There’s a certain satisfaction that comes with making your bed in the morning. To me, it sets up the rest of the day and signals the start of my AM routine. And it turns out that people who begin their day this way also partake in other home habits that ultimately result in a tidier space.
Think cleaning small messes in the moment, creating predictable routines, preparing for the next day, keeping healthy laundry routines, and regularly resetting their living spaces. Each of these habits plays a role in being organized at home.
So, here’s why psychologists link these habits to people who make their beds and how they help maintain a healthy space.
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1. Clean Small Messes in the Moment
Why wait to complete a task you could finish right in the moment?
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“People who are in the habit of making their beds every day will also have this habit when it comes to the rest of the house. This means it’s likely they will clean up as soon as they use something,” says Dr. Amy Fitzpatrick, chief medical officer at Bedrock Recovery Center.
“We tend to adopt this habit so everything is done quickly and efficiently. This type of household cleaning routine can greatly reduce stress and create an environment that is easy to maintain.”
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Dr. Amy Fitzpatrick, MD, is the chief medical officer at Bedrock Recovery Center. She focuses on preventive health and the everyday habits that support long-term physical and mental well-being.
2. Create Predictable Routines
Having a systematic routine is a great way to keep on top of things.
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Dr. Max Doshay, clinical psychologist at KMN Psych, tells me that people who make their beds every morning also have consistent daily routines. “For example, they may turn on lights in their bedrooms when they get up in the morning (open curtains), make themselves some breakfast food, gather together all of their essential items for going out, etc,” he says.
“These seamless morning routines help eliminate unproductive mental space to provide time to focus on important professional and social responsibilities as opposed to making repetitive decisions about what needs to be done every day.”
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Dr. Max Doshay, PsyD, is a clinical psychologist and the co-founder and CEO of KMN Psych. His work focuses on helping individuals better understand anxiety, stress, and emotional well-being through evidence-based psychological care, with an emphasis on practical strategies that improve everyday mental health.
3. Prepare for the Next Day
Planning out the following morning is a clever way to avoid last-minute chaos.
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Max explains that one of the most significant psychological factors driving why we make our beds is that it helps us think about what will happen next. “Many times these types of habits are displayed as well when preparing your clothes for the next day, packing your work bag at home each evening, and organizing common items you use daily,” he notes.
“All of these habits help remove unnecessary friction, allowing us to move more easily and have more confidence in how we get from one point in time to another.”
And this isn’t limited to setting up your space the night before. It also includes designing a morning shift routine to help you move through the rest of your day with ease.
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4. Keep Healthy Laundry Routines
Washing, drying, and putting away your clothes on time is a rewarding home habit.
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“A clean bedroom does nothing to address all problems in your life, but it can contribute to a sense of peace in the place you live,” says Amy. “And for many people, returning to a space that is organized and has been well-cared for makes it easier to relax after a long day.”
This is why healthy laundry routines tend to be a notable part of many organized homes. Organizing your utility room and dopamine anchoring this chore are two steps you can take to turn this otherwise neglected chore around.
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Placing a stylish laundry basket like this in your utility room makes it easier to enforce the habit of washing your clothes as they pile up.
5. Regularly Reset Their Environments
Adjusting your home to fit the current season will help you feel more in sync with your space.
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“Habitually making your bed may also make it more likely that other habits related to order will follow. This is noticeable in tasks like putting away the things you have used, wiping down a surface immediately after use, or cleaning up a space when you’re done with it in preparation for the next user,” says Max.
“By reducing the number of minor daily stressors you encounter and making less mental effort required to deal with the demands of maintaining a home, these habits can help provide a sense of peace.” And an easy seasonal start to cultivating this habit is through summer morning resets.
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These storage baskets from Ferm Living are a pretty accessory to help reset your space.
If you’re not one of those people who make their bed every morning (we’ve all been there), decluttering micro-resets are the answer for soft-launching a disciplined routine at home.
And in the meantime, for more tips to curate and care for a home that feels true to you, sign up for the Livingetc newsletter.