Continuing our series on things every college freshman should know or know how to do, the next installment is making your bed. This includes washing your sheets (covered in the last blog) and making your bed when they are done or with a clean set. If you have parents like mine, this is something you’ve been doing since you were old enough to do your own laundry. If you don’t, you’re in luck because I’m going to provide you with a step-by-step tutorial of exactly how to make your bed. 

Step #1: 

Assuming the bed is cleared of everything (because if it’s not, how are you going to make it?), step number 1 is putting the fitted sheet on. The fitted sheet is the one that doesn’t lay out flat because it is meant to be placed over the mattress. Lifting one corner of the mattress, align the seam in the corner of the fitted sheet to the corner of the mattress. Tuck the sheet under the mattress and repeat with the three other corners. Make sure to smooth out any wrinkles if that’s your thing before moving on to step 2. 

Step #2: 

After the fitted sheet has been put on the mattress, it’s time for the top sheet. The top sheet is the one that lays out nice and flat because it is the one that you sleep under at night. You can start by simply laying the top sheet out on top of the mattress. If you’re using pattern sheets, there’s a side with the pattern and a side without. The side without should be facing up so when the covers are opened, the beautiful pattern on your sheets is on display. Laying the sheet out will make it easier to align the hem with the top of the mattress and determine how much overhang you want. Aligning the hem with the top of the mattress ensures that you are nice and warm at night because the sheet comes up to your chin. Generally, it is more aesthetically pleasing for the overhang on both sides of the mattress to be equal but you do you, boo. However much overhang you want is perfectly acceptable and if you plan to tuck one side under the mattress for whatever reason, the decision is entirely yours. Once the hem is aligned with the top of the mattress and the sheet is where you would like it to be, all that’s left is to tuck the bottom end of the sheet under the mattress. You could tuck the sides or one side under the mattress as well if that’s something you would like. 

Step #3: 

After the top sheet comes the duvet or comforter, whichever you prefer to use. The process is the exact same as it was for the top sheet: lay it out, line it up, determine overhang, and tuck it in. After tucking the duvet or comforter under the mattress, you can fold the top sheet and duvet down a few inches at the top of the bed. This can be aesthetically pleasing if you’re using patterned sheets because the pattern is now visible. 

Step #4: 

Now it’s time to replace all those pillows, stuffed animals (don’t lie to me, I know there’s at least one), decorative pillows, blankets, and anything else you like on your bed. You can arrange your pillows and everything else however you desire. That part is entirely up to you. 

That concludes our bed-making tutorial for this week. I hope you learned how to be a little more self-sufficient and this was beneficial. If not, it helped someone out there so it was worth writing. Thanks for sticking around and see you next week.