When I was a little girl, my mom made our pillows because it was less expensive.  She used foam chips to fill the pillows and I can not tell you how comfortable the pillows were.  I like a pillow that is fluffy, but under stuffed….if that makes sense.  I get a sore neck whenever I try to sleep on a “full” pillow without much “give”.  So, for my entire life, I have used a homemade foam chipped pillow.  My pillow is my baby…I do not go anywhere without my pillow.  Most would not call this limp little under-stuffed blob a pillow, but for me it is what lures me to my bed each night.  I LOVE MY PILLOW!

Confessions of a Peculiar Pillow Princess:

Now brace yourself, because this is pretty gross, but for many many years I used my very own childhood pillow and took it where ever I went.  I would wash it periodically, but literally used it for years and years and years and years…too many to count.  Eventually, I took all of the old foam chips out and transferred them to a new casing due to wear and tear, but kept the same foam chips.   Yuck!  I can’t even begin to imagine what lived in that thing??  Over the years, we have bought several pillows to try-out.  I have a water pillow which we all have tried and hate and other pillows with various kinds of stuffing, but to no avail.  When I was little, my mom told me that she thought I was allergic to feathers and that is another reason why she originally made the foam chip pillows.  Strangely, this has had a life long psychological bearing on my state of mind concerning pillows and I have never purchased a feather pillow despite the fact that I sleep with a feather tick (down comforter) every night!  I always come back to my good old foam chipped pillow. Several years ago, I actually made a new pillow – stuffing and all.  I bought fabric and foam chips and stuffed it.  Of course, it was difficult to get the right amount of stuffing and I had to take the stitches out several times to get it just right.  In fact, I loved it so much that I made a second one to cuddle when my husband works nights!

Over the years, my kids have had the opportunity to try-out my pillows and guess what…they too have their very own homemade foam chip pillow.  I have never told them they were allergic to other types of pillows, so hopefully they will grow-up to be more adaptable than I am.

Shay converted to foam chips this summer and was so excited to get his own pillow just like mine!  I can whip these babies up in a heartbeat and so they can easily be replaced when needed.  Most people have never even heard of foam chip pillows, but for me they are my ticket to dream land.

Pillow Preferences

Did you know that the possibilities for pillow stuffings are endless?  Check out this link to find out the 10 best natural pillow alternatives.  I noticed that foam chips was not on their list.  Personally, I can’t imagine sleeping on Buckwheat, but whatever floats your boat.  (People are probably saying the same thing about my weird pillow preference.)  This website talks about other possible stuffings and their benefits.

What’s in Your Pillow?

Brace yourself.  This is completely disgusting and you will soon see why it is recommended that you wash your pillow two to three times per year and replace it about ever 2 years.

Pillow Care 101:

Check-out this video to learn how to test your pillow to see if it needs to be tossed or not.  (Clearly this test would not work on my under-stuffed foam chip pillow, but will work for most normal pillows, I assume).  I wash our pillows a few times a year, but must admit I haven’t replaced them in several.  However, I am pretty sure we’ll be on a new pillow replacement cycle after learning what I did, when preparing for this post.

Well, this “Pillow Princess” definitely needs to add “make new pillows” to her “to do” list…..Do you ever feel like you were happier when you didn’t know the whole truth?  Me too!

Want to learn how the pro’s blog? If you’re interested in earning money from home, it makes sense to learn blogging and internet marketing techniques from the best on the web. If you’d like to receive the same training that’s helped me to launch my blog, you should click to find out how I did it.