Day 7: Bed-making shortcut

I bought a new Ralph Lauren floral comforter on sale last summer at Macy's.... and I LOVE it! What I don't love is actually making the bed. Of course, there's nothing nicer to crawl into at night than a newly-made, tucked-in bed with fresh sheets. Plus, a made-up bed just looks good, right?!?! It screams order and tidiness! (Just think back to all the sitcoms in which the moms yell for the kiddies to make their beds!)

This is - more or less -- what my bed looks like when I make it up, superfluous throw pillows and all (yep, there are 9 pointless pillows pictured here, not counting the 4 usable ones that are hiding underneath as support)! If I don't change out the sheets, this takes 2:59.7 minutes to accomplish. (Yes, I used a stopwatch and timed myself.... for accuracy!)


But since I don't always have the time, the energy or the motivation to get all that stuff out and organized properly, I've devised a little "cheat" to achieve neatness in only 49.5 seconds! (Yes.... the stopwatch again. I checked!)

I simply skip all the extra pillows and only fluff the ones we actually use. Then I straighten out the sheet and blanket, pull it up tight and fold them both down once. Since the comforter is only for decoration (not for warmth!), it spends its days folded down once and flung over the foot board. So, all I have to do is fling it back up and smooth it out a bit.... and voila: an almost-made bed... in under a minute! (And believe me, it's MUCH better than the alternative!)



Now, THAT's neat!