Opinions: How Many Sets of Sheets/Linens the MT's Needs

[to be continued ...]

This may or may not be a helpful thread, but shivashiva disclosed an intersting point of view.

Any takers as to discussing amounts of linens in a thread?

Linens: while you should have nice linens, I firmly believe (if you do your own laundry at home, big caveat, I know) you should not have more linens than the number of massages you are willing to do a day.

.

 

[hipHOPhead]

I'll start.

Personally, I do my own laundry, and I have found that having a lot more sheet sets than the amount of massages I do, makes my life a LOT easier. I max at 6 massages per day, though I have been known to do more on the realy rare and not so brilliant occasions. I average 5 massage per day though. I have at least 15 sets of sheets.

There have been times when I did not get a chance to wash the night I got home, or was too pooped-out, or just plain lazy and didn't take them home that night. It is a wonderful feeling to know I don't have to wash every night, especially since I usually get home at 10pm or later most evenings.

I vote more sets of sheets than massages you are willing to do in a day.

 

[skyle]

My house is on a septic tank so I do my laundry down the road at the laundermat. It is also easier that way for other reasons: the amount to apply to tax write offs is easy to determine and the sheets are done within a hour or so (counting folding).

I have about 22 sets of sheets b/c I average about five people a day but only work four days a week. I keep dirty sheets in a closed linen basket and only do laundry at the end of my work week as I also get home late. I also use a blend of lotion and creme and no oils, so that is a big reason why I don't have to wash immediately after use.

It seems it would be quite tiring only have enough sheets for the day and have to wash every night, not to mention the burden on your washers at home.

 

[imablaaze4life]

Oh, I have more than just a day's supply too. I do wash the same day or the day after, but there are several r easons I keep more on hand:

1) I dress the table seasonally -- smooth cotton sheets in the warm months, cotton flannel in the cold months. Right there that doubles my sheet count.

2) I use public transportation a LOT of the time I'm working, and it's hard to lug all those sheets in one trip, so sometimes there are clean folded sheets sitting at home waiting for a car ride back to the office.

3) As with any cloth item, I've found that super-frequent washing seems to wear them out faster. So if I have lots of sheets that have longer times between washings, they seem to tolerate more total washings over their lifetime than if I packed all the washings in every single day. Instead of a year of use washed daily, my sheets seem to last about 3 years washed every other day (instead of just 2 years).

4) There is simply not time in every day to do work laundry daily, especially without stressing out about it if the evening takes an unexpected busy turn. Maybe before I had a kid, but not now! :

I concede that it's possible to keep a minimum number of sheet sets. You just have to be committed to your laundry routine and be comfortable working without a backup set!

 

[red top]

I also work with about 20 sets of sheets. Washing happens on the weekend only, and I stock all the cupboards and drawers at the beginning of the week. I also like to be able to "retire" sheets or towels when they start looking and feeling worn, rather than having to figure out if I can get away with one less set for now.

 

[Chee Hoo]

I do my laundry at home, but I'm lucky to get in 2 loads per night. It depends on when I get off work, if I have any plans that evening, how early I go to bed, etc. Also, I use flannel, which take up a lot more room in the washer. For me, I can't double up on loads. That means I need a minimum of 12 sets of sheets. However, I am lucky to have a husband that doesn't mind helping with laundry. If he gets home before me, he'll start washing the sheets left over from the previous workday.

My house is on a septic tank so I do my laundry down the road at the laundermat. It is also easier that way for other reasons: the amount to apply to tax write offs is easy to determine and the sheets are done within a hour or so (counting folding).

I'm going to be remodeling my bathroom/laundry room soon, which means I'll temporarily be without a washer/dryer at home. I'll need to switch to a laundromat myself then. Kathryn, do you use a linen service at the laundromat, or do all those loads yourself? I'm concerned there won't be enough machines available (with other customers present) to do all my sheets at once.

