Stop Fighting Your Pillowcases With One Simple Changing Hack

According to a survey by Mattress Advisor, most of us only change our sheets and pillowcases about every 24 days. A lot of people would agree that wrestling fresh pillowcases onto your pillows can be a truly annoying household chore, so perhaps that's part of the reason we hesitate. But, while three weeks may be the norm, we really should wash or change pillowcases at least once per week to avoid problems with bacteria, acne, and skin irritation. And there's good news for those who keep finding themselves on the pillowcase battlefield.

A viral TikTok shared by @alifebetterorganized shows a brilliant way to stop fighting with pillows and seamlessly get them into their cases in seconds. All you have to do is flip the pillowcase inside out before grabbing the corners and rolling it onto the pillow. This handy hack makes it much easier to keep up with regularly changing linens, and it can be used for more than just pillows.

In a video shared to their TikTok page, cleaning and home organization influencer @alifebetterorganized grabs a standard pillow and matching pillowcase. Instead of tugging, yanking, and rearranging the pillow to fit in the case, they start by turning the pillowcase inside out. With their arms inside the flipped pillowcase, they put a hand in each corner and grab the corners of the pillow. Then they turn the pillowcase right-side-out again, pulling up the hem in the process to envelop the pillow. With a little smoothing, the fresh pillow is ready to go in seconds. 

For some viewers, the hack was mindblowing, but many others claimed it's actually one of the oldest tricks in the book. One commenter wrote, "LOL yes! One of the first tricks they teach you in nursing school," to which the video creator replied, "Yessss! I have two nurses in the family who saw my post and they were like duhhhh!" Commenters also noticed that the hack can work for notoriously tricky duvet covers too — simply flip the cover inside out, lay the duvet on top, attach the corners, and flip again. 

In addition to following this quick pillowcase hack, there are some other linen changing techniques that will make your life easier. Firstly, if you live with children, ask them to strip their own bedsheets to save time and give them a sense of household responsibility. Immediately after washing, fold clean sheets and stack the fitted sheet and top sheet together. This will make things easier to find when cleaning day comes around — no more rummaging through the linen closet looking for a match. Store folded pillowcases vertically in a shallow plastic tub filed the Marie Kondo way, arguably the best way to organize your linen closet.  

As you're making the bed, start by pulling your fitted sheet over the top corners of your mattress where your head lies. It's much easier to pull the corners down to the foot than it is to fight and tug against the wall or headboard. After laying your fitted sheet, grab any excess fabric at the foot of the bed, pull into sharp bed corners or "hospital corners" and tuck the edge underneath the mattress. Now you can check the bedsheets off of your to-do list and set a reminder to change them again next week!