I made my bed today. I know it sounds silly. I’m a grown woman… shouldn’t I make my bed everyday? After all, I grew up with attentive parents who did their best to teach me well. My mom even took the time to make a poster board chore chart that hung in our kitchen. Each day that I made my bed I could pick out a sticker and place it in the box next to “made my bed.” Stickers, people! Who doesn’t love stickers? Now THAT’S motivating, right?
Filling those boxes was important to me. Missing a day left a blank space that could never be filled. There was no going back. That space would remain blank, forever.
I just had to learn to let it go and move on.
Eventually, as my sister and I got older, the chart disappeared. But I was still expected to make my bed and keep my room clean. Sometimes I did, sometimes I didn’t. Sometimes (okay VERY OFTEN) I’d make my bed and then shove all my clothes into my walk-in closet so my room would look perfect. As long as nobody opened the closet, things looked pretty pulled together.
The problem was I KNEW what was hiding behind that closet door – a mountain range of clothes with piles of dirty laundry on one side, clean clothes on the other and perhaps a stack of books or papers thrown into the mountain valleys. I knew the truth. And it drained my energy.
The unseen chaos felt like a burden, a heavy weight of unfinished business and a constant reminder that I was not taking care of the belongings I had been blessed with.
When I got to college and shared a dorm room with my new friend, Julie, I kept my stuff organized. The room was small and I had a lot of shit, so order was necessary. Also, who wants to live with a messy roommate? I stayed orderly in part to be nice, polite and, let’s be honest…liked!
Nobody wants their roommate to hate them and gossip about their bad habits behind their backs.
Once I’d met my husband and we’d adopted four dogs, I stopped making the bed (I’m usually the last one out of bed. Otherwise Rob would make it).
I stopped because,
a) he doesn’t give a shit if I don’t make the bed,
b) “I’m too busy to spend time on something so silly,”
c) there are no pretty stickers,
d) as an adult my friends and I don’t hang out in my bedroom the way we did as kids. Nobody ever sees my messy bed, and
e) four dogs! One of those kiddos is always in my bed or will be in the next five minutes. They can’t resist that cozy down comforter. Hey, can you blame ‘em?
S’up?
So I told myself there was no point in taking the thirty seconds to make my bed each day. But here’s the thing…
It bothered ME.
Coming into my bedroom and seeing my bed all disheveled didn’t feel good. Like having all of my clothes hidden in my walk in closet as a kid, my un-made bed drained my energy and my confidence.
Making my bed takes 30 seconds. Making my bed is free. There really are no reasonable excuses for skipping this simple task.
So I made a decision to create a new habit.
I linked making my bed to an action I was already doing (btw, that’s a good way to form new habits). I linked it to getting out of bed. I jump out of bed and make it, right then and there. Then it’s done and I get to have the grown up feeling of gold star sticker success.
I also created a couple of rules for the dogs:
Rule #1: “If you’re in the bed while I’m making it, you either jump off, and get right back on when I’m done, or you get made.”
I’m not doing hospital corners so nobody’s going to die from being trapped under the sheet. And they’ve learned – move it or get made. One of my dogs, Toby, actually loves being “made.” To each his/her own.
Rule #2: Once it’s made I don’t care what the dogs do to it. I just feel good knowing I followed through on a small task that helps me feel more grounded.
I made my bed today. I am now a woman who makes my bed. It’s a little thing, but life is really about the little things, isn’t it? Life is about being who you want to be and taking action that aligns with who you want to be.
I want to be someone who feels grounded, confident and organized. I want to be someone who takes care and pride in the home she loves, someone who takes good care of her things, someone who LOVES herself enough to do the things that nurture her peace of mind and serenity.
Tell me, do you make your bed? Is there another task you’ve been avoiding, but you know if you just did it you would feel SO much better? Please share in the comments.
xoox
