I so agree with you on this one... I just cleaned up and organized my closet 2 days ago and I am so happy everytime I walk into my closet.....

Priya

Yeah, as unbelievable as it sounds, it does make a difference. While I was trying to sell my place, I had to make the bed every morning just in case someone scheduled a showing. It was a chore to do it, but in the evening when I got home, it felt really good to see the bed made, and everything put away.

I agree! I was NEVER a bed maker, but my boyfriend is. Since we moved in together, he makes our bed in the morning and I've learned to love it! He leaves the house after me in the morning. But it's great falling into a made bed at the end of the day. And if it's not made, it's an indicator to me that he had a rushed morning, and might have had a stressed day too.

I feel terrible if there are clothes strewn about my room. It's so easy to cast them off while getting ready for work or bed, but looking at them upon entering my room is borderline depressing. Making sure the clothes are put away is my one big impact chore.

We're moving in two weeks so our house is a huge mess with all the packing and purging. I spent a half hour last night after packing all day, just tidying up, stacking the packed boxes neatly, organizing the packing materials, emptying the dishwasher and putting away stray dishes (those that haven't been boxed up yet). I felt so much better with organization around me instead of chaos.

I am now going to make a goal to make up my bed every day for the next two weeks and see if this changes my mood....

www.compartmentlife.com

Totally off topic, but I love that night stand! Anyone have a source for it, or one like it?

I don't like to make my bed, but my cat loses her mind over bed making. She will delay her request for breakfast if she thinks we are going to make the bed. She buries herself in the layers, and when let out, revels like a pig in mud over the results. I've never seen anything like it, and I've had a lot of cats. She is a very RESERVED cat rescue, and I have to wonder what joy in her kitten hood lead to this orgasmic response to sheets and blankets. She gets excited when I fold clean sheets. I don't get it, but it is a great incentive to make the bed, just to see her reaction.

Bed-making isn't my happiness-maker -- my bed is kind of a pain to make, and I like to let it air out long enough that I have to leave for work before I'd be happy about that, so I only make my bed now if I just washed the sheets or somebody will be touring the house. (I know, I sound like a slob!)

However, I do a lot of the other things that maintain a tidy home, especially in the "public" rooms like the living room and kitchen. Those are almost always five minutes of touch-up away from "photo-ready"! And when I have time off, I often "deep clean" some corner that is easy to ignore (like, this weekend, the broom closet.) Now opening that door increases my happiness level! So the specifics may vary, but the concept holds true for me, too.

My Mom always taught me that a clean room meant a free mind... so true! She always said it started with a made bed, too...

Strangely, she was right. It always was nicer to use the bed as the "table" for putting away laundry, sorting through other things, etc.

Thanks mom!

I will sometimes even make my bed when I come home from work, even to mess it up a few hours later, just cause it feels that good.

I canNOT leave the house without making my bed; in fact, I can't even have a cup of tea before the bed is made. I wasn't born this way and, God knows, my mother tried everything to get us all to make our beds when we were kids, but I just never thought it was important until I had my own apartment -- and the bedroom was the first room you'd see when you came in. So for 20 years now, I can honestly say I make my bed every day. Happy, Mom?

I don't mind an unmade bed, but I don't like leaving dirty dishes in the kitchen sink over night... I like to see and empty sink in the morning.

I never make my bed unless I'm going to have company or I'm cleaning my room. Which is usually on the weekends. I do like the feeling I get when my bed is made but never thought too much about it. Also I wake up at 6am for work so I don't ever feel like I have time. Starting tomorrow I will make my bed and see how it goes. Thanks for this post.

I have a terrible headache right now, but I just made the bed. My husband said, "I thought you were going to lie down? Why are you making the bed?" I said, "Because I'm not "there" yet and it "feels" better to have it made." :) And I did feel a bit better just pulling up the sheets and comforter and making it just so. :)

It is a good feeling to get everything tidy - but sometimes I just can't bring myself to make the bed each morning.

Coincidentally, I started doing the same thing recently, probably about a week ago. It's true, I'm up one level of happiness.

Making a bed can, in many cases, take less than a minute to mere moments ... and at the end of the day, it's like opening a gift to yourself.

I once rented a house that was put on the market a few months before I moved out. Since as a renter I never knew when the next potential buyer would be coming, there were many times when I had to quickly take the place from a clutter pile to spotless in less than 30 minutes. I was always amazed at how terrific the place would look after doing so. Now, any time my apartment is getting out of hand, I pretend a Realtor is on her way. This helps me to zero in on what needs to be done and clean up the space quickly.

I am both a bed and dish person. I love to see my bed made, ready to fall into whenever I want. The dishes are a different thing altogether, I hate dishes in the sink, if I have to leave them for any reason, I cover them with a colorful tray. Out of sight out of mind, I'm happy, doesn't take much :)

That is why I love hotels.

