3 Reasons to Make Your Bed Every Morning

Just about everything has a day of celebration dedicated to it.

January brings us National Squirrel Appreciation Day, in May we see National Fruit Cocktail Day, while National Mustard Day as well as National Secondhand Wardrobe Day both fall in August.

This list is literally almost endless, with days ranging from funny, to useless, to just downright weird.

Then there are some days that meaningful, that give us an excuse to take positive action. International Day of Happiness and National Ice Cream Day are two that come to mind.

Today happens to be one of those days that falls into the meaningful category too, although you may not recognize it as such at first glance.

Today we celebrate National Make Your Bed Day.

Why does it matter?

It’s so easy not to do. We don’t have time, no one sees it anyway, and we’re just going to sleep in it again tonight.

But making your bed is also so easy to do, and it can have a positive effect on the rest of your day and on how you live your life.

You’ll see how as we look at the three big reasons to make your bed.

1. You Start Every Day Off With a Success

If you have a “to do” list at home or work, you may have been guilty of writing a thing or two down that you’ve already done, just so you can get that sweet feeling of checking it off your list. 

Making your bed every morning is like starting the day with one thing checked off that list. 

It’s basically effortless, yet once that mental checkmark is made, you feel good about this small success.

And you like to feel good, so the “take action” centers in your brain will turn on and you’ll find yourself actually wanting to do more things on that list of yours so you can have more good feelings.

The idea that making your bed could be tied to your success was made famous, if you will, by Admiral William McRaven, Commander of the U.S. Naval Special Operations, in his 2014 commencement speech at the University of Texas at Austin.

Admiral McRaven put it like this:

“If you make your bed every morning you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another.”

“By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed.”

“Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter.”  

2.  Helps Develop Positive Habits

There is a simple yet true saying that “how you do one thing is how you do everything.” 

And if you’ll start by doing the smaller, easier things right, it will automatically lead to making better decisions when it comes to the bigger, more significant decisions that come in running your business and raising your kids.

So don’t be surprised if after you’ve been making your bed daily for a couple months, you also find yourself having a week’s worth of meals planned and the groceries bought every Monday, or you have a budget defined that you’re living within, or you’re getting projects done early at work and with seemingly less effort.

The beauty is that it all starts with very doable habits like making your bed.

Give it a chance and you’ll find the bigger, supposedly harder things start to fall into place without any conscious effort on your part.

3. Creates a Sense of Calm and Lowers Stress

Another thing you might not always consciously realize is that your surroundings effect your mood. 

Chaos and disorganization in your house leads to chaos and disorganization in your mind.

It’s especially important when you walk into your bedroom, the place you want to relax and have a good night’s sleep, that it immediately creates a feeling of calmness and tranquility.

Because of how much space your bed takes up in your room, the simple act of making it will have a dramatic effect on how organized and put together the room feels.

You may not always be able to control the amount of stress that is piled upon you in a day, but you can set yourself up to walk out of that stress and into a more peaceful environment when you step into your bedroom.

Bonus For Moms

And for moms, making your bed every morning sets you up as a good role model for your kids.

We often have the attitude of “do as I say, not as I do,” but the reality is your kids will do as you do all day long.

And in this simple act of making your bed, you’re giving the gifts of a successful start to the day, development of positive habits, and creating a calmer environment to your children.

So when your children are older, they won’t have to read articles like this and try to develop a new habit!

Instead, it will be as automatic as brushing their teeth, as it’s just something they’ve always done.

It may sound a little corny to suggest that something as simple as making your bed could impact your child so greatly that she could become happier and more successful, but give a try in your life and see if it doesn’t lead to some gradual yet powerful changes.

If you’ve found some value in this idea, make sure to join Kids Party Characters on Facebook where we share daily updates on raising happy and healthy kids, as well as strategies for stay at home moms who want to build a successful work from home business.

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