Jan 12, 2016 3 min read

It’s an unsettling feeling when you discover you’ve been doing something the wrong way your entire adult life.

I will claim ignorance as my excuse and am happy to report that no one has been harmed by my actions. I’m big enough to admit it without embarrassment: I recently learned that I’ve been making my bed the wrong way. Wrong side down, actually. Let me explain.

I was staying with friends in their beautiful guest room and remarked on the pretty pattern of the bed sheets. I thought it was funny that my friend must have made a mistake and made up the bed with the wrong side of the flat sheet facing up.

I always make my bed with the wrong side facing down. (I also try to never end sentences with prepositions, but those last two were unavoidable.)

My friend chuckled and said, “No, you’re supposed to make the bed with the right side down so that when you turn down the sheet, you turn into the color!”

It took me a few minutes to process this, and I am still wondering how the home décor experts arrived at this decision. My friend went on to explain that the wrong side of the flat sheet is actually smoother, so that’s the side you want touching you when you sleep.

I decided I needed a second opinion, so a quick Internet search yielded the following information:

From a website called homeguides.com:

“Lay your flat sheet face-down over the fitted sheet so that the patterned or finished side is not showing. Fold the top edge of the top sheet down over the blanket so the finished side of the flat sheet shows over the duvet. If you do not plan to fold the top sheet back over the blanket, make your bed with the flat sheet face-up for the best look when the blanket or comforter is turned back – or choose whichever side is more comfortable for the sleeper.”

So, basically, these people are saying you can choose wrong side down or wrong side up … or whichever you prefer.

I like their style.

Then there’s this advice straight from Martha Stewart’s website: “When placing the remaining flat sheet on top, keep in mind that the top sheet always goes wrong side up. That way, when you fold it back over the blanket, the right side – the decorative, printed side – will show.”

Dare I defy Martha’s instructions?

Maybe.

Now that I know the error of my ways, I probably will go on making my bed the same way I have for decades.

I may not even bother to make it any more since I read a recent study in Great Britain showed that leaving your bed unmade helps moisture evaporate faster and can keep sheets cleaner than if you make the bed every morning.

That sounds like a good enough excuse for me.

Kristin Emery can be reached at kristinemery1@yahoo.com.