A student’s guide to making your bed

For many students starting university this autumn, it might be the first time you’ve moved away from home for any length of time. Well, without the comfort blanket of your parents anyway! Having made the move to university, you’ll probably be in your student flat with your new friends and learning about how to cook certain foods and to shop on a budget – the student loan will only go so far remember!

Another issue you might have to worry about is how to make your bed! If you’ve been lucky enough over the years that you’ve gone out to school or college and come home to find that your dear old mum has been into your room, stripped your bed of the sheets, duvet and pillowcases and put them into the wash; even putting fresh new ones back on for you – which can be even more difficult with double beds because of their size. As a result you’ve got no idea where to start now you’re having to do it yourself.

Some people will take to the art of making a bed like a duck to water, while others could end up tangled inside their duvet while the quilt ends up on the outside (how does that keep happening?)

It doesn’t have to be a complicated process, but sometimes it just ends up going that way. Once you make a start on making your bed, you’ll soon find that you know exactly what to do and what goes where – it’s just when things start to go wrong that people begin to panic and end up calling for help! To make it all a bit simpler, here is a five-step guide to bed making to make you seem like a domestic god or goddess.

Step one: The mattress protector

Mattresses aren’t cheap to buy, unfortunately, and if you’re lucky enough to have one waiting for you in your student flat you don’t want to end up being charged at the end of the year because it has worn out. If it is your own mattress, you’ll want to get as much use out of it as possible, so fitting a mattress protector could be the answer.

Most are relatively easy to fit – you just need to make sure that you get the right size for your bed, there’s no point trying to stretch a single-sized protector to fit a double bed after all! In most cases, it’s as simple as pulling the protector along the mattress and hooking it over the corners using the straps. Easy peasy – you’re on your way!

Step two: The sheet

Next step is one of the more tricky parts, but having laid the protector you’ve got a rough idea what you should be doing. Lay the sheet out on the bed so you have a rough idea where it should be. Then, starting at one end, pull the edges right under the corners and ends of the mattress to hold it in place. Next, go to the other end and pull the sheet taut so that you have no annoying slack or crinkles, tuck the ends under again, making sure the sheet is as neat and taut as possible for the best night’s sleep.

Step three: The duvet

Arguably the most difficult, but it’s essentially a repeat of the first two steps, only with the quilt going inside the duvet. Lay the duvet itself out on the bed and do the same with the quilt. Take the top left corner of the quilt and place it inside the duvet, holding the top left corner of the duvet with one hand so you can pass the quilt to that hand. Do the same with the top right corners, and make sure you’ve pulled it all the way to what will be the top.

Having done this, hold both top corners and pick up both the duvet and quilt shaking it so that the slack quilt falls to the bottom and then you can tuck the corners neatly together. Make sure you do up the buttons or poppers on your duvet to stop the quilt from escaping!

Step four: The pillows

Get your pillowcase, open it and place the pillow inside, shaking it to ensure that there is no bunching and that you have somewhere tidy and comfortable to lay your head.

Step five: The photo

Now you can take a picture, send it to your parents and brag about how you can in fact make your bed on your own (just be careful, they’ll expect you to do it when you go home for the weekend or in between terms!)

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