I’ve been spending a bit of time at my mother’s in recent months. Initially because I just needed a break away from my four walls, desk and own mind; then she had some technology problems and I was helping out; and then this week I hung out here because I’d been unwell and she picked me up in my nearby town and took me back to her place (which is also my childhood home). I think she worried if I collapsed at my own place no one would be there to find me and I’d be discovered weeks later, half-eaten by dachshunds. Or similar.*
Anyway… my mum is a busy person. She does U3A (activities for *ahem* older people) classes several times a week plus she does a lot of church and volunteer stuff. Indeed both mornings I was at her place this week she was up at sparrow’s fart to prepare breakfasts for homeless people and make morning teas as a fund-raiser for her church. But… #asithappens none of that has anything to do with this post. 😉
What intrigues me is that SHE MAKES HER BED EVERY DAY. Like EVERY day. Even when she leaves home at 5.30am to pick up bread for the free breakfast.
Like her cooking skills and religiousness, I think the bed making gene skipped a generation. Cos I NEVER make my bed. Unless of course I have visitors who may think poorly of me because of my dishevelled bed linen.
I think she eventually got over the fact that I don’t make my own bed sometime back in the 1990s, but when she stays at my place and left to her own devices she pulls up my sheets / doona cover so it looks more socially acceptable.
I talked ages ago about certain ‘tells’—signs we’re not coping with stuff. For me it’s unopened mail, unstacked dishwashers, messy counters. For others it’s unmade beds. But they’re the people who usually make them in the first place.
Like I said I never make my bed unless I’m expecting company and even then I’ll just yank the sheet and doona up haphazardly.
Hospital corners via organization-makes-sense.com
As I’m prone to overanalysis I’ve been wondering if it’s a generational thing. Mum’s from the pre-doona generation where you had to pull your sheets up, tucking edges in hospital-corners-style and then pull the lovely chenille bedspread up before folding it slightly under the pillows. In fact I’m fairly sure she still puts the top sheet on inside-out so she can fold it back to display the nicely-stitched side.
I’m trying to recall if my friends are bed-makers, as further evidence that Gen X and those-who-followed just can’t be arsed with stuff like that. Although perhaps I’m wrong. It may not be an age thing. Perhaps it’s all about the care factor. Or—gulp, worse still—perhaps it’s just me.
Am I alone in not making my bed every day?
Do you remember the chenille bedspreads?
I’m flogging my blog With Some Grace today and would love to hear where you stand on bed making.
* I have no pets but am fairly sure I’m mostly at risk from dachshunds nonetheless.
July 9, 2015
Deb, I’m a bed maker. I have this thing about sliding into crisp sheets every night (well as crisp as can be due to bed making). My bedroom is my sanctuary.
July 9, 2015
Sadly mine’s also my study at the moment so I spent about 20hrs a day in my bedroom but it’s a great room. I do get the crisp sheet thing. I have some cheaper sheets and when I get into bed with the better sheets I notice the difference!
July 9, 2015
I’m a bed maker too, I think it not only comes from my mother born in 1918 but also my boarding school years where if your bed was unsuitably made it was stripped when you got home from school…ashamed of it you learnt to make it look good with little effort, also before doonas. (I had 7 blankets on in winter)
July 9, 2015
I must admit Jill, my version of bed-making is pretty slack. Even at my mum’s when she’s getting visitors (or I’m leaving and likely to be next in the bed anyway) I kinda just pull stuff up and hide the bumps under the doona!
July 9, 2015
I’m not a natural bed maker. For years I never bothered except when I was changing the sheets. But then I started using a cleaner once a fortnight. And one of the things she does is ‘make my bed’ (pull the quilt up and straighten the pillows because in winter at least I don’t bother with a top sheet). I liked coming home to a non-disheveled bed so now I try to do it each morning. But I’m not as good as the cleaner 🙂
July 9, 2015
Ah yes…. When I lived overseas I used to have cleaners and got very much accustomed to those extra touches. Sadly I’m far too lazy.
July 9, 2015
I make the bed every day…before I get into it at night!
July 9, 2015
Hmmm…. well that’s kinda strange! 😉 Do you mean you straighten it up and pull the covers up etc? I do sort my doona out. Even though it’s cold I find myself quite hot so go to bed (even in winter) under just a sheet and have my doona folded over alongside of me so I can fling it across myself when it gets cold at dawn!
July 10, 2015
I can’t bear crinkles in the sheets, so pretty well make it, tuck in the sides & then get in. Weird, I know.
July 10, 2015
Don’t they come out as soon as you move? Or perhaps I’m a restless sleeper?
July 9, 2015
I am terrible about bed making. If my mum ever sees she goes crazy, she thinks it Is one of the leading causes of trouble in my life!
July 9, 2015
I think mine is a bit the same. It’s beyond her comprehension that I can’t be bothered making it or that making it doesn’t bother me. I do worry sometimes that seeing my bed unmade at her house must stress her a bit!
July 9, 2015
I could be dead tomorrow. I’m not wasting one solitary second on making my bed….
