Life Lessons with Emily: Fold a fitted sheet

Folding a fitted sheet neatly and correctly will forever be one of life’s most difficult tasks. If you don’t know the secret, a folded fitted sheet is the stuff of myths and fairytales, where only wizards and Martha Stewart successfully complete household chores. Assuming you do laundry and wash your bed sheets regularly (lord help us if you don’t), there’s no doubt you will one day face the frustration of trying to store the dreaded fitted sheet. I’ve researched some tricks of the trade, and am here to tell you that you don’t need magic to fold a fitted sheet. All you need is the following pictorial demonstration (featuring yours truly) and some practice.
Step One: Turn the sheet inside out (the part you would sleep on should face your body). On the short side of the sheet, put one hand in each corner. Some sources say to use the long side of the sheet. I however, found beginning with the short side is easier.
Step Two: Bring your right hand over to your left hand. Fold the corner on your right hand over your left hand. There should be two corners on top of your left hand.
Step Three: Hold the sheet in front of your body. Look down for the next corner, which should be hanging in front of your body. Grab it and place it on top of the previous two corners. Do not flip this corner! Find the last corner and flip it over all the other corners.
Step Four: Lay the sheet on a flat surface. The elastic should form an L-shape across the top and one side, and the sheet should look like a rectangle.
Step Five: Fold the sheet into thirds.
Step Six: Fold the sheet in half.
It took several tries and help from my roommate before I ended up with the beautiful final product. In order to perfect the science, you need practice.
It may seem silly to fold your sheets when you can just crumple them up and throw them in your closet. But nothing feels better than crawling into bed on nice, smooth sheets.
Plus, as college students living in small spaces, we need to conserve as much space as possible. A wadded-up sheet is inefficient and bulky.
Use this article, other articles you find online and YouTube videos to learn each and every step. You may have to adjust certain instructions to fit your ability and your sheet.
Some fitted sheets, like the one photographed, have elastic all the way around. Others, however, only have elastic on the short sides.
These differences, along with differences in size, will affect the process.
Remember not to get frustrated! Folding a sheet like Martha Stweart takes patience and practice. But once you master the craft, doing laundry will seem much more rewarding.