Fitted sheets, mismatched sets, a constantly messy linen closet? Folding Bedding seems to be one of life’s greatest mysteries. Learning to fold your bedding the right way is an easy way to start.
The Linen Closet
Most items that we categorize together with bed linen are easy to fold and straightforward to organize. Bath towels, blankets, rags, dishtowels, tablecloths. For those of you that have one large linen closet where all these items are kept, you probably have different shelves for each type. Most of the shelves are probably relatively tidy looking. All the items I mentioned can be shelved by type in neat stacks.
Bedding is where it gets confusing.
Do I sort my linen by set or type? And if I sort by set, I still have all those random fitted sheets, flat sheets, duvet covers and pillowcases. So should I do half by set and half by type?
Step #1 Is Always – Declutter
Before we become bedding folding experts, there are a few things you need to get rid of.
Declutter The Easiest Items First
Most of us today use duvet covers and no longer use flat sheets. Unfortunately, it is sometimes hard to buy a fitted sheet without also buying a flat sheet. Unless you have another use for your flat sheets they all need to go. I am not opposed to you keeping one flat sheet on hand. Place all but one flat sheet into your donation box.
Sort By Set, Declutter The Rest
I find it most efficient to have bed linen organized by bedding set. Take all your linen. Start making piles by set. Fitted sheet, duvet cover, pillowcases. If you are missing part of the set, if something is torn or stained, see if you can declutter it. Maybe it is in good condition but you don’t need it anymore? Great, you can give it away. For the sheets that are not good enough to give away, you can turn them into rags. If you have more than enough rags, don’t do this. Unless you know an organization or have someone who needs lots of rags, appreciate that it served you well, and it is now time for the trash. This is not being wasteful!
Final Declutter Step, What Do We Actually Need
You have sorted all your linen by sets. Take inventory.
Do you have enough for each bed in your home to have bedding? Great. If you want to be really minimal and have only one set per bed, you wouldn’t even need to learn the best way for folding bedding. You just wash them and put them back on your bed.
I don’t find this practical to do across the board. For me, knowing that I must get the linen off the beds, cleaned, and back on in one day, is a stressor.
I have one set for my husband and me, and one set for my oldest daughter. Everyone else has two sets. I can’t always get the bedding washed and put back on in the same day.
Sometimes a kid is sick in their bed. Little ones that may still be wetting the bed occasionally. Having two sets is a help for me at this stage in my life and worth the space they take up.
Before you donate/throw out all the extra linen you don’t need for your family, what about guests? Do you host a lot? I have pull out couches and a few extra mattresses that I use for kids. My oldest son’s room doubles as a guest room and has a high-rise bed that needs a set of linen. I keep extra sets for when we have a full house.
You know your linen needs best. Decide what you need to keep and give away or throw away the rest.
Folding Your Fitted Sheet
- Put your hand into the corners at one end of the bedding, and folding the bedding in half, bring your corner-covered hands up and insert into the two corners at the opposite end.
- Pull the sheet straight by pulling your hands away from each other. Each of your hands should be covered with two corners, one atop the other.
- Lay the bedding flat and smooth it out.
- Fold one vertical side slightly inward, creating a right angle where it meets the horizontal line at the top. Do the same for the other side.
- Fold inward one more time on each side to create a long rectangle.
- Fold the top of your semi folded sheet slightly inward from the top.
- Do the same from the bottom. The sheet should now be squared off at all ends.
- Fold inward again from each end to the size you would like your folded fitted sheet to be. This size will differ for everyone based on their shelf / box / drawer or other storage area they would like their folded bedding to fit into.
- Set Aside.
Folding The Rest Of The Bedding
Now that the fitted sheet is out of the way, the rest is pretty straightforward.
- Fold your pillowcase(s) in half one way and then in half the other way. If you need a smaller size you can continue folding in halves until you reach the desired size. Place on top of your folded fitted sheet.
- Fold your duvet cover in half by matching up the corners at the top with the corners at the bottom. Lay flat and fold your half into thirds. You should now have a narrow rectangle.
