Mr Flibble's Free Ultimate Blackout Blind

Hiya,

I thought I'd chronicle Mr Flibble's free blackout blind which he originally posted in the "Happy Chritmas!" thread (no idea what Chritmas is, that's Mr Story being naughty and not checking his spelling - spank @ Mr Story 😆). Wasn't really Christmas related, Mr Flibble was being naughty going off topic, I've already given him a big spank for doing that 😊🤗.

Originally, Mr Flibble didn't think about doing a blackout blind, he was after something to stop a draft (it was cold outside), because he could wear his Blublox Remedy sleep mask (check it out on Google) to block out light. But it morphed into a blackout solution.

And this is his solution:

All for free using bits he already had in the house. Made from:

• Polystyrene foamy stuff (not the horrible scratchy stuff) reclaimed from doll boxes
• Duck tape
• Sellotape
• Tin foil (from clearing out his parents flat, they had like 3 rolls of the stuff)
• White sticky back velcro to attach to the wall at the top (white so it blends with the magnolia)

There was a little bit of light leaking around the edges, here was his solution to cut down even more:


Again, all free stuff similar to above. An old Ikea coffee table and legs (the legs had screws sticking out them, and rather than pull the screws out, he plonked a bit of polystrene on those naughty pointy things.)

And now his man cave is so dark. Like a pre-historic cave.

I think you can tell that his blinds do nothing to stop light, and he has street lights outside, so even at night it is not very dark outside the window.

Well done Mr Flibble! I know he had fun. He said it was like going back 35 years to the days of Blue Peter (I have no idea who Blue Peter is - but I'm certain Blue is a very naughty boy!).

Lots of love from Miss K,

XOXO

I can be as dark as you like , but you still end up during the night for a ‘pee’ 🤭

Carly xxx

Hiya Carly,

Mr Flibble's still a young man. As long as he doesn't drink too much before he goes to bed (he drinks too many cups of tea, coffee ... cider, rum, whisky ... he's naughty), he can sleep right through the night.

Lots of love from Miss K,

XOXO

That line made my bestie laugh. So, I asked him why? I should known - story time. So here it is, the long version why total darkness is the one sleep hack that absolutely does not work for him.

He said that he had actually spent considerable time exploring caves in his college days. Real ones. Southern Indiana, back in the ’70s, when carbide lamps were still standard. When a lamp failed, there wasn’t “very dark” or “let your eyes adjust.” There was nothing. No glow, no shadows, no depth. Total darkness and silence so complete it felt like you could hear your own blood sloshing around in your hands and feet.

When experienced cavers took first-timers underground, one of the very first lessons was truly unforgettable. They’d lead the newbies through a maze of passages into a huge chamber via turns, forks, slopes, the kind of route you can only navigate by seeing it. Then they’d have everyone extinguish their carbide lamps.

That was the point. Your life depends on that lamp. Make sure it works. Make sure it’s fueled. Carry spare fuel. Carry spare flints.

After everyone had stood there in total darkness for a bit, one of the old-timers would casually say, “Worst case, you can just feel your way out.” Everyone laughed because by then, it was obvious you couldn’t. You can’t feel which way to turn at a junction. You can’t feel where the forks were. You get out by remembering what you saw. The joke landed because the lesson already had.

Fast-forward to his mid-20s, long before streaming, VHS, cable, or even remote controls. My bestie said he had maybe five TV channels. Prime time was sitcoms and variety shows, then the 10 o’clock news, and at 10:30 the local station would run a movie. He really wanted to watch those movies. He never finished one. He’d be out by the first commercial break and wake up hours later to the national anthem and station sign-off, which always seemed deliberately loud, like the his TV was yelling, “GO TO BED ALREADY.” That happened so consistently it trained his brain perfectly. Even now, a quiet TV on a short sleep timer still knocks him out in minutes. He claims he has never once seen his TV turn itself off. Holly knows for sure but she is not talking.

My bestie says total darkness doesn’t relax him a bit. Part of it is practical, living in a big city, He likes being able to instantly orient oneself and see an exit if necessary. "Nothing ever has happened," he says, but awareness sticks. And part of it goes straight back to those caves, where darkness meant loss of orientation, not rest.

My bestie has lots of reasons why he needs a light on. The TV timer trick isn’t perfect. He once woke up in the middle of the night for a pee, and because the TV was off, he walked into the edge of the bedroom door. He saw stars, but not the kind sailors navigate by. More like the “ow, that really smarts” constellation. Apparently, it’s a new formation that astronomers haven’t charted yet.

Blackout shades are a gift for a lot of people and my bestie and I are genuinely glad they work for you. But as far as my bestie goes, his nervous system tells him: “Total darkness is not your friend.”

--Hanna--

Interesting story Hanna. Thank you for sharing 🍻

For me, I find my eyes hurt if I cannot sleep in decent darkness. It's almost like my eyes need darkness to recover. My eyes appreciate the darkness very much. If I have a night without decent darkness, in the morning my eyes feel sore and unrested.

Even with this solution, it's not "total darkness" like in those caves, just very very good darkness. There's still a very tiny amount of light around the edge, and a faint red light from my heater and some electric sockets.

A strange thing happened last night, I woke up in the morning with my arm around Naomie. This is not something I normally do, I normally sleep on my side of the bed and my doll has her side of the bed, but in the night I must have put my arm around Naomie and started cuddling her 🤗. I love my black woman ❤️

PS These are what I had been using (in the small bedroom) before my blackout blind solution -

- Blublox Remedy Sleep Mask. I'm not sure they are still made anymore, came from an Australian company. Pretty comfortable for sleeping. I take them with me on planes. Also to the dentist (I'm quite photosensitive, don't like bright lights.)

Lucky Bobby hasn't got to that stage yet Carly😆

Well I'm sure Bobkins won't mind me saying that us girls actually help him sleep. His room is quite dark and he has very thick curtains, but he finds it hard to get to sleep at times.

Sometimes he just leaves his TV on and falls asleep, but he does move around a lot in bed ( we only have a large single ) to get comfortable. We live in a first floor maisonette. Outsde his window is a public pathway with lighting on at night, but his curtains block it out. Thats another reason he doesn't have a TPE lady as he moves around a lot and is afraid she will fall out of bed and get hurt. I have fallen out once or twice, but I'm plushie, so i can take it and Bobkins always apologises

Another thing he uses is ASMR ( eating sounds ) it helps his mind relax strangely enough.

He did also have a sleep mask when he worked nights and slept in the day

Hiya,

[USER=225]@Hanna[/USER] 's bestie won't like this 😆

Mr Flibble made out of cardboard a second blackout blind to fit inside the window:

With both blackout blinds in place (one inside the cavity, one outside), it is super duper dark. If Mr Flibble starts to panic he can just rip it off the wall 😆.

Lots of love from Miss K,

XOXO

My bestie is damaged goods. That is why he needs me. ☺️