Is Your Bedroom Your Sanctuary?
As a residential professional organizer, I am in homes everyday consulting with people on how to simplify their lives. And I am always a little saddened (for them) when they take me around their home, and I see that their bedroom is just as cluttered as the kitchen counters or the home office. It seems to me that in this fast-paced, stressed-out life we live, there ought to be at least one place that we can go and rest our minds as well as our bodies.
Do you start your day wishing you could crawl back under the covers because of the clutter you face the minute you open your eyes? And once out of bed, do you find that getting dressed is an adventure in finding clean clothes or socks that match? Then you need to read on and find out the simple steps you can start to take to make your bedroom your sanctuary.
Clothes & Closets – Sort through all of your clothes and toss any that are torn or worn out. Donate the ones that are just not your style any more or no longer fit (don’t save them thinking you will wear them again when you lose 20 lbs – you won’t. Buy new clothes to celebrate!). Now, get a hamper for dirty clothes and put away your clean clothes in a dresser or closet. In a closet, I love to hang clothes by type and then color. Short sleeve shirts first, then long sleeve shirts and sweaters; sport pants, followed by spring/summer casual pants, then fall/winter pants (we have four seasons in Virginia) and finally dress pants. Hang them by the colors white, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet and black. Putting clothes away and getting outfits ready in the morning has never been easier!
Nightstand/Dresser – Clear the clutter. If it belongs in another room, take it there; if it is trash, toss it, and the knick-knacks need to go. This is your sanctuary! It is OK to surround yourself with a very few things that make you happy and give you a sense of peace, but let’s not over do it. And I am a firm believer that work papers should never come into the bedroom. After all, you need to have some place that is entirely private. Instead, replace it with a book to read – for pleasure!
Floor – Make the most of the space under your bed. It is great for storing off season clothes or extra blankets and pillows. Just make sure they are stored in a breathable fabric bag that will keep dust and dirt out, but let the air circulate around the fabric. Here is a great under bed bag: Linen Under bed Storage Bag. If shoes are your fetish and you have run out of room in your closet, then use the area under your bed for more storage.
Specially designed shoe boxes allow you to keep the dust bunnies out, but make it easy to see what shoes are stored within. As for me, I use the space under my bed to store wrapping paper, gift bags, boxes and bows. Specially designed under bed plastic bins by Sterilite are perfect for keeping my “wrapping center” neat and organized!
Making your bedroom the haven it is supposed to be is just three small projects away. Make a commitment now to set aside time to work on these three areas of your bedroom and watch the stress melt away as you sink into your new sanctuary – your bedroom. Oh, and don’t forget to take the 45 seconds (yes, less than a minute) it takes each morning to make you bed. Get in the habit, and it won’t be long before you agree that a made bed just sleeps better at night! Sweet dreams!
