I know the web has brought the world closer together, but this is pretty funny. Someone in Delhi decided to turn to the New York Times etiquette columnist Philip Galanes, and his Social Q's column for what has got to be one of the more unusual questions about socially correct behavior. Here's the question:
I have a guest bedroom. If nobody is using the bed, must I change the sheets every week? I feel awkward when neighbors visit and see the same sheets two weeks in a row. - Anonymous, New Delhi, India
We'll get to Galanes's answer in a minute, but let's consider the question with some other questions. Has anyone else anywhere else ever had this problem? And how exactly do the neighbors see the sheets in the guest room? Is the only way to visit the living room through this guest room?
The official answer to the original question:
Hang on a second while I check the manual on optimal sheet-changing practices. Ah, yes — here it is: The best time frame for changing sheets on unused beds is anywhere between 40 years and the death of the homeowner.
Leave your clean sheets alone. It’s kinder to the environment. You can freshen them, if necessary, when an overnight guest turns up. And in my experience, neighbors are much too busy keeping up their own appearances to worry much about yours.
Am so glad he treated the question with the light touch and sarcasm it deserves.
