# Please settle this disagreement between me and my wife -- let's get between the sheets **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 21, 2024, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-settle-this-disagreement-between-me-and-my-wife-lets-get-between-the-sheets/999146 "2024-03-21T14:48:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-settle-this-disagreement-between-me-and-my-wife-lets-get-between-the-sheets/999146/1 "2024-03-21T14:48:04Z")
So, thanks for following the click-bait subject line. Here’s the deal: My wife and I have a disagreement about the proper way to put linens on the bed. We’ve been together for more than thirty years. When I put the sheets on, I do it my way. When she does it, well, she does it wrong. So, how do y’all do it? Our bed starts with the mattress. Then there’s a fitted mattress pad. This is covered with a fitted bottom sheet followed by a flat top sheet. There is then a light blanket and the whole thing is topped with a comforter or quilt which varies depending on the season. The controversy involves the top sheet. This sheet has a finished (or printed, if it has a pattern) side and an unfinished side. One of us places the finished side down. The top hem of the sheet goes all the way to the headboard. The light blanket stops several inches from the headboard. The top sheet is then folded over the blanket, leaving the finished side matching the exposed part of the fitted sheet. The other person places the top sheet with the finished side up. The hems of both the blanket and the top sheet go all the way to the headboard with no folding over the top. So, who is right? Personally, I think this issue is as important as whether the toilet paper goes over the top or under the roll. Sleepless nights are at stake here! ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-settle-this-disagreement-between-me-and-my-wife-lets-get-between-the-sheets/999146/2 "2024-03-21T14:55:11Z")
Your wife is right. My answer would be the same if she put the flat sheet over the mattress pad and the fitted sheet was upside down on top of the comforter. If you were single, I’d suggest going with the finished side down folded over the blanket method. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-settle-this-disagreement-between-me-and-my-wife-lets-get-between-the-sheets/999146/3 "2024-03-21T14:57:42Z")
Let me get this straight. _You make your bed?_ Argue over something important. As for the TP, it depends on if you have cats or not. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-settle-this-disagreement-between-me-and-my-wife-lets-get-between-the-sheets/999146/4 "2024-03-21T14:57:59Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Your wife is right. Yep. How have you survived this long without realizing this? ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-settle-this-disagreement-between-me-and-my-wife-lets-get-between-the-sheets/999146/5 "2024-03-21T15:09:26Z")
Finished side up, no folding! Fight me. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-settle-this-disagreement-between-me-and-my-wife-lets-get-between-the-sheets/999146/6 "2024-03-21T15:10:46Z")
I spent a couple of years as a motel maid, so am very locked into the “fold top of top sheet over the edge of the blanket” style, which IMO is more comfortable, since I have a tendency to burrow in until the covers are up to my chin. Fortunately, my husband doesn’t really care which approach we use, so far as he’s ever said. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-settle-this-disagreement-between-me-and-my-wife-lets-get-between-the-sheets/999146/7 "2024-03-21T15:13:48Z")
> [@Drum\_God](#): > > One of us places the finished side down. The top hem of the sheet goes all the way to the headboard. The light blanket stops several inches from the headboard. The top sheet is then folded over the blanket, leaving the finished side matching the exposed part of the fitted sheet. This is what my mother taught me. She made a big deal out of making beds, as she was trained as a nurse in the 1950s, when nurses were supposed to be top-notch bedmakers. But I am flexible. I don’t care too much which of the OP’s methods are used. ---
**Author:** ![betonbill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b782af/32.png) [@betonbill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betonbill)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-settle-this-disagreement-between-me-and-my-wife-lets-get-between-the-sheets/999146/8 "2024-03-21T15:18:04Z")
I put the printed side down and fold over blanket. However, if your partner’s method really bothers you, why not just volunteer to be the official sheet caretaker? Problem solved. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-settle-this-disagreement-between-me-and-my-wife-lets-get-between-the-sheets/999146/9 "2024-03-21T15:27:49Z")
When it’s cold and blankets are on the bed, top sheet pattern down and fold over blanket. When it’s too hot for blankets, just top sheet, pattern side up. ---
**Author:** ![Nyvaak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Nyvaak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nyvaak)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-settle-this-disagreement-between-me-and-my-wife-lets-get-between-the-sheets/999146/10 "2024-03-21T15:35:12Z")
Let me further extend the toilet paper analogy. Years ago I was speaking of the question with an acquaintance who said, “really? If I could get my husband to replace the roll at all, I wouldn’t care _which_ way he did it.” Either way of positioning the sheet would be correct, as long as it was being done by someone not me. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-settle-this-disagreement-between-me-and-my-wife-lets-get-between-the-sheets/999146/11 "2024-03-21T15:59:47Z")
