# Bed Sheet Dilemma - A Version Of Hanging Toilet Paper **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 2, 2006, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bed-sheet-dilemma-a-version-of-hanging-toilet-paper/355049 "2006-05-02T03:21:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bed-sheet-dilemma-a-version-of-hanging-toilet-paper/355049/21 "2006-05-02T16:38:45Z")
I remember I had an entire chapter in my basic bedside nursing text book on how sheets should be applied to a bed. According to the book, it is a mortal sin, a punishable offense, a danger to the patient’s skin and my immortal soul for the sheets to not face one another. It told me to run my fingers along the edges of each sheet to determine which was the “right” side, since it was impossible to tell from a casual glance or touch. It was important because the “wrong” side was abrasive, and if it contacted a patient’s skin, that skin would be cruelly scraped off little by little while they lay in the offending sheets. Of course, it also told me the sheet had to be folded lengthwise with the fold layed in the _exact_ middle of the bed, before carefully unfolding it, to drape equally on either side of the bed. I was to use a yardstick until I could get it right from practice. Then there was all that corner folding too. So, good sides together, here. ---
**Author:** ![dogbutler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogbutler/32/428_2.png) [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bed-sheet-dilemma-a-version-of-hanging-toilet-paper/355049/22 "2006-05-02T17:04:15Z")
cat =======comforter============= [indent][indent] dog[/indent][/indent] =======top sheet============= _ **good side** good side_\*\*\*\* me **good side** good side\*\*\*\*\*\* =======fitted sheet=========== ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bed-sheet-dilemma-a-version-of-hanging-toilet-paper/355049/23 "2006-05-02T18:36:39Z")
The good sides must touch each other (me in between) or the top way. The way all right and good people do it. So, if I were to make my bed and if I were to fold down the covers the right sides would be showing. Otherwise, you show off the bad sides. If you’re going to go through the trouble of making the bed why would you make it ugly? ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bed-sheet-dilemma-a-version-of-hanging-toilet-paper/355049/24 "2006-05-02T22:16:44Z")
Depends. When I’m home… -------comforter/unzipped sleeping bag------- Beagle 1 Me Beagle 2 -------sheet--------------------- mattress at school… -------fleecy blanket thingy------ sheet (one solid color, dammit) Me -----------sheet---------------------- mattress Yes, an unzipped sleeping bag at home. And it’s disgusting, too. It should be retired, and next time I’m home, it will be. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bed-sheet-dilemma-a-version-of-hanging-toilet-paper/355049/25 "2006-05-02T22:21:39Z")
Easy peasy where I’m from: ==================Duvet================== I sleep here. ==================Sheet================== ---
**Author:** ![MaddyStrut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dbc845/32.png) [@MaddyStrut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaddyStrut)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bed-sheet-dilemma-a-version-of-hanging-toilet-paper/355049/26 "2006-05-02T23:06:19Z")
Right side/wrong side, it doesn’t matter to me. Whichever side is down when I put the sheet on the bed stays there. Unless it’s in the guest room. Then I put the good side up. I am pretty strict about making the bed though. If I’m gone all day and the bed’s unmade, I go to sleep in sheets full of dog hair. So the bed has to stay made. However, while I’m in the shower and getting, the dogs are banned from the bedroom and the bed is left wide open to air out. I don’t know why, but I always notice if I haven’t aired out the bed. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bed-sheet-dilemma-a-version-of-hanging-toilet-paper/355049/27 "2006-05-02T23:16:49Z")
To tell you the truth I am hopelessly confused about these “good side/bad side” references. I honestly have know idea what you people are talking about. It is a sheet. It is made of cloth (both sides too). You put one on bottom and the other on top. That seems pretty straightforward to me. I am not sure I want to know about any complicating factors involved. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bed-sheet-dilemma-a-version-of-hanging-toilet-paper/355049/28 "2006-05-02T23:17:19Z")