July 9, 2015
Oh, that entirely makes sense!!! I also flop onto my bed during the day (it helps me think) so I’d constantly be tidying it up!
July 9, 2015
I am not a bed maker and I don’t make my child make his bed either. I suppose I have ruined him but I have never seen the value in it personally. My younger sister makes her bed every day, and I was raised by a daily bed maker. I don’t know why it skipped me.
July 10, 2015
I actually had to make my bed as a kid. I have vague memories of being a tad recalcitrant and being put to shame by my (then) neat-freak brother!
July 10, 2015
Growing up I was a spoiled brat that never had to do her bed so now as a woman, I’m with you… no visitors? no bed making 🙂 Though my husband has become more OCD lately, like in army Sargent OCD and is forcing us to make the bed every morning before we leave for work. It never looks like the one in the picture though. I DO have a chenille bedspread that I absolutely love. I love bedspreads. They are my writing desks 🙂 I fold them on top of my cross legs on the sofa or bed and then the laptop goes on top
July 10, 2015
Oh chenille… I didn’t know you could still get them. In the pic there’s a light coloured quilt. It’s no longer on my bed and it covers my sofa cushions instead. I’m just using a doona at the moment so far easier IF I ever decide to make the bed!
July 10, 2015
I can’t remember when I last didn’t make my bed. Even when I’m up for 4am runs I make it. I just like that my room looks neater when it’s made.
July 10, 2015
What about your poor hubby if he’s still wanting to sleep in?!
PS. I do know what you mean about the room looking neater though.
July 10, 2015
I make my bed every day.
First thing.
You climb out of bed and it’s made (there’s no going back).
It is the one thing I demand of my entire family. Nobody leaves the house until the beds are made.
I guess it’s part of my “seize the day” mentality. Get up, get moving, there’s no going back …”
LOL.
Rumour has it that when I’m travelling they get all rebellious and don’t make their beds until five minutes before my return … but I am sure that’s just a rumour …
July 10, 2015
Am sure it’s just a rumour Leanne and you’ve instilled in them your bed-making work ethic! 😉
I flop on mine a lot during the day and in winter would need to get under the sheets so making it is pointless really. I swear!
July 10, 2015
I do – but when my partner goes away, I don’t make the bed til he gets back! Ha~ domestic subversive 😉
July 10, 2015
You rebel you!!! 🙂
July 10, 2015
I’d like to be a bed maker but something in me just rebels at the thought of such a pointless task. Strictly when having visitors or rental inspections here. But I make the kids do theirs. Odd.
July 10, 2015
Perhaps it’s about instilling in them the suggestion that bed making is important—something they can translate to other parts of their lives?! And yes, I pull my doona up when I’m expecting visitors but unless it’s someone I barely know I don’t bother making it look presentable. (I figure my friends already know what I’m like!!!)
July 10, 2015
I’m a sometimes bed maker. I always make it if I’m expecting guests – particularly my mother. I would never hear the end of it if she saw my bed unmade. I also always make it when I’m putting clean sheets on the bed. I do like a made bed and I’m a fan of hospital corners (instilled in me by my mother) but sometimes when I’m home and no-one is coming to visit, I don’t bother. I just pull the sheets, quilt and doona up casually. As a child my parents made the beds religiously every morning before anyone left the house.
July 10, 2015
Yes Min, I can remember being forced to make my bed as a kid… which I guess is the only way I know ‘how’ to make a bed properly… if I was ever called upon to do so. Note to self: don’t join the army! 😉
July 10, 2015
I’m a bed maker … a halfhearted one. I pull up the blankets and sheets and halfheartedly straighten everything but I rarely bother tucking in top sheets around the sides. I like to get into a made bed though and it makes my whole room look clean(er).
July 10, 2015
Oh yes, you’re right about that. My bedroom always looks far fresher with my bed made!
July 10, 2015
Happy to stick my hand up as a card-carrying member of the daily bed making association. I was in boarding school right through my teens where we had to make beds with military precision every day, so the habit has stuck. I remember someone once saying, if you make your bed and clean up the kitchen first thing every morning, you’re always prepared for anyone dropping in unannounced during the day. (Came here via #FYBF)
July 10, 2015
Fairlie, I tidy my kitchen at night or even after I’ve booked. Clutter in the sink for me is a sign I’m feeling a bit stressed. I tend to stack my dishwasher and wipe benches etc as soon as I’ve cooked. (Perhaps it’s about getting rid of the evidence though!?) 😉
July 10, 2015
I’m a bed maker, it makes my room seem tidy, even if it’s not. My girls on the other hand are definitely not bed makers and it drives me crazy. I don’t know how they sleep in them the way they are..
July 10, 2015
I looked over at my bed as I read your comment Mandy as I noticed my sheets and doona were particularly dishevelled when I got up this morning. Thankfully there’s only two layers to straighten out as I suspect it’s worse if you have sheets, blankets and quilts etc.
July 10, 2015
Would you believe I have just had a house inspection today and the beds were not made?!! Hilarious huh?! And the potential buyer is coming a second time next week! I think I have just proven that bed-making is not entirely necessary!
