Fitted bed sheets are great. They hug your mattress and stay neatly in place as you sleep, even if you’re a fidgeter. But there’s no denying that they’re typically much harder to fold than flat sheets, what with their elasticated corners often bundling up and getting in the way.
But what if we told you that it doesn’t always have to be this way, and there is in fact a quick and easy technique you can learn and master in seconds?
Keep on reading to discover why it’s important to store your fitted sheets neatly, and the five essential steps to follow to expertly fold your bedding.
Why should you fold your fitted sheet neatly?
Fitted sheets might be a little frustrating to fold, and it can be easy to get into the habit of simply throwing your sheets into your laundry cupboard once washed, but there are a number of important reasons why you should store them neatly while not in use.
Enjoy wrinkle-free bedding
Folding your fitted sheets flat after washing will help to reduce wrinkling that might otherwise have occurred if you’d simply stuffed them into your cupboard. As a result, when it comes to changing your sheets, you’ll enjoy a much more pleasant sleeping experience.
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Use your storage space more efficiently
Folding your sheets and storing them flat alongside other sheets, pillowcases, and duvet covers ensures you’re using your shelving space much more efficiently, rather than throwing your crumpled bedding into the spare cupboard corner.
Improve overall organisation
As well as saving space, storing your fitted sheets flat and folded helps to improve overall organisation. Not only will you be able to fit more into your cupboards, but you’ll be able to better-identify your different bedding elements with ease.
Benefit from a neater home aesthetic
While folding bed sheets might aid organisation and reduce the amount of wasted space in your cupboard, there’s a final reason to store your bedding neatly: it looks great. But why stop there? Investing in new bedding can go a long way towards giving your bedroom a new lease of life, with crisp white sheets complementing a tidy aesthetic.
How to fold a fitted sheet (step-by-step)
So, now we’ve offered examples as to why it’s important to fold your bedding and store it neatly, it’s time for the main event, and how to actually fold a fitted sheet without driving yourself crazy as you negotiate the elasticated corners.
We’ve broken it down into five easy-to-follow stages, to help you instantly become a master at folding bed sheets.
What we mean by this is to take a corner in each hand with the top side facing you (we recommend holding it with the long side of your sheet running across your body, but if you find it easier to fold your sheet top to bottom, feel free to flip your bed sheet – it’s what’s best for you!).
With a corner in each hand, take one and tuck it into the other. You should then repeat this for the other two corners. Voila, you’ve now folded your bed sheet in half!
Following the same technique as in step 2, take a corner in each hand and tuck one into the other – and repeat with the other two corners. You’ll end up with all four corners neatly tucked and folded into each other.
Once you’ve folded your bed sheet, you should lay it down on a flat surface (a table top or your bed will do). You’ll notice that your bedding is slightly curved at the top where the elasticated sides are folded into one another.
With your bed sheet on a flat surface, fold one of the long outside edges into the middle, before folding the other edge over. It’s often helpful to smooth out your sheet as you go along, to keep it as flat as possible and prevent wrinkling. Then fold one of the shorter outside edges into the middle, before repeating and folding the final edge over.
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And there you have it! You’ll have now folded your sheet into neat and equal thirds, ready to be stored along with the rest of your bedding - and you’ll hopefully soon begin to notice the benefits of tidy organisation.
In the meantime, for even more useful insight like this from our sleep experts, such as how to choose between a flat sheet and fitted sheet, head on over to the Ethical Bedding blog.