If I don't have time to make the bed in the morning, I make it right away when I get home. Then I feel like I can really relax...

cleaning out the kitchen drawers and wiping down the shelves in the fridge. i find it depressing when food related areas look tatty

totally true, i was thinking the other day as a mom of small children, if the beds are made, everything else looks so much cleaner. I try to just do a ten minute cleaning job, anywhere, even if my children are in the bath, sometimes a good opportunity to read while sitting there, and even better if i take a few minutes and wipe down things.. etc.. But the bed thing, totally agree. Love the white bed by the way..

@allisonharris - the bedside table is from Modernica (see modernica.net). There are three different leg options to choose from.

Just purged a bunch of stuff. It made me so happy, I promptly rolled up the rugs and started scrubbing. I hate leaving my bed unmade. I even tuck in the comforter all the way around, on my platform bed. Then again, I live in a studio so the bed has to look good....

I work from home half of the time and see my bedroom as I go to and from my home office--the bed gets made every day or I feel the "weight" of the unmade bed. I am also a clean kitchen person--I HATE coming down to dirty dishes in the sink in the morning so the dishes are done and put away at night no matter what. It may take a bit of time, but it is so worth the boost to my overall mood.

I'm tweaking the shams at 5:50am. I hear you.

It's clothes strewn around that gets me. I bought a wall-mounted coat rack and make sure all clothes are on that rack all the time. It really makes me feel good. I also keep my bedside table simple: just tissue paper and my body lotions, and the occasional necklace i forget to remove before bed :)

LOVE THE LAMP! Where is it from? Do tell, please!

This is so true. If my bed is still unmade when it's time to go to sleep, I make it before getting in. There's something comforting about climbing into a nicely made bed!

Making my bed is a mood-lifter for me. I'm temporarily sleeping in the guest room while my MBR is undergoing a full-scale gutting, and I'm making up the bed there just like I do in my own room (which, hopefully, will be ready for me next week!)

Totally agree. In fact, before I start studying for a test, I HAVE to straighten up my room...otherwise, I can't concentrate.

@janiewg - It's not the exact same but the Crate & Barrel Cleo lamp is very close.

Agreed, with all of it!

Absolutely!!! I feel that the state of my home is a reflection of how l feel. If l'm all over the place and my life is a mess then so is my home. I must confess l haven't been a very dedicated bed maker due to kids pulling the covers off as well as daytime naps. However we have the house on the market now = spotless home and beds made to perfection. Man, l feel great! So empowering!!!

Thanks @Oskarlu! This is why I love the AT community so much :)

So I just started making my bed about a year ago and it's the BEST feeling to crawl into a nicely made, fresh, clean bed! Infact, I was pretty much the messiest woman ever (mostly with clothes thrown recklessly about as I have far far far too many of them - 3 closets, an entire bedroom full at my parents house and a whole storage unit in my building full of clothes as well) up until a year ago.

But this is not the case anymore. Infact I absolutely cannot STAND clutter, mess or dirt anymore. Here's my question though - my boyfriend (whom I live with) doesn't do clutter but he takes things out and leaves them EVERYWHERE! He has an enormous saltwater tank in our condo and while it's beautiful, the things that he uses to maintain it are EVERYWHERE, all the time! He comes home every day from work and changes by letting his pants drop to the floor and then stepping out of them and leaving them right then and there - wherever he may be standing at the moment. How do you get a boy like this to see that there is great reward in cleaning up after yourself and especially making the bed?

village..mine too!..I got her from a shelter as well and wondered who the person was that enjoyed her playing in the sheets while making them...

We have a glass shower, so I like to take a minute to squeegee the bench, walls and glass door. Feels good when I go in for the next shower and can see thru the door - not looking into soap scum. My husband has told me in the past that he LOVES it when I make the bed. I have never been a bed-maker, but if that little thing makes him happy, I'll try to do it as often as time allows in the morning.

DON'T MAKE THE BED!!! Leaving the bed unmade allows for the bedding to air out/dry out (you'd be surprised how much water vapor you release while sleeping) to inhibit the growth of nasty microorganisms. There was a post on this very subject a while ago on this very site, which convinced me not to make my bed. If you want your unmade bed to have a neat appearance, fold down the covers neatly at the foot of the bed.

I love the simple posts that have huge results like this!

I hate that regardless of how simple the solutions are, there is always another person in the house who is going to fight you all the way.

If I make up my bed and vacuum the floor it feels like I have cleaned the whole apartment.

I LOVE looking at my unmade bed. It reminds me that I am no longer being told by my parents to make it, when as a child I never saw the point. =P I love for other things to be tidy, but why make a bed in Queensland? It's so hot here it's just a sheet & pillow.

The lamp is (or was, as they don't seem to carry it anymore) from West Elm.

I make the bed BEFORE I even leave the bedroom. I originally did it immediately after getting out of bed to prevent the cats from getting any cat hair on my sheets, but now I do it because when I do, all is right in the world. At least until I get to work.

I always make the bed - it takes 10 seconds to pull the duvet up straight and is so much nicer to get into than crumpled cold bedding. Even my GF has finally come around to it, after saying it was a waste of time for a few years.

It also makes me feel like a grown-up and not a toddler :-) Love it!

I am not much of a bed maker even though it was required growing up but I do feel better the few times that I actually make it.