- Place the folded fitted sheets and pillowcases on top of the semi folded duvet closer to one end. Take the corners on the end further from the folded fitted sheet and fold over once toward the fitted sheet. Fold over again atop the folded fitted sheet and pillowcases. Take the other end and fold atop the entire pile to create a closed package.
Perpetually Tidy Linen Closet
Folding bedding with the method explained above will leave you with evenly stacked bedding sets on your shelves. You simply select which set you need and in one grab you have it all ready to go.
I used to find it frustrating that my husband and kids were clueless when it came to the linen, as we host sleeping guests quite often. My older kids and my husband all know how to put linen on the beds, but they needed me to come get them the right set of sheets. This might sound like a small thing, but when you are in middle of doing the laundry, cooking up all the food that a houseful of 15 or so people are going to eat, it is another thing.
There was also the concern they may knock over the neatly folded bedding and then I would need to straighten everything out. While I understand most home systems require some level of maintenance, I knew there had to be a better way.
My Linen Closet Box Method
I bought a bunch of boxes that fit neatly into my closet. Using my label maker (love my label maker), I labeled each box according to which linen items were inside it. BOYS ROOM held the three sets of linen that belong to that room. BLUE AND WHITE SETS refer to the four sets of linen I use for guests or if my kids need to take linen on a trip or to camp, etc. Don’t worry if you don’t have a label maker, I used to write my labels out on paper by hand. It does the job just as well.
My linen closet has been so low maintenance ever since I started folding bedding in neat sets and using my labeled box method.
***When sticking labels onto fabric, I like to use hot glue. Make sure to wait a second after applying glue to the fabric before you attach the label. If the glue is too hot it will turn the label black.
The EXTRAS Box
One of the best outcomes with my box method, was I also created a box for EXTRAS.
I had a few items that I really did feel I used and needed, but they didn’t have a neat bedding set to get folded into. I keep one flat sheet in there, a few extra fitted sheets and pillowcases. This box is hardly ever used, we only ever need it when we really go overboard with the house guests, or if someone needs an emergency change on their bedding.
Everything has a place and everything in its place is the number one rule for a tidy home. By making a box labeled EXTRAS, all these items that didn’t really belong anywhere now had a place.
Even if you don’t choose to use the box method, and you simply stack your folded bedding sets on your shelves, I would suggest using one box for your EXTRA items. It will also keep your “extra” items from getting out of control.
Because the box can only contain so much, you will be limited to how much you can keep. Folding bedding properly is not the only reason most linen closets are hard to keep tidy. It is also an area where clutter can build up without us really noticing or dealing with it. This is the container concept that I learned from Dana K. White of A Slob Comes Clean. If your EXTRA box is getting too full, it is time to get rid of some of it.
Placement Directions For Your Linen Closet
Easy access is always the key to maintaining any area in your home. Bedding that I need to access regularly gets the better real estate location in my closet. The shelves that require me to use a stool or chair to reach are saved for my seldom used bedding.
My top shelf holds my EXTRAS box, as well as 2 boxes I keep of baby bedding. One is full of all the bedding I need to set up my pack n’ play (portable crib), including the special thicker mattress pad.
The other has extra baby blankets, burp cloths and swaddle cloths. My youngest is five, so these are for guests only at this point. I rarely use these boxes, and for the times I do, I don’t mind getting up on a chair to get them.
Bedding Storage Alternative
Keeping your bedding stored in the rooms they service is a great alternative to storing it in your linen closet. If there is extra space for a (now beautifully) folded set of linen in the bedroom closet or a dresser drawer, store them there. This can free up quite a bit of space if you are working with a small storage area that services other house linen, and not just the bed linens.
Some prefer to have the spare set easily accessible for when they need to change the bedding, saving them an unnecessary trip to the linen closet.
Whether you have a closet designated to bed linen alone, choose to store your bed sheets in your bedroom, or you keep your bedsheets in the laundry room. All are good options if they work for you. Folding bedding though, is now easy and efficient.
Do you have another solution for folding bedding or linen organization hacks? Please share in the comments below!
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