This 3-step fitted sheet folding hack is a game changer

Everyone knows that a fitted sheet – i.e. the kind that has elastic around the edges – is the superior sheet style. Our T3 best bed sheet guide includes both flat and fitted sheets, but I'm assuming all sensible people are discarding the flat sheets entirely. Fitted sheets are not only far, far easier to put on the bed, but they also pull your sheet flat, and won't displace themselves at the slightest movement, leaving you lying on your mattress protector, or even just your bare mattress.

But as easy as they are to get on the bed, fitted sheets are truly a nightmare to fold. In fact, they're right up there with the most difficult to fold items you can find, along with baby grows, bras and floaty dresses. The kind of things that only Marie Kondo would even consider tackling. With my fitted sheets, I employ the 'roll it up in a ball and shove it in the drawer' approach, having come to the conclusion that no one who lacks the mental capacity to get a flat sheet onto a bed could ever hope to pull off this gold standard of folding.

In fact, I don't know if I've ever really tried to fold a fitted sheet. But there's a folding hack doing the rounds on TikTok that promises to finally make sense of this scenario – and it looks like it might just be doable. The technique comes from TheFoldingLady. So that's a good sign right there. Although I guess that might not actually be her real name. The main steps are as follows:

1. Line up the elasticated edges

TheFoldingLady starts by nestling one of the elasticated edges inside the other, so they make a kind of arch, with the flat fold at the bottom. This might be the trickiest part. Even she seems to be having a bit of a struggle with it. 

2. Square them off

She then pulls the two side edges so they're vertical, and pulls and folds the top edge so it makes a horizontal line across the two. Now you've got rough rectangle to work with.

3. Fold it all up

Finally, TheFoldingLady folds the left-hand third of the rectangle into the centre, followed by the right-hand third. This gives a tall rectangle that can then be folded into a smaller, wide rectangle. Easy! Watch the full process in action here: 

@thefoldinglady

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