Yes, I can. But I cannot with the help of kittens.

I tried showing my husband how to do this when we were first dating. He never got it. But, dang could he remodel bedrooms!

If you want to push yourself over the edge, try folding those cotton jersey fitted sheets.

No! It's impossible. Anyone who says the7 can can also lick their elbows!

I managed to do it once and then retired to rest on my laurels.

Exactly why I only own one set of extra sheets per bed, and store the sets crammed each to their own giant ziplock bag.

It's talent mothers used to pass on to their children but I think it died out in the late 60s. I learned that along with how to properly iron a man's shirt, make a white sauce, use a sewing machine, etc. Those were the days!

I understand the instructions "how." But I can't for the life of me make it work that precisely. I can make it look presentable, especially when you fold it in 3's so the funky edges all get folded in. But definitely not MS quality.

I can't ever do it just as nicely as martha, but i get pretty close. Here's her showing how on Oprah: http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/How-to-Fold-a-Fitted-Sheet-Video

One day I discovered that you can fit a folded flat sheet, a "folded" aka wadded-up fitted sheet and a pillowcase into a pillowcase. Voila! You will never misplace a pillowcase or sheet for a set ever again. It actually packs down pretty flat... you're welcome.

I always try, but then I give up and wind it up around my arms, wad it into a ball, smoosh it onto a shelf in the linen closet, and then forget about it.

In order to master this, I think I would need step-by-step in-person instruction from Martha, with her holding and moving my arms from behind like a pervy high school coach.

No, but that's exaaaactly what my cat does if I leave it unfolded on the bed for more than 2 minutes :)

*I* can fold a fitted sheet. I learned from my mother. We are both virgos. LOL.

Surprisingly enough, my husband taught me how to fold a fitted sheet back when we were dating. But it rarely needs folding since we usually wash the sheets and put them back on the bed right after they come out of the dryer.

I don't need to know because after many years of owning multiple sets of sheets I've concluded that you only need just one set. So it goes in the wash and then right back on the bed. No folding required.

Uccellini, I almost choked on my dinner with that comment!

I'm reading this as the basket of sheets next me is just sitting there taunting me, so I think I'll give this tutorial a try.

And I agree with joy911, my mom can fold a fitted sheet that rivals Martha but she never showed us kids how to.

I don't know how to fold a fitted sheet, BUT I know how to make a bed with two flat sheets, thanks to having had a job in high school as a hotel maid long ago.

Not that I ever do. But I could if I wanted to.

Search for the instructions on youtube. (I can't grab the link while at work.) You won't be sorry!

Can't do it. I've "solved" the problem by having just one set of sheets that I wash and immediately put back on the bed.

I am absolutely cackling at uccellini's comment!

Dude, it's so easy. Hold it up in front of you, with your index fingers in the pointy part of the two top corners. Bring your hands together, flipping one corner over the other. Do this with the bottom two, as well. Now You have a sheet, folded lengthwise, with top corners together and bottom corners together. Fold this in half crosswise- flip all four corners together as one. Lay this on the bed or counter, and fold in thirds lengthwise, then in thirds or fourths widthwise. You should now have a neat little packet to go in the linen closet. You're welcome.

My mother taught me to do this when I was young. With five children in the family we all had chores and took turns with the laundry. But I usually wash the sheets and put them back on the bed. I only have two sets of sheets.

I wonder if Martha folded sheets when she was in prison. Or did we all forget she was a convicted felon?

That's exactly how I've been folding my fitted sheets for a couple years, follow Esmeralda's instruction. If it doesn't work for you just remind yourself that there are other awesome things that you CAN do, like hulahoop, moonwalk, or bake a beautiful souffle!

I definitely fold my fitted sheets this way and have for the past few years. What really did it for me was when a friend (who learned from her mother, btw) showed me how to do it. Maybe ask around to your friends to see who uses this method and can teach you. Good luck!

Kinda? There's a huge fudge factor involved and "pseudo-square" corners. Towards the end. there is a lot more rolling than intended and a bit of eyeing the correct size of the rectangle.
Ehhh, it's passable but not exactly up to Martha's impeccable standards. Whatever. It goes on the bottom of the stack and the geometrically perfect flat sheet goes on top. No one will ever know.

I learned to fold a fitted sheet when I was a kid. It's not hard and it's also not necessary since both folded neatly and folded not so neatly get the job done. My husband was too clever to learn, but still launders just fine.

I actually learned how to fold my linens like they do at my work (I work at a hotel). Not only can I fold a fitted sheet, but I also save a ton of space by folding everything together in one little package. It's pretty fast and all of my linens are easy to find. No missing pillow cases! Perhaps I should make a tutorial. It's so easy.

@artcgirl1312: You should! If you do, I can post it on AT if the photos are good!
-- AnnaMaria (annamaria@uccellinimedia.com)

I can! But I spend a pretty solid afternoon watching you tube videos. And I also generally have to try a few times before I get a sheet folded correctly. :)

I'm with KhinNj on this one...my folded well enough fitted sheet goes underneath the perfectly folded flat sheet...so my linen closet still looks pretty good. I have 3 sets of sheets...1 white 1150 egyptian cotten, one white 500 cotton and one taupe set of flannel for cold nights in the winter.

joy911: "It's talent mothers used to pass on to their children but I think it died out in the late 60s."

