Easy Ideas For Organizing and Cleaning Your Bedroom
It happens to the best of us: a few busy weeks at work, and all of a sudden the bedroom is a war zone. Dirty clothes in one pile, clean in another; old magazines and newspapers piled up on the bedside table. Shoes who’ve lost their mates, potentially forever. It’s not a very pretty picture.
Instead of just accepting the messy space as inevitable when your schedule becomes hectic, make a true change. Organize your room in such a way that it’s easy to keep clean—even when you’re constantly on the go. Here are a few ways to ease into the cleaning and organizing process:
- Start with the closet. If your room is a mess, chances are your closet is partially to blame. That’s where the bulk of your stuff should be kept, so if it’s overstuffed or in disarray, naturally some of that clothing is going to spill out into your room. Begin by sorting your clothing in any way that makes sense to you—season, color, length. Then follow our next steps to really get your closet in tip-top shape.
- Sift and donate(and be real with yourself, here). While you organize your clothing, you should also be taking another crucial step toward de-cluttering: sticking outdated clothes in a special pile. That pile is destined for the thrift store. You’re going to have to be really honest with yourself while you do this in order to get rid of everything you don’t wear. Most professional organizers use the one-year rule as a baseline: have you worn it in the past year? If no, time to say goodbye. However, if you have “goal” clothing in there that you intend to wear at a certain weight, it might be time to let go of that, too. Better to reward yourself with a new, more current outfit when you actually do meet your goal.
- Pack away out-of-season apparel. Other items that you don’t need to keep in the closet include heavy sweaters in the summer or tank tops in the winter. Designate a spot to keep your out-of-season clothing, perhaps in plastic boxes in a hallway closet or maybe even under the bed. Only let them take up space in your closet when absolutely necessary.
- Evict the home office. Now onto some of the other biggest bedroom offenders, starting with the home office. If you have a desk set up with your laptop and landline, perhaps it’s time to consider moving it elsewhere. Working in the bedroom is widely believed to mess with your sleep. Plus, it takes up room that could be better used with actual bedroom elements like a dresser or nightstand. That’s not to mention the clutter that likely accumulates atop the desk.
- Recycle those old magazines. Magazines and newspapers might contribute to that clutter. Make a sweep of your room and recycle any paper products you don’t need anymore—including junk mail.
- Add storage wherever you can. You might be surprised by how much extra room you have for a set of drawers or a plastic box after you clean. Consider sticking some drawers in your closet or sliding them under the bed to make the most of your space.
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