How to Make a Bed Properly

In an ordinary bedroom the bed occupies so much of the eye that its condition governs the whole room. Once it has aired, five minutes spent drawing the linen square and returning the pillows to their place will do more for the appearance of the room than a much longer rearrangement of small objects.

Method

After airing, remove the pillows and draw the lower sheet tight. Smooth it from the centre toward the corners. A fitted sheet should sit fully beneath the mattress; a flat sheet may be secured with hospital corners if one has the patience, or tucked squarely if one has five minutes before departure.

Lay the top sheet evenly with its broad hem at the head. Place the blanket or duvet above it, keeping equal lengths at either side. Fold the top sheet back over the blanket by the width of a hand.

Tuck the foot of sheets and blankets if that manner of sleeping is agreeable. Leave sufficient room for the feet. A bed made as tightly as a parcel is handsome until somebody attempts to inhabit it.

Plump each pillow by holding two opposite sides and pressing inward. Put the pillows at the head with the openings of the cases facing away from the door.

Before leaving, stand at the foot and correct whichever side has been pulled lower than the other. Yesterday’s book, a stocking, or anything else disclosed by this inspection may then be returned to its proper place, after which the bed requires no further artistic consideration.

Common errors

When the lower sheet has been left in ridges, the neatness of the upper covers is chiefly for spectators and will afford little comfort at night. Decorative cushions should be kept within the number one is honestly willing to remove and replace each day; a regiment of them generally spends the night on the floor. Keep the duvet below the pillows, since drawing it over the whole head of the bed gives an unfortunate suggestion that something has been concealed there.