That this is a disagreement that either you care about blows me away. For my wife and I (married 27 years) It’s easy to see if one cares more about something than the other, and we comply. For instance, we got a big new TV. We mounted it on the wall. It was a little higher than my wife would like it. Was fine for me. So with my neighbors help (it’s heavy 65"s) we managed to move it down. Two inches. It’s all that could be done with wall stud and outlet placement. But I did it. That wasn’t even a disagreement. It was something she wanted, I really didn’t care. It was extra work of course, but whatever. Really, she is not demanding, or that sensitive about things. But after all these years I know what is important to her. She knows what’s important to me. IMHO, that’s the way it’s supposed to work. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-settle-this-disagreement-between-me-and-my-wife-lets-get-between-the-sheets/999146/12 "2024-03-21T16:04:43Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > after all these years I know what is important to her. She knows what’s important to me. IMHO, that’s the way it’s supposed to work. If it always did, the advice columnists would be out of a job. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-settle-this-disagreement-between-me-and-my-wife-lets-get-between-the-sheets/999146/13 "2024-03-21T16:13:26Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > That this is a disagreement that either you care about blows me away. My read of the OP is that nobody _really_ cares too much about it. It sounds like one of those silly “battles” married couples bring up for giggles (or post on message boards). My wife and my version of this is what kind of birthday cake is best, an “argument” that neither will give on. (BTW, it’s chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream icing.) ---
**Author:** ![Turki-lurki](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turki-lurki/32/7168_2.png) [@Turki-lurki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turki-lurki)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-settle-this-disagreement-between-me-and-my-wife-lets-get-between-the-sheets/999146/14 "2024-03-21T16:16:23Z")
Y’all need a hobby. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-settle-this-disagreement-between-me-and-my-wife-lets-get-between-the-sheets/999146/15 "2024-03-21T16:16:57Z")
> [@Turki-lurki](#): > > Y’all need a hobby. - Maybe it is. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-settle-this-disagreement-between-me-and-my-wife-lets-get-between-the-sheets/999146/16 "2024-03-21T16:18:50Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Finished side up, no folding! Fight me. I agree. No folding because the bottom of the sheet is tucked in far enough not to come out in the middle of the night. I’m tall, so this is an issue. My wife agrees with this, so it’s never been an issue. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-settle-this-disagreement-between-me-and-my-wife-lets-get-between-the-sheets/999146/17 "2024-03-21T17:39:46Z")
I do it differently. I only pull the sheet and blanket evenly up to the pillow. I don’t want that extra length that goes to to the headboard. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-settle-this-disagreement-between-me-and-my-wife-lets-get-between-the-sheets/999146/18 "2024-03-21T18:30:05Z")
Buy solid color sheets. Some better made brands are finish hemmed both ways. Martha Stewart says the tags on the sheets at the bottom are always on the same side. Place on bed like that. Usually the right hand side. Don’t diss the tag. Tsk tsk. You know I’m right. ---
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-settle-this-disagreement-between-me-and-my-wife-lets-get-between-the-sheets/999146/19 "2024-03-21T18:40:37Z")
Wow. I didn’t realize I pitched this as some sort of serious argument my wife and I have. Our rule has been that the person putting the sheets on the bed puts them on the way he/she likes. Usually, that’s me. However, a couple of days ago, my wife and I put the sheets on together and there was momentary conflict when she said “The sheet is on backwards.” and I said, “No it’s not.” Strangely, she gave in without much of a fight. The best answer above, of course, is “The wife is always right.” If it wasn’t obvious yet, I’m the one with the finished side down and folded at the top. That’s the way my mommy taught me to do it. Of course, my wife’s mommy (the sociopath) taught her differently. Evidence in my favor: years ago, we had a waterbed and we used waterbed sheets. Waterbed sheets are sewn together at the foot with the fitted sheet and the top sheet being one piece. These sheets were invariably sewn together “my way”. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2024, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-settle-this-disagreement-between-me-and-my-wife-lets-get-between-the-sheets/999146/20 "2024-03-22T00:11:03Z")
My wife’s bugaboo is the corners. I just tuck them in and she is constantly annoyed that I was never taught to do “hospital corners” … [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-settle-this-disagreement-between-me-and-my-wife-lets-get-between-the-sheets/999146.md?page=2)