 

[LittleFoot]

i also vote more sheets than you need. but then again, more than i need applies to most of my philosophy on life.

my practice is a little slower than some, and 12 sets of sheets seems to be perfect for me. will last me an entire week, and i also do laundry at the laundry mat. i get there early (7:30 when she opens, always first one in). look for a laundry mat that has the really big front loaders.

i do personal laundry too. i ALWAYS use the giant machines. it's 14 quarters, but i get 6 or 7 sets of sheets, comfortably. plus, i think the front load machines are more efficient at cleaning, i use hot water cycle.

i really like having all of my sets of sheets (an impressive stack) neatly folded, done in around an hour.

 

[Pompal 09.]

However, I am lucky to have a husband that doesn't mind helping with laundry. If he gets home before me, he'll start washing the sheets left over from the previous workday.

my S.O. knows better than to even THINK about touching my linens. he's sweet and helps with everything else (daily cooking, yay!)

BUT... i must be just a little retentive about it. since i fold my sheets and stack them JUST SO, he won't go near them.

 

[Selketchina]

I probably have 10-15 sets of sheets, and rarely do more than 3 massages a day.
Some days I get to the laundry, some I don't- It's nice to not have to worry!

 

[dayquil_1]

Thanks for starting a new thread on this! Let me elaborate:

First, during many of my massages I use copious amounts of oil (enough to soak the sheets right through) and they need to be washed ASAP in order to clean them properly. Sometimes I don't even wait until the evening to wash, but do it in between clients. I usually schedule 30 min between clients so it's not uncommon for me to throw in a load, or switch loads in between. I do agree that having a laundry service would be easier to write off, tax-wise. I hadn't thought of that.

My washer takes two sets of flannel sheets. If I finish working by 7 pm, I can still get in two loads before bed, and one in the morning started during my first massages.

I can totally see why you guys choose to have so many sets of sheets. I myself could not imagine waiting till the end of the week to do wash!

I do have extra sets of sheets at hand just in case I'm not able to get to my laundry. But I don't bring them into rotation at all unless I need to. I run on about 5 sets in rotation, and I've got at least 4 as backups, some unopened.

 

[krissstybee]

Shivashiva,

Now I see why you only need a few sets of sheets. You have laundry facilities at your massage office! That's a horse of a different color! I'm envious.

 

[Baran]

Actually, I think Shiva works out of a home office (if recalling correctly from a posting somewhere else?) ....

My answer to this thread is a bit complicated ...

I have 6 sets of sheets at the senior center that I work at once a week. I generally do 4-5 massages, but the laundry facility is there (I'm allowed to wash there [for "free" -- of course nothing is free, it's built into the price they're paying me]), so I generally have a set or two from the end of the prior day to start washing when I get there in the morning, and I do another load somewhere in the day.

I then have 6 other sets of sheets that I use for my home practice (4/day tops) and the days at the chiro office (also 4/day max), which I wash at home. My goal is to add about 3-4 more sets to my piles (1-2 at senior, and 1-2 at home), so I have more cushion to not have to do loads when I don't 'feel' like it.

 

[pollyfashion100]

Shivashiva,
Now I see why you only need a few sets of sheets. You have laundry facilities at your massage office! That's a horse of a different color! I'm envious.

It's even more of a different colour when you consider ayurvedic treatments see http://www.americanspamag.com/americanspa/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=442878&pageID=1&sk=&date 8hrs of oily sheets lead to Towelling Inferno!!!!!

 

[Stella]

Wow! Thanks melb for posting that! When I read "8hrs of oily sheets lead to Towelling Inferno!!!!!" I LMAO! I thought "towelling inferno" was referring to my massive spectacle of laundering that evening.

But once reading the article I am very grateful to know that! I have heard of that before, but never in such terrible detail. The main reason I was washing my linens ASAP was for ease of cleaning. The longer it sits, the harder to get out. Now I have a MUCH BETTER reason. I do always use low heat on my dryer specifically for that reason, though.

