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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To thing that making a bed is the most pointless exercise?

130 replies

PyongyangKipperbang · 03/04/2023 01:17

You wake, you throw back the covers and they stay there. That airs the bed.

12 to 18 hours later you get back in said bed, and pull the covers over. Job done.

Why the need to "make the bed"? My mother would occasionally be running for the bus because she had to make the beds before she left the house. Making the beds first thing in the morning was considered, and still is it seems, to be a standard. Why?!

As an adult who uses a bed to sleep in and bed room as ....well a room for a bed why would I waste precious sleep time to get up ten minutes early to make sure that the pillows are straight?

OP posts:

purpledalmation · 03/04/2023 08:57

I'm with you entirely. Pointless, and the bed is nicely aired.

Thepeopleversuswork · 03/04/2023 08:58

I agree OP, always thought it an utterly pointless exercise.

magicthree · 03/04/2023 09:06

borntobequiet · 03/04/2023 08:32

The people I know who don’t bother to make their beds tend to be careless, thoughtless and disorganised in much else they do.

I can assure you that I am not careless, thoughtless, or disorganised - and I haven't made my bed (other than when I change the sheets) since my late teens!

magicthree · 03/04/2023 09:09

I have two cushions that I use for reading in bed, once I'm done with that I pitch them on the floor for the night.

I might not make my bed, but throwing cushions, or indeed anything, on the floor is something I would never do.

maddening · 03/04/2023 09:13

I love the bed made up, my room looks messy with it unmade. It takes max 2 mins to make the bed and that it with 4 fancy cushions and 2 throws.

Choconut · 03/04/2023 09:14

I find an unmade made bed fits in well with my floordrobe.

SoupDragon · 03/04/2023 09:20

borntobequiet · 03/04/2023 08:32

The people I know who don’t bother to make their beds tend to be careless, thoughtless and disorganised in much else they do.

the people I know who make their beds tend to be uptight and controlling in much else they do...

not true of course. I have no idea whether people make their beds or not. How big a sample size are we talking about here? Surely you don't know the bed habits of very many people? 😂

Starlightstarbright1 · 03/04/2023 09:22

Honestly beds are rarely made in our house - I am a Lp of a child with additional needs who works - when people say lower you standards - I don’t want to live in a dirty house . .. so this is very low on my priority list .

I do iron I don’t know how people don’t ? My t shirts uniform all need ironing after they dry

Albiboba · 03/04/2023 09:22

Surely it’s just as pointless as changing out of pyjamas and into other clothes for the day?
You’re ready wearings something.

Luredbyapomegranate · 03/04/2023 09:28

leaving it as I got out of it would make me feel less in control - but saying that to me making the bed is turning back the duvet to air it, and fluffing and straightening the pillows. Which takes dunno, 20 - 30 seconds?

areyousittingontheremote · 03/04/2023 09:28

The bed being made alleviates my anxiety that I have over not having an ordered home.

I'm definitely anxious over it but it's not a problem, but it could verge on one. If things are out of place I get upset. I work from home and it all just makes me feel better to know things are organised.

If you don't have this issue and are fine with the bed being messy then that's great and one less thing to do. There really is no real need to do it is there.

mrsm43s · 03/04/2023 10:11

I always make the bed because I like the room tidy.

I get up about 7, straighten the pillows etc and pull the duvet neatly half way back so the bed can air. I also open the bedroom windows. I then get showered/dressed/breakfasted and I start work at 8. I tend to shut the windows and pull the bed up about 10am when I stop work to grab myself a cup of tea.

The "well I just get into it again" argument doesn't really cut it for me. On that basis, I would never put washed clothes away in the drawers - cos I'm just going to wear them again or put things back in kitchen cupboards - 'cos I'm only going to have to get them out again etc.

I like a tidy house. I find it calming and relaxing, and frankly it's far easier to keep a tidy house clean than it is a messy house. Not making the bed is inconsequential in itself, but I would say that in the group of people that I know there is a strong correlation between unmade beds and generally disorganised, untidy and often unclean homes. I don't mean those that are left neatly folded back to air, which I would consider purposefully "made", but just in a different style.

