I used to be one of those people on the team “Why make your bed if you are just going to sleep in it again?” At the time it made perfect sense to me. But then, I became a big fan of Martha Stewart. I read an article in her magazine, Martha Stewart Living, about making your bed. She said it makes a big difference in the appearance of your bedroom. She said it’s a good thing. You know what? She was right. Not only does it make your bedroom nicer, but I think it can improve your life in many ways.
Making your bed every day IS a good thing for many reasons and you can find tons of posts on the interwebs that attribute all sorts of positive life happenings to this simple act. I’ll share my top 5 reasons that I make my bed (almost) every day and hopefully convince you that this is something you NEED in your life, too.
1. It gives me an instant sense of accomplishment. It takes about a minute to make the bed, but after doing it, I feel the gratification the rest of the day. Just think, if you make your bed every day, that’s one task you know you will accomplish. Check mark! Done and done! It feels good to get something done first thing in the morning, then you can move on with the day and kick butt.
2. It makes even a messy room look good. I love one of Gina Vaynshteyn‘s reasons in her post on Hello, Giggles. “Making your bed is one of life’s greatest illusions; it’s much like putting on a pair of glitter flats, tinted lip balm, and pretending you’re not devastatingly hung-over.” I agree! It’s a FACT. If your bed looks nice, somehow the piles of laundry on the floor, the sippy cups of milk on the night stand and the other clutter of your room melt away.
3. It is an easy way to start good habits. Making your bed every day can lead to other tidying habits such as not piling the laundry on the floor, hanging towels up after a shower, flossing your teeth, etc. But, if you are not a regular bed maker, I would start there. Challenge yourself to do it for a week, two weeks, a month. Then see if it leads to other good habits. When I started running, I didn’t go out the first day and run a half-marathon. In fact, I think I may have run like 20 (really long) seconds. I started small! Now I run for much longer and I do all sorts of other fitness-y things. That small start lead to lots of positive changes in my life. Making your bed could possibly lead to other great homekeeping habits.
4. It’s a stress reliever. I know you don’t believe me. It’s true. I am in the middle of reading that book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. It’s kind of all the rage right now and I am ready to jump on board. It’s about decluttering, organizing and living with less. The book states that putting your house in order brings contentment. To me contentment means less stress. I get contentment from seeing my nicely made bed. I have a long way to go in truly decluttering my house, but every day, I can start with a made bed. That at least gets the ball rolling.
5. It’s amazing to get in to a nicely made bed every single night. You know how it feels to dive in to a bed at a nice hotel? Well, that’s how I feel every night. It’s such a nice welcome. It’s a little party for my senses. My eyes are happy to see it all made up and my hands are happy to remove the nice, fluffy pillows and pull down the covers.
Here’s my challenge: Go make your bed! Try it for a few days and let me know about it. Already a serial bed maker, like me? Tell me how it’s a game changer for you.
Happy Tuesday!
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