You're saying the knowledge died in less than a decade? The fitted sheet was invented in 1959. http://www.ehow.com/about_4689834_fitted-sheets.html

I pretty much do what confounded, and nearly everyone else does.

I'm a massage therapist and wash sheets daily.... I fold a damn good sheet!

My husband swears he can fold a fitted sheet, but I pretty much always end up wadding it up and shoving it in the closet.

@go_go_gadget: i think joy911 meant the passing on of domestic skills. I'm a mid-'70s baby, and my mom didn't really teach me much in the ways of housekeeping. not that i was a willing learner back then. ;-)

I can't, but my husband can do it perfectly and I don't understand how. But, he also irons our sheets every time we wash them.

@uccellini I'm on it. =)

I technically know how, but every time I go to do it, I ask myself, "Why!?"

The sheet goes on the bed and is hidden by the flat sheet and comforter. Immediately upon being exposed to light, it is laid upon and subsequently scrunched and wrinkled. (And the room is dark, and the sleeper is not troubled by the wrinkly scrunchiness.) Then, when the sun rises again and no one will be in the bedroom, it is hidden by the top sheet.

So... is the idea to make sure that while the sheet is not visible, while it's tucked away in the closet, unused, it should have crisp corners and a smooth surface?

Mary

As I only have a 2'x2'x2' shelf to store all my linens on, I learned how to fold a fitted sheet fast! My bf has managed to conveniently forget every time I show him...

I can't even really fold a flat sheet! I'm too short- unless I carry the sheet up 2 floors from the laundry to the bedroom and lay it out on a bed. Needless to say, there is only one set of sheets per bed in my house, with one spare set for guests. If I have to lay out a sheet to fold it, I might as well just put it on the bed.

@ Jason from Chesterfield sofa...
I can lick my elbow and I STILL can't fold a fitted sheet! :)

@Uccellini - you just made me snort my lemonade! Seriously, you win for best AT comment of the month.

I can do it, and LOVE to - I fold everything down in thirds, then fold that and the pillowcases into the flat sheet, so it's just one thing to grab. Wish I had the patience to iron them, too, though. Kudos to cakegirl and her husband!

LOL @confounded, I do the same thing! Glad I'm not the only one whose linen closet looks like a giant mass of cloth. Hell I'm impressed I even have a linen closet. My feeling is that they're my sheets... once I put them on my bed they'll stretch out and the wrinkles will fall out, and then I'll just sleep on them anyway so who cares.

Callalillie, it must be hard to fold with kitties on the sheets! ;)

I'm with JMZ, Folded flat sheet, sort of foldeded fitted, and extra pillow case go into one of the pillow cases. My mom taught me that.

Really? You just fold it holding the inside corners... Isn't this one of those things people should just know...

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/chicago/bedroom/how-to-fold-a-fitted-sheet-video-living-on-a-dime-134151

@JMZ and @Xtina. Amen. It's a bed in a bag, but without the annoying plastic. :)

I know how to fold fitted sheets, but I do like JMZ and Xtina and urbantree123. My problem is not the folding, it's the 'sliding off the pile and getting UNfolded' that irritates me. I've started keeping the 'sets of linens in their pillowcase' packages in each bedroom. I'm lucky enough to have an extra dresser drawer in each room to store the extra set (I have 2 sets for each bed). I alternate between the sets, putting the stored set on the bed as soon as I strip it every week, then putting the freshly laundered set in the dresser with a lavendar sachet.

This diagram is exactly how I do it minus the kittehs. And yes, I did learn it from ma momma!

That's pretty much what I do (but without the cats). Easy peasy

It's a bunched up mess for me!

norahl... I'm laughing

To answer the question, no I can't but my bf can. He usually watches me attempt the task for about 30 seconds before he takes over with an annoyed expression on his face.

norahl... I'm laughing

To answer the question, no I can't but my bf can. He usually watches me attempt the task for about 30 seconds before he takes over with an annoyed expression on his face.

norahl... I'm laughing

To answer the question, no I can't but my bf can. He usually watches me attempt the task for about 30 seconds before he takes over with an annoyed expression on his face.

norahl... I'm laughing

To answer the question, no I can't but my bf can. He usually watches me attempt the task for about 30 seconds before he takes over with an annoyed expression on his face.

I can. My great-grandmother taught me how. It's definitely an art that is mastered only with practice and patience.

"I wonder if Martha folded sheets when she was in prison. Or did we all forget she was a convicted felon?"
posted by BruinToo

LOL! this is exactly what I always think - everybody believes she is all clean and shiny while she also has a few skeletons in her neat closet :D

why should i do this, in oprahs video she she fiddles around for ages with that blanket. sorry, i have a life to live, no time for playing with a blanket that nobody ever will see folded exept of me! ;)

It's much, much easier to do with two people! Just do the same thing Martha does with the corners, but with each of you holding on to one end. (A finger in each of the corners, then flip one onto the other and smooth it out.)

My sister and I were expected to do chores as kids (late 80s, so moms really did still teach it!) and we got pretty adept at folding an entire load in just a few minutes while watching cartoons on Saturday morning.

@ BruinToo so what...get over it!!!

i thought everyone knew how to fold fitted sheets *doh*

It's not impossible if you take a few minutes to look up the instructions.

Uh ok, why would you link to a blog that is private?

Have you ever TRIED folding a sheet with the help of a cat? It doesn't work. Nor does it work with the help of a Sheltie. Best to just not fold it at all! *wink*