The burrito v. the shake and smooth: what’s the fastest way to make your bed?

Remaking the bed is a mental and physical struggle for me every time. That’s why I can only just manage the usual two-weekly change schedule. Two aspects tempt me to procrastinate. There’s drying them after washing them. It’s pretty quick in the sun, but then where should I hang the bed linen? There’s no space on the drying rack and I don’t own a large, powerful tumble drier.

The traditional method

Even if I finally manage it with the help of balcony doors and railings, I still have the arduous task of putting clean sheets on. Of course, I do this inside out – there’s no debate there. However, after that it gets annoying. What I consider the «normal» method that my mum and grandma used is as follows:

I usually run into difficulties at the initial «arm slip», but today it works right away. Gathering up the corners is also going well, but then comes the shaking out. Even with my arms outstretched, I’m significantly smaller than my duvet, which is why the cover doesn’t settle perfectly with two shakes. As I sleep on a tatami mat on the floor, I can’t stand on the bed to make more space. As a result, I opt for a mixture of shaking and shuffling to settle the duvet in its cover.

The influencer method

Is that the best method, or is there an easier way? As I was absent-mindedly scrolling through Instagram, I recently came across an alternative reminiscent of a sausage or burrito that’s being sold to me as a game-changing hack. The duvet and bed linen are rolled up together. When I do it, it looks something like this:

I make sure the opening of the duvet cover is on the opposite side. I roll up the duvet and cover together and pull the opening over the sausage. This step was quick on Instagram, but it took forever for me. Probably because I was trying the method for the first time. After that, the burrito should be easy to unroll again. Or not. I didn’t understand it, fiddled around clumsily and somehow messed up the end of the roll before fastening the buttons in the usual way.

Tradition beats modernity

The final times were 1 minute 19 seconds and 2 minutes 15 seconds. It took me a whopping 56 seconds longer with the influencer method. If I used it more often, I’d definitely get faster, but I doubt if I will ever make up nearly a whole minute. Nevertheless, I’m fascinated by the rolling. There’s something almost meditative about the way I knelt on the tatami mat and coiled up my duvet.

So if I want to do housework quietly and introspectively, I’ll gladly use the rolling method. The rest of the time, I’ll remain loyal to Mum and Grandma. And come to terms with the fact that making my bed will never not be a struggle for me.