> [@Lsura](#): > > Like **Anaamika** , I almost never put a top sheet on my bed - just the fitted sheet over the featherbed, then whatever blankets I need. I found that when I use the flat sheet, I just kick it off in the middle of the night and it ends up bunched around my feet, making me uncomfortable. So why bother with it? That’s brilliant. I’m going to store my top sheets. Mine are really smooth, and they don’t “adhere” to the comforter, which is satiny, so I’ll have two feet of sheet around my face and most of the comforter has slid off to the floor. But in the summer, I’ll switch back to a top sheet with a light blanket or spread, not satiny. ---
**Author:** ![SkeptiJess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SkeptiJess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkeptiJess)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bed-sheet-dilemma-a-version-of-hanging-toilet-paper/355049/29 "2006-05-02T23:25:24Z")
> [@InternetLegend](#): > > Am I the last person on earth to have beds with regular blankets and a bedspread on top? > > My mother taught me to fold the hem of the top sheet over the top of the blankets (and then put the pillows on top of that fold), then put the bedspread over everything, tucking it in neatly under the bottom of the pillows for that traditional “made bed” look. > > Why, in my day, we didn’t have pillow shams and duvets and comforters and the like. We slept under wool blankets and we were _grateful_, dagnabbit… Me too, **InternetLegend**. ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bed-sheet-dilemma-a-version-of-hanging-toilet-paper/355049/30 "2006-05-02T23:25:45Z")
We don’t “make” our bed, so the good/bad side of the sheet debate is nothing I can weigh in on. But we sleep weird anyway. I will generally have two or three blankets - the first is my ratty old ‘blankie’ that I’ve had for years. It’s a woven cotton thing, I think. If it’s cool, on top of that I’ll have a blue ‘mink’ blanket. And then if it’s cold on top of that I’ll have a heavier cotton blanket again. I like the weight. Hubby sleeps with a cheap, cotton-batting filled duvet. We used to share quilts/blankets and sheets, but hubby rolls around and goes all cocoon-boy on me, so I’ve let him have the quilt and I just make do with my own pile of coverings. ---
**Author:** ![FaerieBeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e95f7d/32.png) [@FaerieBeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FaerieBeth)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bed-sheet-dilemma-a-version-of-hanging-toilet-paper/355049/31 "2006-05-02T23:53:14Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > To tell you the truth I am hopelessly confused about these “good side/bad side” references. I honestly have know idea what you people are talking about. It is a sheet. It is made of cloth (both sides too). You put one on bottom and the other on top. That seems pretty straightforward to me. > > I am not sure I want to know about any complicating factors involved. I was confused at first, too, **Shagnasty**. I think they’re talking about the seams and perhaps decorative stitching (if any) on the top edge of the sheet. I inspected my sheets briefly and came to the conclusion that there is no difference in the feel of the material per side, so this must be a purely visual aesthetic issue. I don’t really pay much attention to how my sheets go on the bed. If someone’s going to be seeing my sheets, then I’m usually acquainted well enough with them to know they really don’t care, either. The last time I fussed over how the bed was put together was the first time I had **Stonebow** over. (And let me tell you, that was a bad sheet experience. I spent 100 bucks on some fancy satin sheets from Victoria’s Secret. Nothing would stay in the bed on those slippery bastards! Not the pillows, not the rest of the coverings. It was all we could do to keep from falling out ourselves!) ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bed-sheet-dilemma-a-version-of-hanging-toilet-paper/355049/32 "2006-05-03T07:20:06Z")
There’s another option, according to my son: =========blanket============ spawn of sin -----------top sheet (there are sides?)-------- -----------fitted sheet (again, sides?)--------- This way, you only have to wash the sheets 1/2 as often, the top sheet being peeled away like an onion (or a cake; cakes have layers!) and leaving: =========blanket============ spawn of sin -----------fitted sheet (not made of cake, but some crumbs…)--------- God only knows what happens the next time laundry day comes due. I suppose by then it’s time to buy new sheets. :o * * * And concerning those fancy slippery VS sheets, a friend of mine bought some and nearly gave herself a heart attack when she sent a pillow flying across the room in the middle of the night. She spent 10 minutes in a little ball of terror thinking someone had come through the window. