Self Help

Start with a mattress pad or cover; this protects the mattress from wear, and it feels more comfortable than lying down on a bare sheet and feeling mattress buttons through it. A mattress pad also protects the mattress from light stains. If you need to guard against heavier stains or spills, choose a waterproof one. If your sheets are large enough, add a downy pad or coverlet before you put the bottom sheet on; it softens and protects the mattress surface
even further.

Next comes the bottom, fitted, or contour sheet. Place it print-side up. Stretch opposite corners on first, then fit the remaining two. Pull it snug for wrinkle-free sleeping. Some people prefer to use unelasticized flat sheets for both tops and bottoms - if so, you need to tuck in the bottom sheet very snugly so it won’t sneak out of place as you sleep.

To make it easier to center the top sheet, always fold it lengthwise down the middle before storing; that way the fold serves as a guide. The top sheet should be placed with the printed side down. This is so that when you get in, and when you turn your bed back, you can see the print, or the “right” side. Tuck in the bottom end, so that the top (the part with the widest hem) rests about eight inches away from the headboard.

Now tuck in the sides, as far up as you wish. To make neat hospital corners, pull up the side of the sheet about two feet from the end, and rest it on top of the mattress. This will make a triangle, and you’ll tuck the bottom half of that triangle under the mattress. Now fold the sheet back down. Some people tuck it in yet again; others find this too tight for their toes.

Follow the top sheet with a blanket, tucked in, and a final cover, adding more blankets if necessary during cold weather. The final cover can be a quilt, a comforter, a bed spread, or even a beautiful tablecloth. Be creative. If your spread or comforter doesn’t come down to the floor, you’ll want to place a coordinating dust ruffle under your mattress, to hide the bottom half of the bed and give it a finished look.

You can use duvet covers to enclose comforters, and switch them for different seasonal looks. I have a medium-weight down comforter inside a duvet cover on my bed, and it feels heavenly to me. If you perspire when you sleep, you might want to choose something lighter.

A good friend of mine once owned a fine linens store, and showed me the easiest way to insert a comforter into a duvet. You grab the bottom corners of the comforter, and stuff them into the bottom corners of the duvet. This takes about thirty seconds. Don’t try to shake the comforter in, or let it “fall” in - you’ll be wrestling your linens for half an hour.

Thicker bedspreads or comforters make it faster and easier to make a bed - they hardly wrinkle, whereas a thinner covering, such as chenille, will take more time and accuracy. But choose the look you like. And whether you fold your bedspread down at night, or use it for warmth, is a matter of personal taste.