We tried three popular hacks for putting on a duvet cover to find the fastest method

There's nothing like getting into bed with fresh sheets, but we sometimes wish changing them wasn't such an ordeal. So this week, we've tried out three of the most popular duvet cover changing hacks.

Here's how we got on with the 'burrito', the 'roll,' and the normal 'inside-out' method for changing our best bedding. The standard method was the best, but the 'burrito' didn't disappoint.

The Burrito: good if you hate getting flustered

I followed this YouTube video, lovely and leisurely compared to the many frantic TikToks you have to replay a hundred times to get the gist of what's going on. First, you turn your duvet cover inside out and lay it flat on your bed. 

Then, place your duvet on top, line up the edges of the duvet with the cover, and flatten out any creases. Next, kneel on the bed and simply roll them up from top to bottom (where the opening is), like you would when packing away a sleeping bag. 

You should now have a long tube of duvet. Now, tuck the corners of the cover over the edges, so the material on the corners is no longer inside out. Unroll the duvet and cover back on themselves to 'unravel' your burrito. And you're done! 

I won't lie, the last step was a bit of a puzzle, but once you've got the knack it's fine. Pros: good if you don't have much space as you can do it all on the bed, sat on your best mattress. It's quite a relaxed method that won't make you break into a sweat. 

Cons: a bit fiddly, took me way longer than my usual 'inside out' method (about 10 minutes on my first go, including taking pics and finding bedding).

The Roll: definitely not one for a double bed

Real Homes' News Editor, Becky Knight tried the roll method from this YouTube video:

The technique failed miserably. They say it takes one minute, and I'm sure it does if you're making up a small kids' single bed. 

I was optimistic after watching the video and lay the bedsheet out first. I rolled up the duvet, which is when the trouble started.

Rolling up a double duvet is a challenge in itself, however, I got it rolled up to the end of the bed, with still the best part of the minute to spare. I then stuffed the roll into the bedding opening and grabbed the two corners. 

The idea is if you give it a shake the duvet unrolls inside. This miracle didn't happen for me. Well, it did after A LOT of shaking and yanking at the duvet from outside the cover. 

I decided to give it another go rolling the duvet more loosely, and this went even worse. I gave up after a minute and resorted to my tried and tested inside-out method, which had the bed cover on in 30 seconds and neatened up in under a minute.

The Inside-Out

Real Homes News Writer Megan Slack tried the standard 'inside-out' method:

To the shock of the Real Homes team, this was the first time I had tried the ‘normal method’ – meaning it was far from normal for me. I am typically a 'stuff method' enthusiast (we’re few and far between), but I was keen to try this popular technique to see what was making everybody so excited.

As a normal technique novice, I watched a Youtube tutorial – in which the process took under one minute. It involved putting your hands into the corners, so you're wearing the cover corners like gloves (inside seam facing out), holding the duvet corners in each hand and shaking so the cover comes down.

 For me, the entire process took around 2-3 minutes – but I will confess that the bulk of the duvet was on after around 1 minute.

The rest of the time was spent trying to flatten out bumps and create an even amount of duvet throughout my best duvet cover. The photo shows the result after around 3 minutes when there were still a few little bumps – but it was good enough to pass as finished.

I do understand the attraction behind the normal method – but I get around the same number of bumps from the stuff method that I’m more familiar with – so I’m staying true to the method I know and love.