Things I am not going to buy - Day 28: Bed and bath linen

I have put this one in because it is a very dangerous time of year for such items.  With the sales now in full swing, there are many stores out there selling lots of beautiful bed linen - duvet covers, sheets, pillow cases - and towels of every size and colour.  It's always tempting to look at pictures of beautiful bedrooms, with perfectly smooth duvets/bed covers, covered in matching and contrasting cushions, and beautifully draped (matching!) curtains.  Rather like the way food is sprayed with all sorts of disgusting chemicals to prepare it for the glossy photos in cook books and on packets, these pictures are of beds that have never been slept in and are not likely to be.  How can duvets be that "puffed up"?  The reality is that the top bit always goes flat, and no amount of shaking and puffing will make it look even all over.  And who, in reality, can be @r$ed to remove a cushion mountain off the bed every night and put it back again in the morning?  Does anyone actually do that???  I can so easily be fooled by the perfect images into thinking that my bedrooms could look like that if I just buy that particular set of bed linen and 24 cushions. 

The dream...

The reality

The point here is really just how many sets of sheets and towels do I need?  I have the set on each bed plus a spare set for each bed for the emergency situation that might occur if the sheets I wash don't dry in time to be put straight back on the same day - an unlikely occurrence as they go in the tumble drier.  Similarly with towels - we all have a bath sheet plus a spare, and there are heaps of hand towels plus some bath towels for guests (in the rare event that we have some). 

Just walk away from the bed linen and towels...