No room looks tidy with an unmade bed. It takes just a minute, so why do so many of us skip this chore? Organize your linen closet, then follow a schedule to make keeping your bed neat and clean a totally achievable task.
Get Organized
If you have a dedicated linen closet, or multiple ones throughout your home, then getting organized takes no time at all. If you do not, consider turning a hall closet into space for your extra bedding and towels.
Start the organization process by sorting through all of the linens you have. Set aside sheets, towels and other items you don’t use to repurpose or donate, if in good enough condition. Stick to three sets of sheets per bed and three towel sets (bath, hand and washcloth) per family member. Limiting linens helps prevent overflow and makes it much easier to find what you need to keep the house in order.
Now organize your linen closet, or closets, by bedroom, bathroom and season. So, put all sheets and comforters for the master bedroom in one stack, items for the kid’s room in another, and so on until all bedrooms and bathrooms get their own stack or stacks. Place out-of-season items, such as flannel sheets in the summer or beach towels in the winter, behind in-season items. Keep items you rarely use in plastic pouches to keep them fresh. You also can tuck a box of baking soda to keep linens from getting musty in humid areas of the country, and dryer sheets and scented sachets make for a lovely smell. Scented shelf liners work well, too.
When you add or remove items, put freshly laundered items on top and take the next to use from the bottom of the stack. This helps spread wear out amongst your sets.
Bonus tip: If you have yet to master the folding of a fitted sheet — and other than Martha Stewart, who has? — check out this step-by-step how-to on the topic. The article also includes Martha herself showing how it’s done.
Make the Beds Daily
Before leaving your bedroom each morning, straighten the sheets and tidy the comforter. Also fluff and replace all pillows. Waiting until after breakfast or just before you leave for work or school results in the chore getting skipped more often than not.
Bonus tip: If you have kids in the house, add “make your bed” to their list of morning chores and tie it to an allowance or prizes. You all will appreciate having a nicely made bed to fall into at the end of a long day.
Change Sheets Weekly
How often sheets need changing depends on their use. For example, do your dogs cuddle up with you at night? Then you definitely need to change sheets weekly. Even sheets that see less dirty paws can benefit from a weekly change, as it puts you in the habit of taking care of the chore on a regular basis. If you only do it every other week or once a month, it gets too easy to put off the task.
Bonus tip: If you do let pets sleep in the bed, keep a container of wet wipes in your nightstand drawer for a quick cleaning before bed. Doing so keeps your sheets cleaner longer — and your pets, for that matter.
By getting organized and setting a schedule for making beds, you give yourself and family members the best possible chance at tidy bedrooms. If you need help with the organization aspect or weekly or more frequent changing of sheets, we would be more than happy to help out.
For your home cleaning needs, contact the professionals at Molly Maid. Each maid services team comprises insured, licensed and uniformed housekeepers who are regularly supervised. Click here to request service in your area.
