… And at worst, actively making your bedroom less functional and more cumbersome to use. The arguments I hear in favor of it are completely asinine and I will address them one by one.
- It makes it more comfortable to sleep in.
I have absolutely no idea where that comes from. Do you all sleep like Dracula? My bedding is usually tussled about within minutes of me laying in bed. Blankets balled up for knee support, one leg sticking out for temperature venting. I couldn’t imagine sliding under the covers and laying perfectly supine like Vladimir Lenin.
- It doesn’t take much time, so you might as well do it.
I find any task not worth my time to be a waste, so unless it has a purpose, it is actively infuriating to do.
- It looks nice. And an unmade bed looks lazy
Given that this is an entirely subjective reason, I can’t exactly “disagree” with it. But if there was someone I trust enough to be in my bedroom, I’m not going to waste my time convincing you that I do not, in fact, sleep in my bed.
Not to mention that if you want to nap or even sit on the end of the bed, you have to make it again. It is an incredibly unstable artwork, making me avoid using my bed unless I really need to.
If you make your bed, I have no judgment for you. Just like people who fold designs into the ends of their toilet paper. I couldn’t imagine caring about something like that, but it literally doesn’t affect me at all, so go nuts.
But I think we should be honest and call it what it is: some kind of shameful cleaning ritual that is probably some vestigial military chore, and I want nothing to do with it.
If this is really how you feel, then I suppose I can’t dispute you. But this is like saying, “why would I comb my hair? Anyone I want to talk to is okay talking to me as I am.”
Sure… But most people care about things like this. Maybe not explicitly - most people don’t explicitly think to themselves “ugh, an unmade bed. What a loser.” But on a subconscious emotional level, this is essentially what is happening. As a society, we’ve decided a made bed looks better than an unmade bed. That you have failed to make your bed prior to someone entering your bedroom indicates a lack of willingness or ability to confirm to social norms. This, then, typically corresponds to individuals with low social status, and lowers others’ opinions of you. Again, this happens on an entirely emotional, subconscious level for almost everyone most of the time. But the fact is, it happens.
Hence, when I’m going to have guests in my bedroom, I make my bed. I don’t make my bed every day - I just don’t care that much. But I will 100% make my bed if I’m expecting someone else to see it, just like I would sweep the floors and comb my hair.