Do you have any of the following in your bedroom? • Piles of clothes on a chair that aren’t dirty but you haven’t hung back up yet • Several shopping bags filled with stuff to put away or returns to take back • Piles of unread books, magazines, and/or mail • Piles of folded or unfolded clean laundry waiting to be put away • Bags of clothes you’ve been meaning to donate
If so, then it is time to focus your energy on bringing some love back to your bedroom. Your bedroom is supposed to be a peaceful haven away from the stress of the everyday world, not a dumping ground. Let us use the opportunity of Valentine’s Day to reclaim our restful space because what shows love better than creating a peaceful oasis in our bedrooms? Because let’s face it, clutter is not romantic.
Step 1: Gather some supplies – bags for trash, recycling, and donations, black marker to label bags, and a box for stuff that lives in other rooms
Step 2: Clear the surfaces – Take everything off of your dresser tops and nightstands. Put back only what is absolutely necessary and then see if what remains will be kept or thrown out/donated. Find another home to store these items.
Step 3: Deal with the laundry – Put on some music or old tv shows (not new ones that need 100% of your attention) and start folding and putting away your clean laundry. Move all the dirty clothing out the door including what needs to go to the dry cleaner. Plan to do a minimum of one load of laundry every night till everything gets clean.
Step 4: Follow through on your decisions. Put the bags of returns and donations in your car so you have a better chance of getting the task completed. Take your clothes with missing buttons and broken hems to a seamstress or your dry cleaner.
Step 5: Minimize the electronics in your room. The same thing goes for paperwork. It is okay to use your phone as an alarm clock but it is not okay to use it right before bed to catch up on your social media. It is okay to read before bed but it is not okay to have several years of magazines and catalogs piled next to your bed.
Step 6: Reclaim your space from your kids or pets. Your bedroom should not be storage space for their belongings.
Step 7: Review your habits. If you usually pile your clothes on the end of your bed or on a nearby chair when you take them off, change your habit to put them away either in your closet/drawers or in the laundry hamper. If the laundry is your nemesis, commit to folding laundry before starting the next load or complete one load per day.
Following through with these steps might get you tired but the sense of satisfaction and love you will have for your bedroom will be priceless.