You're right Ding, Home Office it is!

 

[Carlie]

I have only 6 sets of sheets, and I will do a maximum of 4 massages per day.... Lately things have been really slow for me so not much laundry at all. I just opened my business in September though and this is really the first "slump" I've been in. During my busiest times(on average I was doing between 11-14 massages per week), I would wash at least 1 load of sheets every nite and put another load on before going to work in the morning. I wash them at home of course...luckily I live a few blocks from my business so it is possible to run over real quick and switch the laundry out, but still a pain! When business picks back up, more sheets are one of the first things on my list to buy!

 

[Hamratsn]

Bliss,
I use the largest front loader, it takes about $5 worth of quarters but will fit about 55 lbs of laundry. I usually fit about 17 sets of sheets (they are all pretty much king sized). Check and see if your laundrymat has a piece of paper that tells you how many lbs each type of unit holds or ask someone who works there. The other 3-4 sets of sheets and towels are thrown into a smaller front loader that is $3--that equals to only two loads in the wash.

Front loader is always the most efficient (clean), cheapest and utilizes the most out of your detergent. In fact, you will need less detergent with the front loader. My husband and I just finished a major interior remodel as well and I am hoping for a front loader for the house after we finish the back yard.

I tried laundry service once but it cost me $38 to do the laundry that I was paying $20 to wash and fold myself. Also, I fold my sheets in a specific manner so when I unroll them to use they are ready to put on the table. (My sheet set up is different than most--I have a bottom sheet attached with sheet straps ((twin size fitted were just too wrinkled all the time)) and the top sheet is always a king folded down the center).

 

[Stupendous315]

I have four separate sets of sheets. For one senior apartment complex, I have bottom sheets only because they all leave their clothes on, and I got tired of washing half of each set and wearing them out unevenly, so I just bought a bunch of bottom sheets. Those are maroon and blue. For the other senior complex, I have full sets of sheets - most of them undress and get the full Swedish-plus-whatever massage. These are lilac and sage green. The other set is for the rest of my clients - I do outcalls. That is actually 2 sets - flannels for winter, cotton for warmer weather. I do ALL outcalls, and wash everything at home. I am picky about how it is folded, so I don't see that ever changing. I generally do a load of sheets when I get home at night, but after a few hours at the senior apartments, I have a lot more than one load of sheets to wash! I do laundry the whole next day, then, and try not to ever let them sit undone more than a day. I'm not even sure how many sheets I have....but I know which basket to grab when I'm walking out the door, and I will always have enough of the right kind of sheets, this way.

 

[peanut]

You have laundry facilities at your massage office! That's a horse of a different color! I'm envious.

Me too! t045 You lucky dog!!!

The longer it sits, the harder to get out.

Just wanted to put a kudos in for Dawn dish soap here. You probably already know, but that is the best stuff to get oil and oil smell out of sheets. I use lotion (not oil), but had used some oil during a hotel massage a while back and it left the sheets rancid smelling. I took the advice of someone on the forum and washed the sheets with a drop of Dawn and out came the smell.

If this wasn't on your radar, I wanted to throw it out at you.

Thanks for not dressing me out for using your post here as a thread opener.

 

[Edward Bongshanks]

Kathryn, thanks for the laundromat information. That could work for me, too. My hesitation on using the professional laundry service isn't the folding as much as scents & stains. I'm very picky about the products I use, and I can't imagine a laundry service remembering to use my products for my loads.

ccMarie, although I'm not an early morning person, showing up at the laundromat when they first open is good advice for getting dibs on the machines. Thanks!

 

[PaRtY AnGeL]

Just wanted to put a kudos in for Dawn dish soap here. You probably already know, but that is the best stuff to get oil and oil smell out of sheets.

I 2nd this. A small squirt of Dawn added to every load keeps the oils from building up. Even though pretty much all of our therapists use either lotion or creme, there's still oil in there. We've found that adding Dawn has extended the life of our sheets.

Angie