Shaking your pillow and blanket has the effect of disturbing microorganisms that are nesting in there. Yes, there are many of them. Just because you can’t see them with the naked eye does not mean that they wouldn’t be there. There’s so many of them, in fact, they can make people’s skin rash and itch. It has happened to me. Shaking the blanket does indeed help. It helps remove moisture from the blanket, which is what microorganisms need to breed. Moisture is transported away through the fresh air. That’s why it helps.

… said someone who isn’t interested in having a relationship?

For me, it’s a huge headache saver. We have a 60 lb dog who likes to get into bed with us, along with one of our cats. If I don’t make my side of the bed prior to my wife and the dog getting in, I’m probably not going to have usable sheets and blankets for the night. Wherever the sheets are when he decides to hop in, that’s where they’re staying.

So, I definitely make at least my side of the bed every day, at some point. Not usually right away in the morning, but it definitely gets done. I don’t go all out on it, just get the sheet and blanket (and comforter, in winter) in essentially the right position for me. It’s critical for a good night of sleep.

And, yes, we probably shouldn’t have let him in the bed in the first place. Lesson learned. That’s a whole other story. But the damage is done.

Don’t make your bed then? I hope you’re being facetious, cuz all I’m getting from this is two things:

You are obsessively preoccupied with other people

You are irrationally critical of people’s behavior that has literally nothing to do with you.

Truthfully; no one gives a fuck about you or your bed. Go outside

When I get the care to do it, its nice having a neat room.

Some people function better when things are organized and orderly, some function better when things are disorganized and in disarray, some function the same either way.

It is what it is. An orderly, organized bedroom feels great to sleep in to me, and might not matter at all to someone else.

Whatever the case, anyone judging me because my bed is either made or not made can fuck right off.

Edit: upvoted for unpopularity, as one does.

How about when you have crumbs all over the bed after snaccing and you need a less itchy place to lie down.

I prefer to air the bed during the day so I pull the covers down to the end and fold over once. Pillows are reset so they’re fresh and comfy to start the night. Maybe later in the day I’ll pull the covers up but doesn’t later since it’s all neat anyway.

None of that is performative, it’s about freshness and comfort.

I had no idea people past my grandmother’s generation still felt compelled to make their bed… I thought we had collectively grown past the compulsion to do pointless tasks like this, along with other wastes of time like manually wiping the dishes or ironing everything including the dish cloth. Maybe that’s just me, though.

(I’m not talking about doing it if you want to because you like it, only about the expectation that you should be doing it no matter what.)

Those are the only reasons you’ve ever heard?

I can’t speak for others, but my sleep is not clean. I can wake up with half the pillows I started with, and the duvet sometimes spun a 180, so the buttons are up by my head. Ive woken up with my arm inside the duvet cover.
My making the bed resets all that. Gets the pillows off the floor or out from behind the headboard, and it turns the duvet round again so I can just flick one corner open and climb in of an evening.

Also when Ive lived with dogs and cats. It kept their hair from getting between the duvet and bedsheet, coz I really enjoy the idea of pets using my bed when I’m not.

Also it stops sex sweat from being in the sleep zone

end every sentence with MOM!

Generally speaking, I agree with you, for many people… yeah there isn’t really any real compelling reason to habitually do this.

However, there are fairly common circumstances where this does actually make sense:

Maybe you just have a tad of OCD, and well… this’ll make you feel a bit more steady and comfortable, and it doesn’t really hurt anyone, assuming you’re not full blown OCD doing it over and over and over because its never perfect.

Maybe you are mildy to moderately depressed… and… just being able to have any kind of regular structure, regular task that you can accomplish… maybe that means you’re not a completely useless piece of shit, and if you can keep up this good habit, and give yourself a pat on the back each time… maybe that means you can start to step up toward more, or bigger tasks.

Maybe you’re a bit ADHD, and its… anchoring, helpful, to have that same just bit of predictable structure or routine, to help you get your day started.

Maybe you have a cPTSD / Trauma response to a messy bed from associating it with very shitty situations in your past, and… having a made bed just removes a trigger for you.

…

Or maybe you have pets, or toddlers, and don’t want to ‘lose’ them, lol, or have their uh, debris of whatever sort, just get everywhere in the bed.

Maybe you live in a studio and eat food on your bed, clip your nails on it, and you adopt a regular ‘crumb removal from your bed’ routine as basically just a hygeine pattern, like brushing your teeth or hair or what not.

Maybe your heat went out or its just fucking freezing, and having a properly made bed makes it just a bit warmer to get into for sleep.

Maybe you have very fancy, high maintenance bedding, that will wrinkle and deform if not regularly … re normalized?

(Yeah I dunno, this is apparently a thing, I am apparently either too simple or broke a man to have ever entertained the idea of a high maintenance bed, but apparently people do?)

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.

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.

shameful cleaning ritual is a bit of a harsh descriptor, but hard agree with everything you said.

Because science.

Why Mess Causes Stress