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bed-sheet-dilemma-a-version-of-hanging-toilet-paper/355049/33 "2006-05-03T12:54:08Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > To tell you the truth I am hopelessly confused about these “good side/bad side” references. I honestly have know idea what you people are talking about. It is a sheet. It is made of cloth (both sides too). You put one on bottom and the other on top. That seems pretty straightforward to me. > > I am not sure I want to know about any complicating factors involved. Would you wear your clothing inside out? Look at the hem. The side that has only stitches is the good, or right side. The hemmed side is the wrong side. If the material is printed, the print is clearer and brighter on the right side. As far as the feel, you’re right, except for really cheap sheets, both sides feel the same, unless of course, you are the psychotic author of a nursing text book (see post # 21) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bed-sheet-dilemma-a-version-of-hanging-toilet-paper/355049/34 "2006-05-03T13:09:00Z")
Just lately, hubby and I have become positively _addicted_ to really, really good sheets (coinciding with his new job that started the end of November, and pays three times as much as his prior job 😉 ). Our bestest, favorite sheets are 1,000 thread count Egyptian cotton. They feel like _heaven_ on all sides! The bottom sheet has to go on “good side” up, because you can see the seems at the corners. The top sheet, however, has such finely stitched seems that you really have to _look_ to tell the difference between the top and the bottom. They are Ivory in color, with no pattern. We use a metalasse bedspread, not a comforter. So nothing gets turned down, so whether the tiny little seem is on the top facing away from us or not is irrelevant. As an aside, I’ll mention that those sheets are so damned dense, we’ll probably pass them down to our kids, who will pass them down to their kids, who will. . . ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bed-sheet-dilemma-a-version-of-hanging-toilet-paper/355049/35 "2006-05-03T17:19:08Z")
> [@norinew](#): > > Just lately, hubby and I have become positively _addicted_ to really, really good sheets (coinciding with his new job that started the end of November, and pays three times as much as his prior job 😉 ). Our bestest, favorite sheets are 1,000 thread count Egyptian cotton. They feel like _heaven_ on all sides! The bottom sheet has to go on “good side” up, because you can see the seems at the corners. The top sheet, however, has such finely stitched seems that you really have to _look_ to tell the difference between the top and the bottom. They are Ivory in color, with no pattern. We use a metalasse bedspread, not a comforter. So nothing gets turned down, so whether the tiny little seem is on the top facing away from us or not is irrelevant. > > As an aside, I’ll mention that those sheets are so damned dense, we’ll probably pass them down to our kids, who will pass them down to their kids, who will. . . I am dying for some of those 1,000 thread count sheets. Overstock taunts me with them every few weeks. When I bought my 600 jobbies, I thought they were heaven on earth. They’re soft yes but one thouuuuuuuusand … it calls to me … ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bed-sheet-dilemma-a-version-of-hanging-toilet-paper/355049/36 "2006-05-03T17:31:48Z")
> [@Ellen Cherry](#): > > I am dying for some of those 1,000 thread count sheets. Overstock taunts me with them every few weeks. When I bought my 600 jobbies, I thought they were heaven on earth. They’re soft yes but one thouuuuuuuusand … it calls to me … We actually bought ours off of one of the home shopping channels; they were offering flex payments of $33.33 a month for three months. I knew from previous shopping online that $100.00 was quite a reasonable price for the sheets. And really, even though that seems like a _lot_ of money for a set of sheets, I factor in two things: one, since I sleep nekkid (sorry if that’s TMI), I spend more time with my sheets touching my skin than any other single thing in the world; two, if they last for at least ten years, which I’ve no doubt they will, that’s only $10.00 a year. Less than a dollar a month. A mere pittance. I often amaze myself with my ability to justify luxury expenses! 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bed-sheet-dilemma-a-version-of-hanging-toilet-paper/355049.md?page=1)