bed-making
{{Short description|Arranging bedding on a bed to prepare it for use}}
{{Redirect|Making the bed|the song by Olivia Rodrigo|Making the Bed}}
Bed-making is the act of arranging the bedsheets and other bedding on a bed, to prepare it for use.{{cite book|title=Oxford English Dictionary|url=http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/112645?rskey=tyGmtC&result=9&isAdvanced=false#|chapter=Make (v. 1): 62|quote=To prepare (a bed) for sleeping in; to arrange bedclothes on (a bed) for future use.|url-access=subscription}} It is a household chore, but is also performed in establishments including hospitals, hotels, and military or educational residences. Bed-making is also a common childhood chore.{{cite web|last=Aguirre|first=Sarah|title=Make a Bed|url=http://housekeeping.about.com/od/bedrooms/ht/makebed.htm|work=About.com: Housekeeping|accessdate=26 June 2012|archive-date=2 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202040625/http://housekeeping.about.com/od/bedrooms/ht/makebed.htm|url-status=dead}} Research suggests that unmade beds help to keep out dust mites.{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4181629.stm|title=Untidy beds may keep us healthy|date=18 January 2005|website=BBC Online|access-date=27 March 2024}}
History
{{globalize|date=August 2020}}
Beds must sometimes be made to exacting standards, demanded by nurses or military personnel.{{cite book|last=Curtis|first=Mike|title=Close Quarter Battle|year=1997|publisher=Corgi Books|location=London, United Kingdom|isbn=0-552-14465-7|edition=1998|page=[https://archive.org/details/cqbclosequarterb0000curt/page/44 44]|chapter=Chapter 2|quote=At the crack of dawn, the screaming started again. Beds had to be made, with the sheets and grey army blankets stacked neatly and perfectly square on top.|chapter-url-access=registration|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/cqbclosequarterb0000curt/page/44}} In a hospital or other health-care environment, beds must sometimes be made while occupied by a patient. Specialised techniques are taught to healthcare staff to enable beds to be made efficiently with due care for the patient.{{cite web|title=Bed Making|url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/6635685/Bed-Making|work=scribd.com|accessdate=26 June 2012}} A sample training document{{cite web |title=Bed Making Procedure: Definition, Principles, Types of Bed Making |url=https://www.nursesclass.com/2021/04/bed-making.html |website=Nurses Class - Nursing guides, Care Plan, Jobs, Question Papers |access-date=11 May 2021}} Moving the patient out of the bed before remaking it is the preferred option.
There are different bed-making techniques, such as "hospital corners" and "mitred corners". Military recruits are often taught how to make a neat and tidy bed with hospital corners. Military personnel are expected to fold the bed very tightly, in some cases so that a coin can bounce off it.{{cite book|last=McKay|first=Gary|title=In Good Company|year=1987|publisher=Allen & Unwin|location=Sydney, Australia|isbn=1-86448-904-9|edition=1998|page=19|chapter=Chapter 2 - Doing Extras at Scheyville|quote=He stepped into my mess of a room and by dinnertime he had run me through the whole gammut of how to set up the room in inspection order, and how to make the bed properly so the drillies could bounce a 20c coin off the counterpane}}
Starting in 2012, many self-making beds that automatically rearrange the bedding are in development and in use.{{cite web|last=Marable|first=Eileen|title=Yes, yes a million times: Bed makes itself in 50 seconds|url=http://dvice.com/archives/2012/06/bed-makes-itsel.php|work=Dvice|accessdate=26 June 2012|date=8 June 2012|archive-date=2 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102075412/http://www.dvice.com/archives/2012/06/bed-makes-itsel.php|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web | url=https://myluxurybed.co.uk/blogs/blog/a-chore-no-more-the-self-making-bed-is-here | title=OHEA smart bed | accessdate=26 June 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170301005646/https://myluxurybed.co.uk/blogs/blog/a-chore-no-more-the-self-making-bed-is-here | archive-date=1 March 2017 | url-status=dead }}
Record
Guinness World Records reports that the record time for two people to make a bed "with one blanket, two sheets, an undersheet, an uncased pillow, one pillowcase, one counterpane and hospital corners" is 14.0 seconds. This feat was achieved by two nurses from the Royal Masonic Hospital in London in 1993.{{cite web|title=Fastest time to make a bed by a team of two|url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records-10000/fastest-time-to-make-a-bed-by-a-team-of-two/|work=Guinness World Records|accessdate=26 June 2012}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}