How To Fold A Fitted Sheet

What Is A Fitted Sheet?

A fitted sheet is the sheet you wrap around your mattress and sleep on. It’s fitted to the mattress and has elastic on the corners to hug the mattress and stay put. 

Not all fitted sheets are created equal, just like not all mattresses are. Know what depth your mattress is so you know what size fitted sheet to get. Most fitted sheets are a standard size to fit a standard mattress, but if you have a thicker mattress, you’ll need a deep pocket fitted sheet to fit it properly. You might even need an extra deep pocket fitted sheet, which will fit mattresses that are 16 inches or thicker. 

Best Way To Fold A Fitted Sheet

It’ll probably take some trial and error to learn how to fold a sheet, because it’s not necessarily an intuitive way to fold. But you can do it! Try following these steps.

1. Hold two adjacent corners in each hand. Choose the corners of a short side, and put your hands inside the pockets.
2. Bring your right hand to your left hand and drape that corner over the corner you’re currently holding. You’ll now have two corners on your left hand.
3. Pick up the next corner and fold it over the corners you’re currently holding.
4. Bring the fourth corner up and drape it over the pile of corners you’re holding. You should now have a stack of corners in your hand.
5. Lay the folded sheet flat on a surface. It should be in a rectangular shape once you tuck in the edges. 

Now you can fold it like a regular sheet!

How Often Should I Wash My Sheets?

It’s important to wash your sheets often because they can collect bacteria, dirt and animal dander. Experts recommend washing your sheets once a week, especially if you have allergies, asthma, or other health concerns.

How To Bring Your Sheets Back To Life

White sheets can be a real struggle to keep pristine. If you’re set on having white sheets in your bed, there are a few ways to keep them in tip-top condition. 

Your first line of defense is to not bring anything into the bed that will get them dirty — food, sweat, etc. Otherwise, wash your whites every week to keep them bright, but don’t bleach them. We recommend soaking white sheets in OxiClean or Borax to bring dingy sheets back to life.

How To Organize Your Linens 

Linen closets can be so satisfying when organized properly. If yours is in disarray, consider these few tips to organize it better:

• Keep sheet sets together — One option for organization is keeping an entire sheet set together, which includes the fitted sheet, flat sheet, and pillow cases. Fold them all together in a bundle so you can grab it all at once when making a bed.
• Keep like sheets together — If you’re not someone who makes a bed with coordinating sheet sets, you could instead organize the linen closet by sheet type. Stack all the fitted sheets together, all the flat sheets together and all the pillow cases together.
• Color coordinate — If you have several patterns and colors, it will be ultra-satisfying to organize the closet by color so that your eyes can easily find the sheets you’re looking for when the time comes.
• Organize by room — If you have the space in the closet, organize by room. Keep the master sheets in a stack, the guest room sheets, etc. Everything should have its place. 

Final Thoughts On Fitted Sheets

Folding a fitted sheet might be frustrating to get the hang of, but you can do it! Be patient with it and you’ll be a pro in no time. Also keep in mind the best practices for quality sheets, like how often to wash them and how to bring old sheets back to life (remember: no bleach). Once you’ve got this all down, check out some of our favorite sheet sets, like these Purple sheets or the more budget-friendly Tuft and Needle sheets.