Carrageenan
I’ve been talking a lot about sleep lately but what about the Mattress? Mattresses are a very important part of a good night’s sleep. Have you priced mattresses lately? Crazy expensive!!!
If you’ve been around me for a while you know that I’m pretty frugal when it comes to my purchasing of anything over $50. It comes from over 20 years of marriage to a Controller, (that is ‘head bean counter’ not ‘controlling’), and accountant types tend to have squeaky wallets. So we like to get the most bang for our buck. It is part of why I use dōTERRA essential oils, just need one drop and there are 250 drops in the bottle so it is the definition of frugal, but I digress.
Hate shopping. I really do. Some of my friends might be reading this with wide eyes and raised eyebrows but the truth is, it isn’t as much fun to shop as it was when I was a size 2 and everything looked good, it was just varying degrees of looking good. Now in my 50s I’m at the stage of… that looks good for my age or that is as good as it is going to get. Kind of depressing really – so shopping isn’t my happy place anymore. So when it comes to buying something… particularly when it is expensive and not fun – I want something that is going to last the longest, serve me the best and get it at the best price I can. That is where my inner researcher shines. I love to research and analyze and buying a mattress was no different.
We started looking where we live and quickly came to the conclusion that having one furniture store and paying $4,000 for a mattress seemed less than ideal. So we decided to wait (despite my aching back) and look when we were on vacation. When we hit Seattle we must have tried over 100 mattresses. I found one I really liked but the price tag was giving me heartburn. My husband liked one that was even more expensive because it was ‘cooling’ but he wasn’t willing to spend that much. Being cool is important to him because he runs HOT! During the winter he wears a fleece vest. He has a coat but rarely wears it (yes we do live in Alaska). So we went home and thought about it but I just couldn’t bring myself to pay that much, especially considering they don’t seem to hold their comfort.
So I started my research on different mattresses, and I discovered something very very quickly. They make it almost impossible to comparison shop. You see the mattress industry is very savvy. They make a range of mattresses and name and number them differently for different stores or buying groups. They even change out the fabric so there aren’t any clues. Then they like to not give the same information for each one and withhold as much as they possibly can. That is about when I think most people give up and just buy the one that was the best that they could afford and move on. But I just got annoyed and dug my heels in and kept digging. Then I found an underground site on mattresses. Yes I said underground. I don’t know why it had to be so secret and hard to find but I wasn’t asking any questions at this point.
So I jumped in and decided to start digging. I discovered that I was right and that those top name brand companies intentionally tried to be confusing. I also discovered that they rely on their brand name and reputation of years ago while often using lower grades of materials. I also learned that coil mattresses tend to feel great for six month and then awful because they sag. They also import a lot of materials very cheaply (scary). So I kept digging and decided I wanted one made in the USA by a private company. I dove into the reviews and found one based in Arizona called DreamFoam. I was pretty excited by the reviews and thought it was a good choice. Then I had to figure out how to get it to Alaska and work through the gamble of buying someone sight unseen (laid upon?). I called and discovered they sold them through Amazon. The price floored me. It was under $1000 (for a King) and was Prime (aka free shipping). So I decided to take the plunge and ordered it.
When it arrived I was shocked and almost cried. I completely freaked out because it was in a box about the size of me. My husband calmed me down and we opened the box and there was this little vacuum sealed wafer. More freaking out immediately commenced. My husband being the calmer and more logical one of the two of us said to just lay it out and let it reconstitute. So I pulled out my diffuser and put dōTERRA Purify in it (because I was nervous about off gassing) and walked away and went to work. By the next day it was mattress sized and we put it on the bed and had the best night sleep ever and have enjoyed it ever since. As a bonus – it smelled great. Countless numbers of our friends have gotten them too and love them. So this one is a win-win. And did I mention I bought this over four years ago? I’m still getting a great night’s sleep and I love this.
If you are curious here is the link for the one I bought:
King: https://amzn.to/2JeUbL7
Queen: https://amzn.to/2uJSeTB
And before you ask, yes it is an affiliate link and I get paid a few pennies if you buy it through the link. Last year I made a whopping $15 from Amazon so it really has a significant impact on my reviews. 😉
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