“I don’t have time.”“No one is going to see it anyway.”“It’s not important.”
Excuses are easy, but when it comes right down to it, it’s also easy to make your bed each morning. No, you don’t have to turn out a display worthy of Pinterest or Elle Decor—unless you enjoy that sort of thing, in which case have at it. But a quick fluff of the pillows and tug of the sheets and comforter takes only seconds, and it is the easiest way to make your entire bedroom look better instantly. Beyond that, however, there are some surprising benefits to making your bed each day. “If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another," he said. “By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter.” These are powerful words, and you don’t have to be able to bounce a coin off your taut sheets to benefit from them. Duhigg claims that these keystone habits cumulatively lead to “a greater sense of well-being and stronger skills at sticking with a budget.” Pretty impressive results, simply for taking a minute or two to pull up the sheets and comforter. It even makes you feel happier, according to Gretchen Rubin, author of “The Happiness Project.” During her research for the book, she found that one of the most common simple changes that led to happiness was learning to make the bed each morning. So go for it; what else can do so much to make you happy with so little effort, and in so little time? (Well, there is eating a chocolate bar. But there’s no guilt involved with making your bed.)
Keep sheets wrinkle-free by putting them on your bed right out of the dryer. Smooth the sheets with your hands as you put them on the bed. Fold and tuck sheets neatly in at the two bottom mattress corners.
There’s just something about a made bed that feels better at the end of a long day, partly because it makes the bed look cleaner (even if you actually haven’t changed your sheets in weeks), and partly because when a bed looks good, it also feels good. Few things match the pure pleasure of climbing into a smoothly made bed with a lightly plumped pillow after a hectic day. So take those couple of minutes each morning to make your bed. It just might improve your entire life!
