Does anyone else except Finns pull sheets? Do you even know what I'm talking about? I think originally pulling the sheets was used to fold them to a nice size so they fit well into the mangle. Many people still do pull their sheets even though they do not own a mangle, also many don't. My parents have a mangle, although my mother or father do not very actively use it. Also A's parents have one and A's mom uses it quite often. Ever since I was a kid I have learned that sheets need to be pulled before those are placed into the sheet closet. I have never questioned this method. Even if the sheets are not mangled they do straighten quite well just in the pulling and are easy to fold. Only thing is that the pulling requires two people, or one person and a tight door.
Flat sheets both single and double size and single duvet covers are folded in different ways. I think this is because of the standard width of the household mangle. But it appears that this folding method also makes the sheets handy size for the standard Finnish closet.
So what happens with the sheets is that two people take a hold of the sheet from the ends. The sheet is first folded in half lengthwise, then again half in lengthwise. The other flap is dropped down and it's retrieved to the other side. This way the sheet forms a W shape. Then the sheets ends are grabbed firmly and the sheet is pulled. I think it's fascinating how some sheets stretch a lot and some very little while pulling. After few firm pulls the sheet is folded like an accordion and now this could be easily mangled, but since again I don't have the mangle I just place the sheets into the cabinet.
The folding method for the single duvet cover is slightly different, at least we do it slightly differently. We fold it so that it form sort of a N-shape or a mirrored N-shape. And then we pull.
I'm pretty sure you think we are loonies to do this so pedantically. But this way the sheets make such a nice piles to the linen cabinet and the fact that it usually helps to have two people doing the folding makes it a much more pleasant chore. Even though I usually do need to remind A of this chore and he is not too eager to start it, it's still kind of nice that there is this one thing I cannot be single-handedly responsible of.
Very interesting. I have never heard of pulling sheets and I had to look up what a mangle is.
ReplyDeleteLove your closet organization! I label my shelves the same way. :)
I knew that pulling sheets is not very common in english speaking world, since when I googled about it I mainly found discussion forums from Finland about the pulling. But I did not realize that mangling too is very uncommon.
DeleteWhen I lived in Helsinki in an apartment building, they had a laundy room in the basement and there was also an electronic mangle, I loved using it, the sheets got so nice and unwrinkly.
I have a dymo, I love labeling :)
I added a link to the wiki site about the mangle, so it's easier to you to look it up.
DeleteThis is similar to how I used to fold sheets with my mom. And I had to mangle table cloths when I worked in a restaurant. Funny is that the German word for mangle is Mangel, just a little letter switcheroo ;)
ReplyDeleteMaybe pulling sheets is a European thing. In Finnish the mangle is called mankeli, so quite similar here too.
DeleteIt's so funny, Nina and I were just talking about this on Sunday (we came across one at an estate sale), although, I had no idea it was called a mangle. My late mother in law in Spain used to iron her sheets, even that really impressed me.
ReplyDeleteI actually know at least two people who iron their sheets. I personally hate ironing, but mangling is easy and faster and I would do that if I just had a mangle.
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