained that I only had two outlets in my room, one by the door and one by the window. In order to plug in my clock, I needed to put it on the dresser. If I moved the dresser to the other side, the clock wouldn’t reach the outlet. And, no, I don’t want to use an extension cord. Don’t like the idea of an extension cord running under my bed. Besides which I like to look out the window and so the head of the bed needs to be by the dresser and the window.

After explaining the crazy way I put my bed (because, from the looks on their faces, it is a crazy way), we put the frame in the correct place. Kevin and Carla then carried in the box spring and mattress and then they put the old mattress and box spring in the pickup truck. While they did that, I was putting the “new” dust ruffle on my bed.

Did I mention that I also received a set of sheets, bed spread and dust ruffle? All really good quality. What an incredibly nice gift!!!

I thanked Carla for her help and Kevin and I took off to drop off the mattress and box spring at the transfer station. This proved more complicated than I initially thought because the place where I thought the transfer station was is actually a recycling center. Someone there directed us to the transfer station. Then we had to figure out where to dump everything. Finally someone came out of a trailer and told me where to dump the bed. We tossed it and I paid the $28 and we headed back home.

When we got back, I gave Kevin his apple pie and thanked him for all his help. He really is a nice guy!

I made up my new bed with my new sheets and stood in my room and admired it. It really is bigger than my old bed and looked so comfy! Did I mention that I got up at 5:30 this morning and spent a long time cleaning up my room in preparation for my new bed? So not only do I have a nice new bed but I also have a nice clean room. Much happiness all around!

Just think, a few weeks ago I had no idea I would receive this gift. Now I have a new bed. Who knows what other blessings are coming my way??? All it takes is one moment to change one’s life for the better. It’s exciting and comforting to think about that, especially considering my current employment situation. I know that further blessings are coming. I have faith!