You know that feeling of satisfaction that comes from having a clean home. You want to be able to come home and relax in your living space without worrying about what’s hiding under your bed or behind the couch. But who has time for that?
We all know that making a bed is a chore. It’s not just an annoyance because it takes time. It can be downright frustrating when you have to deal with wrinkled sheets and pillows that won’t stay in place.
It’s not your fault if your bed looks messy. You’re probably busy with work or school, so making the time to iron out those wrinkles isn’t always possible.
Well, we’re here to tell you that there is hope. There are steps you can take to make your bed look presentable, organized and neat- just like a house cleaning professional would do.
How? With these simple steps!
Start Fresh
When it comes to choosing sheets, sticking to a good neutral colour is best.
Whites or creams are a good place to start as you can then add interesting patterns or more fun pillows on top. Neutral sheets are the metaphorical canvas on which you can paint your perfect picture of bedded-bliss.
They give a clean starting point for the eye and a needed colour contrast to any additional blankets, duvets, or pillows you’ll be adding.
White or cream sheets also free you from being stuck with a single look. You can more easily change or spruce things up if you decide to update your bedroom later.
Correct Sheet Sizing
Clear Things Off
If having a perfectly crisp look is important to you, then beginning to tuck sheets while items like pillows are still on the bed will harm your crispness.
To attain a perfectly neat look for your sheets, you need to remove any items before tucking so as to eradicate wrinkles in the sheet.
Dust
You may have seen this step in movies more frequently than in real life, but shaking off or dusting the bed sheets before tucking them is pivotal to a truly tidy tuck.
Why is this? Dead skin. With around 1.6 TRILLION skin cells on your body, you can bet that millions are lost during the night.
Without going to the trouble of washing your sheets every morning, doing a quick dusting is your next best way to keep a tidy bed.
Tuck it Tight
To ensure the absolute tightest tuck, (a hallmark of professional bed-makers), start by making certain there are equal amounts of your sheet hanging over on the sides of the bed.
Once you’ve got as much sheet hangover on the left as the ride side of the bed, adjust the top of the sheet nearest the headboard to leave a gap between the headboard and top edge of your sheet.
This gap will allow for easy turn-down of the covers come bedtime, as well as leave space for pillows to be stacked neatly.
Another key to tucking as tight as possible is to smooth the sheets flat and tight under the bed when you tuck them in.
Doing this prevents any lumps under the mattress as well as ensures that you’ve pulled the sheets down and under the mattress as tightly as you can.
Layer
Aren’t beds intended to feel cozy?
Even if you live in a warmer climate, lots of layers add a sense of comfort and preparedness to your bed as you are more equipped for whatever temperatures the night brings.
When it’s too hot for your duvet, it can add a splash of colour or pattern to the foot of your bed as it serves as a temporarily decorative piece.
How to Handle Covers
Regardless of the number of layers you’ve chosen to adorn your bed, all of them need to be equally placed across the width of the bed.
Just as with the sheets, make sure one side of your comforter, quilt, or duvet is not hanging longer on one side of the bed than another.
Once the covers are placed evenly across the width of your bed, fold down each layer from the top just enough to allow for pillow space at the head of the bed.
When done correctly, you should have pulled these top layers down enough to allow for the very bottom layer, (the sheets), to then be folded down at the head of the bed and layered on the top of the other covers.
Be sure to only fold the covers and top of the sheet down enough to allow for pillow space.
The Duvet
Speaking of duvets, why is it that beds’ in-store displays always have duvets that seem particularly, well, …foofy?
The secret: double stuffing.
Yep. Stores will often add a second feather insert to increase the look of fluffiness.
While two feather inserts may be a recipe for over-heating, if you fold your duvet in the right way, it can compensate for that missing insert and give you that fluffy look.
Here’s how:
1. With the ends over the foot of the bed, fold the duvet in half.
2. Next, fold the top half up towards the head of the bed so the duvet is doubled over itself creating more volume.
Simply spreading a duvet over the length of a bed will completely reduce any look of volume or poof. Instead, give these folding steps a try and then resist the urge to immediately jump on the bed.
Puff Those Pillows
According to some studies, pillows may be more important to a proper night sleep than the mattress.
Thus, what may be the most enjoyable aspect of making a bed, (the pillow-fluff), may also be one of the most important. For the best put-together look, save the pillows until the end to avoid wrinkles to the covers or improper layering.
Just like with your sheets, dusting pillows is again one of the standard house-cleaning tips you’ll want to follow.
Pillows are no different from your sheets when it comes to accumulating dust and dead skin.
Once you’ve given them a good dusting, give them several good shakes and pats to help fluff the stuffing into a more central location in the pillow. Doing this will add volume and make the pillows appear newer and more full.
Make a Bed More Enjoyable!
Now that you’ve made the bed and it’s Ritz-Carlton worthy, you’re probably all tuckered out and ready to plop right in it. But what’s the good of a perfectly immaculate bed if the rest of your home feels cluttered?
Never fear! Check out our blog for some great tidying tips to make your home more livable.
