Make Your Bed, Change Your Life

Do you make your bed every morning?  Have you ever thought about how making your bed in the morning sets the tone for your entire day?

I NEVER made my bed (except when I was putting clean bedding back on it) until I had kids.  It just never really mattered to me.  In fact, I would tell myself that I was just too busy to be bothered with such an insignificant task.  I mean, no one sees my bedroom but my husband and me.  So who cares, right?

Right around the time that Little Miss S turned 2, my husband mentioned that maybe we should start making our bed to set a good example for her.  I was a bit surprised, to be frank.  He isn’t normally the type to care about things like a made bed.  But he explained that we will want her to make her bed one day, so we should do the same.

Ok, I get it.  We don’t want our kids to be slobs.  So we should stop being slobs.  Makes sense.

Then just recently, I started coming across what other people have to say about making your bed every morning.

First I read this post, Why I Make My Bed {10 Reasons I Keep My House Clean}, by Living Well Spending Less.  Ruth makes a strong case for working to keep up with home-keeping.  A big part of that is making her bed every morning.

Next was the speech that Naval Admiral McRaven gave at the University of Texas at Austin’s 2014 Commencement.  McRaven gives his 10 lessons that he learned in basic SEAL training and the first lesson is “If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed”.  His reasons?

If you make your bed every morning you will have accomplished the first task of the day.  It will give you a small sense of pride and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another.

By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter.

If you can’t do the little things right, you will never do the big things right.

And, if by chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is made—that you made—and a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better.

I recommend watching the video.  It is a great speech.

Then I saw this post by A Bowl Full of Lemons.  In her article for Better Homes and Gardens, Keep the Messes Away in Just 5 Minutes a Day, Toni Hammersley suggests starting out each day by making your bed.  Her reason is that if your bed is a mess, your room is a mess.  Which goes hand in hand with the next place I saw someone talk about the importance of making your bed every day.

Finally, I read Simplify Your Life by Marcia Ramsland, and in her book, Marcia gives her Ten Timesaving Habits to Simplify Your Day.  Her number one tip?  You guessed it.  Make your bed.  Marcia says “It takes only two minutes to give you sixteen hours of order.  Besides, a room is 50-70 percent clean when the bed is made.”

The take away?  A silly as it may sound, making your bed every morning can change your life!

If you are feeling overwhelmed with everything you need to keep up with or feeling a little down on yourself, try this.  Make your bed every morning and when those negative thoughts begin to creep in, just think back to your made bed.  Think about the admiral’s words of wisdom.  Think about what Toni, Ruth, and Marcia have shared.

Start each day with this simple task and you’ve accomplished something before you have even brushed your teeth.

You leave your bedroom with your chin a little higher and you’ve set the tone for the rest of your day.  And if you have a terrible day, coming back to a tidy bedroom is far better for your psyche than if you enter a room of chaos and disorder.

And there is just something satisfying about pulling back the covers of a made bed to sink in and relax!