MrsSkylerWhite · 03/04/2023 10:12

Getting back onto crumpled sheets is uncomfortable.

xogossipgirlxo · 03/04/2023 10:14

I never make bed before work, because I like to air mattress and bedding. My husband does it when he's back home. In the meantime cat sleeps on it, as he think it's his bed and he rents it to us overnight. I wouldn't want to go to sleep in the evening in undone bed, I would feel like I'm falling asleep in messy room, so even if it's done 10 minutes before bed, it has to be done.

WeWereInParis · 03/04/2023 10:14

Clothes that aren't put away will get in the way, either in a basket that's left out, or hanging on a rack that can't be collapsed down. Ditto stuff in the kitchen, it's hard to work around clutter even if it's all clean.
That doesn't apply to an unmade bed, so I guess that's the difference for me.

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 03/04/2023 10:21

The people I know who don’t bother to make their beds tend to be careless, thoughtless and disorganised in much else they do.

Maybe some of them are; but equally, maybe they're just better at prioritising their time on things that will make a tangible difference?!

Surely it’s just as pointless as changing out of pyjamas and into other clothes for the day?
You’re ready wearings something.

That's not the same thing at all, though. You spend the day at work/around and about in practical, appropriate, smart clothes for all of your daily tasks and interactions with other people. By making the bed, you're just leaving it prettier for nobody to see or care about all day, before instantly unmaking it again the next time you go to it!

It's a bit like the difference between taking time to get a neat, consistent finish when painting or wallpapering your living room and painstakingly ensuring that the plaster is all the exact same shade before you fully paint or paper right over it once it's dry.

TheDogthatDug · 03/04/2023 10:23

I fold the duvet back, plump the pillows and straighten the sheet and let it air out for a few hours whilst the bedroon windows are open. I like to iron my sheets as well, I love getting into a freshly made bed with a nice crisp sheet. Sheets are the only thing I make an effort to iron.

RobinSong · 03/04/2023 10:24

It's just a duvet, takes a couple of seconds. When I get up, I fold it down to air the bed, then pull it back up after breakfast. I like the bed made during the day - it just makes the room look tidier, and it's where I sort ny washing out, too.

mast0650 · 03/04/2023 10:26

It looks nicer and tidier. It takes less than a minute. I do air the bed for a while first. An alternative would be to do the folding back for airing in a tidier way, but I think that would be harder. Your choice though - not a big deal!

atthebottomofthehill · 03/04/2023 11:33

Where does it stop? Making the bed... ironing the bed covers... ironing your pants...

FlyingPandas · 03/04/2023 11:39

Agree that ironing bedding (and most things) is pretty pointless but I always make the bed. It's aired for an hour or so with the duvet folded down and then made.

A room with a made up bed looks tidier and it's better for your mental health to come back into a room that looks inviting. I tell my DC that a decently made bed is a fundamental form of self-care - if your room looks awful, you're essentially telling yourself that you don't deserve to sleep somewhere nice, and a bedroom instantly looks tidier if a bed is made.

Jellycatspyjamas · 03/04/2023 11:41

There’s a long road between making your bed and ironing your pants, most folk can find a happy balance.

Ginmonkeyagain · 03/04/2023 11:53

In our house "making the bed" in the morning means smoothing out the sheet, plumping and turning the pillows and folding the duvet back neatly so the bed can air (we also fold and tidy away any additional covers or blankets in the winter). Mr Monkey usually does this as he is pretty much always the last to get up.

It isn't fully made (duvet pulled up, pillows arranged, any additional blankets spread out on top) until one of us gets back from work. That is mainly because I am strange and like a fully made bed to get in to at night or I find it difficult to sleep.

GlassBunion · 03/04/2023 12:08

I always fold duvet back to air the bed. Windows wide open unless it's raining.

Bed is lovely and fresh come bedtime.

savehannah · 03/04/2023 12:15

The only time I'd make the bed is if someone else is likely to see it for some reason. Most of the time nobody (including me!) goes in my bedroom all day so it is literally used overnight when I'm in the bed. So can't see the point of making it look nice.

Ironing is an even bigger waste of time I almost never do that either.

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