I'm writing this post because I think it's quite funny. This week I read conflicting opinions on the same matter by two authors who I equally admire, Victoria Moran and Elaine St. James.

Victoria always makes her bed every morning because she feels that it gives symbolic closure to the previous 24 hours, opening her way into an unsullied day. She says that during the day, just the picture of it sitting there with it's pillows and covers looking so tidy gives her an illusion that the rest of her life is orderly and serene. When she's away, remembering that her bed is made helps her feel efficient, organised and capable.

Elaine never makes her bed because it keeps life simpler and knowing she doesn't have to spend 10 minutes making the "darn thing" gives her the delight of feeling that she's getting away with a little something. It's a treat she carries with her throughout the day and she reasons that she's only going to get into it again at night anyway.

Well, there you have it. This may be trivial, but I guess a lifetime is made up of trivial little details like this. It amazing how little trivial matters can elicit big responses. My mum, who gave me "Simplify Your Life" by Elaine St. James, shook her head and says she can't bring herself to read anything more by a "slob" who not only can't take a few moments to make her bed but boasts about it in her books. But Mum is from the old school of thought. Personally, I can understand both points of view. Maybe that is why I sometimes make beds and sometimes don't. I agree with Victoria, that gazing through the passage and seeing a smooth, unrumpled set of covers gives me a burst of pride, but I'm just as likely the next day to leave them rumpled because we have to dash to the shops or something. But if you follow Elaine's point through, 5 minutes of making your bed adds up to a total of about 30 hours a year, which is a day out of your life that could well be spent doing something else. (And sometimes I make my bed and the kids' too, I usually do the kids' too. The thought is enough to make me tired)