Do you make your bed each day? Why? or Why not?This was the topic of discussion at a gathering of girlfriends several years ago. I am not good at making my bed every day--I am of the snooze hitting, last minute wink grabber variety--but I try. And since I had little ones to teach, I was teaching them how to make beds. One girlfriend whom I admired piped up and said, "Why make your bed? It's just going to get slept in again. What's really the point?" She really got me thinking that maybe there was no real point. It sure would be a lot easier if we didn't make the beds!
As time past, and I learned that this friend was a non-conformist for the sake of not conforming, I decided that although it was hard, and I wasn't perfect, we were going to attempt to make beds each day.
There is something about what a made up bed does to a room. There is order and peace. I can breathe more deeply. I can also walk around my bed without tripping, a pleasant side-effect. I can dump a clean pile of laundry on top, fold it and put it away. I can take a quick nap or simply walk by the room during the day and feel great just looking in. And when I turn the covers down at night and crawl in, the bedding just feels right.
In the April, 2010 issue of Real Simple (the absolute best magazine ever, and they didn't pay me to say that), an article appeared titled, "If you're going to stop and smell a flower, make it a Gardenia...And 21 other things in life that are really, truly worth your time..." For some reason, whenever I see a subject in print, that means that other people (a lot of other people) feel that way, and it makes me feel better. And there it was, "Making The Bed".
Author, Isabel Gillies, wrote, "The simplest, most satisfying activity I do all day is make my bed. In seven minutes or less, I accomplish something small but worthwhile. I give myself a new beginning...It is organizing in the most gentle of ways...Life is hard sometimes--hard for everyone differently, but hard...It (life) can be overwhelming, but I find making the bed is a good first step to getting a handle on it all."
I have been at peace for some time with wanting to make my bed, and attempting to teach my children to do so. How about you? Is it important to you? Do you find the time? How do you feel when you make that bed? Come on, I wanna know.
4 comments:
Ooh I like that bed in the picture. I have to make my bed everyday or it would drive me crazy. It makes things seem put together more.
I don't fault people who don't make their beds, though.
Oh dear... was that me? Because that is my position on beds, 90% of the time! Although it does look much better, whoever has the time to do it when they get out of it, and then where is the time to go back and do it later on?? Wish I knew.
I try to make the bed every day because, like you said, it makes the room feel complete. You can get other chores done and you won't feel the same satisfaction as a made bed or a clean sink. I think that was Real Simple's advice a long time ago, and I've tried to stick by it.
I make my bed everyday too. The rest of my house is always semi-messy but at least my bed looks nice. Often my kids sleep on top of their made beds so they won't have to make them. Lol.
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