Awoke in the hotel again, naturally, and whilst brushing my teeth noticed a sign in the toilet. It read ‘Millions of hotel bed sheets are washed around the world every day using millions of gallons of water and a lot of detergent. If you would like to help save the planet and do not wish your sheets to be changed, please put this notice on your bed.’
I’m unsure if this is a genuinely decent environmental gesture of just the hotel trying to cut costs and not do as much work. It’s clearly both, now I think about it. I’m not sure if I’d ever use the sign and decide to sleep in the same sheets for more than one night because I’d feel I wasn’t getting value for money. I’d also mentally argue that this isn’t a selfish act and I’m not putting my comfort before the future of the planet because the environmental effect of me not having my sheets washed is so utterly minimal that it doesn’t make any difference.
I understand the concept of it takes the first drop to fill the ocean, or whatever, and that if lots of people decided to suffer the indignity of sleeping the same sheets for more than one night it will ultimately make a difference, but that’s also an easy argument to selfishly counter because I would convince myself that no-body else, in any hotel, puts this sign on their bed and therefore I wouldn’t be contributing to a worthwhile and effective cause.
Indeed, I would feel that maybe the hotel staff would secretly laugh at me and say ‘Someone’s actually done it! Someone’s actually wants to save the world by not having their sheets washed, the hippy!’ to each other when they see it. And I’m not one to be mocked, dash it all!
The strange thing about this is that I sleep in ‘soiled’ sheets the vast majority of the time at home. I don’t put clean sheets on my bed daily, and yet in a hotel I’m not willing to do the same even if it means the world will eventually die. This is because I love hotel beds and am not willing to have my enjoyment of them even slightly diminished. What on Earth does that say about my character? Good Lord.
You know exactly what I did today, or at least can have a pretty good guess, so I won’t bother explaining. Never once left the Tiki bar. Shameless stuff.
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Gus Openshaw wrote...
It's my opinion that by perpetuating yours you can increase appreciation for crisp hotel sheets on a daily basis, thus increasing demand for hotel rooms, thus generating additional revenue for hotels, allowing them to donate money to save the world rather than asking you to forego your sheets.
Posted by: Gus Openshaw | November 30, 2005 2:21 AM