July 10, 2015
Oh yes, you’ve reminded me what I HATED about having my place on the market. Before I left Brisbane I had my place on for 3mths at one point and then a year later – fortunately only for a week or so when it sold. And I HATED having to make my bed and tidy everything up each day!
July 10, 2015
No, not a bed maker. Looking at the comments above, I can’t believe how many people are! I go through short phases (like for a day or at max two after the sheets have been changed) of trying to do it daily but then more important things come up. I do love a nice, clean made bed though
July 10, 2015
I know… though at least there are enough people who AREN’T bed-makers to ensure I don’t feel completely slack!
July 10, 2015
Yep I’m a bed maker. I hate having to see an unmade bed throughout the day, or climb into one at night. I’m not sure why, but I just don’t like it.
Interestingly my MIL puts the top sheet on inside out too. I had never actually seen anyone do that before.
July 10, 2015
I think some sheets have a design at the top and so if you put the top sheet on inside out and fold it back (to beneath the pillow line) you can see it.
July 10, 2015
I am but not prettily.
YANK COVERS UP. BOOM. DONE.
I thnk for me it is a brainreminder it’s time to launch the day.
July 10, 2015
Yes, I can see that. Night’s over, day-time!
July 11, 2015
OK, so this is extra-weird. I want my sheets to be hospital corners, with the bottom sheet super-tight at the corners, all tucked in. But I DON’T MAKE MY BED on a daily basis. Only the day the sheets get changed. My mom had this thing about the beds needing to be aired before being made, so she always goes back after breakfast and makes it. I’m out the door after breakfast and not home until evening, so I just don’t bother. If people are coming over who might go upstairs I’ll make it, but it’s no secret that I don’t make the bed, so I don’t worry about it too much. Before I get in bed every night I tighten up the bottom sheet.
July 11, 2015
I did actually read something once about unmade beds being more hygienic and it was something to do with dust mites etc. Although surely if a bed’s made they couldn’t get in… though maybe they’re already in our sheets and escape during daytime. Argh! Who knows?!
July 11, 2015
I pull the sheets and doona up every day but that’s it. My mother insisted on shaking out sheets and making a bed properly so I think you may be right about the generational thing.
July 11, 2015
Am sure there’s a PhD thesis in there somewhere?! Or at least some psychological behavioural study! 😉
July 13, 2015
I try to make my bed everyday. I know it helps me to feel like the room is neat when the bed is made. I “have to” do it now because little people (my youngest spawns) like to sit on my bed and watch tv or just hang out in room. They sometimes snack and leave crumbs. I can’t stand that.
July 13, 2015
Oh yes, I’d be the same on the crumb front! I live across from the beach and would hate to have sand all over the place. (The fact I haven’t set foot on the beach for over a year is an entirely different subject!) 😉
July 13, 2015
You’re not alone. Since childhood, I have never been good about making the bed. These days, I do pull the quilt or bedspread up (haphazardly) to cover the sheets, blanket, and pillows, because I don’t like the cats sleeping on the sheets. For about a year, I followed a housecleaning system where I made the bed each day, and I did really like how put-together it made the room look. I’ve been thinking recently that I’d like to try that system again; things were neater and calmer around her when I was doing it.
July 13, 2015
I’m a crap housecleaner. I’m a bit anal about not having mess and when I have mess it stresses me, but I’m less pedantic about dust etc and groan when I look at my floors or bathroom counters. Someone suggested a timer rule for that as well. Set aside 10mins or something and see how much you can do in that time. (I guess I could use my 17mins ‘downtime’ to clean!) Gah! I just threw up in my mouth a little. 😉
July 13, 2015
Yes I remember chenille bedspreads and yes I make my bed everyday!!! But I’ve only got a duvet on it so it takes milliseconds to make!!
July 13, 2015
Same – sheet and duvet (or doona) and yet… it still sits bundled up on my bed – ready for an easy return!
July 13, 2015
I never make my bed. Even when I have visitors, I usually just close the door. 🙂
It’s a shame too, because we have a beautiful Amish-made bedroom set that I should show off to everyone, When we first bought it, we even bought a bunch of fancy pillows and stuff to go on the bed. Now they spend most of the time on the floor. Oh well!
Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
July 13, 2015
Ah yes. I once had pillows to match a doona setting but they lived on the floor for most of the time!
July 13, 2015
My bed making is determined by how much sleep I got… If I am well rested, I’ll make that bed and tuck in the sheets… if I’ve been up all night, they might get pulled up!
PS. Hospital’s bed sheets NEVER look like that!
July 13, 2015
I wonder if ‘hospital corners’ are still a thing?
September 8, 2015
I grew up in a home where it was sheets, blankets and bedspreads, so I have *that* gene but I do not (DEFINITELY NOT!) make my bed every day. The only time it will (sometimes) get made is when I change the sheets. I don’t *do* hospital corners, as such, but I do have a slightly OCD way of making sure my sheets are tucked in nicely, with the top upside down, of course! 😉
September 8, 2015
I must admit I like my sheets nicely tucked in at the bottom when I go to sleep!