Back to the House...Master Bedroom!

Y’all, I’m not gonna lie.  After the move, I’ve come to realize a cold hard fact:  I have a lot of crap in my master bedroom.  I’ve done pretty well paring down and organizing everywhere else, but my master bedroom has been my secret stash spot.  After all if “it’s personal” I should get to keep it, right?  Only…now that I have this large spacious room, I don’t want to keep it all.  I want it organized and pretty.

But figuring out what to lose and what to keep has never been my strong point.  I’m paranoid.  I like to keep it all just in case.  Preparation will save us in the end, right?!  Err…right…so… I started looking for some plans to figure out how I’m going to revamp my bedroom.

Jan 19^th is a holiday, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, but I’ll likely spend it locked in my bedroom making much needed changes – so I need a plan!  Expect a recap post with pictures once it's all said and done. 

Step 1: Find a place and put away non-clothing items

This link, Organize a Cluttered Master Bedroom, has a lot of really great tips on getting started.  It’s more geared towards general cleaning but the takeaways I like are:

1: Bring a trash can into the bedroom
2. Divide the bed into keep in the bedroom and put away elsewhere in the house sections
3. Work from the floor up.  (This is important.  In the past when I’ve decluttered,  I used the floor as the sorting / dumping ground but as it has much more space, it can be overwhelming.  Having limited space to put things as you sort forces you to consider discarding more.  Also, as you clean the room really feels lighter when there aren’t piles on the floor.)

Step 2: Organize clothing in respective locations

I am a planner, so one of the things I like to do is make a drawing or list of the various areas and storage spaces I have available to me.  Then I designate, in general, what will go in each of these spaces.  For instance:

-          Dresser will have underwear and loungewear. 

-          Chest of drawers will have swimsuits, socks / hose, specialty undergarments, and “work around the house clothing”.

-          Closet will have main wardrobe, shoes, accessories, and season specific clothing.

So, after I’ve figured out where all the general stuff that needs putting away should go, working on those areas require a separate plan.  I like the tips Organized Home has to share.  If I utilize the same plan from above and section off the bed for each of the respective clothing storage spaces, then I can see just how much of a certain item I have and can put it away accordingly.  Likewise, it gives a real view of “You have too many socks that you never wear.  Get rid of half of them, now.”  versus “You honestly only have 10 pairs of underwear?  No wonder you do so much laundry.”  Instead of a trashcan, a Goodwill or Salvation Army bag (and list) could be your standby for giving things away.  If the drawer for t-shirts simply can’t hold more than 20, you have to give the rest away.  Pick your favorites and, as Elsa says, let it go.

Step 3: Get Specific in each area

OK, so you have things sorted generally into piles.  It’s time to get specific as things are put away.

With the non-clothing items:  Once sorted, take everything that goes in a room other than your bedroom (let’s say the office for example) and put it in a laundry basket or container, bring it to the office and put it all away.  That way you can’t get distracted on multiple trips and by putting it away so you can reuse the container you’re not just shifting stuff from room to room.   Don’t do multiple rooms at the same time.  It can get confusing and distracting.  Once you’re done, only the items that belong in your bedroom should be left.  If you can put them away (because you have a designated storage space already) then do so, if not put them in the laundry basket for now. 

The bedroom requires necessities be within reach and a pattern of living must be respected.  If things you need regularly are stored across the room or in the closet, that seems silly, instead look for a pattern of where you need items to be on a consistent basis.

With the clothing items:  Take each storage space individually and plan out the usage in detail. Don’t just shove stuff in drawers or in the closet unless you want to be super frustrated when you’re rushing to get ready in the morning.  This example from Home Storage Solutions on organizing the Master Bedroom Closet is a great use of this idea.

Once you’re done with this, there is one last step.  You’ve removed clutter and organized, but now it’s time for the coup de grace.  Cleaning your now neat and planned space.  Dust and debris will take away from the real accomplishment you’ve made, right?  Check out About Home’s cleaning plan.  It’s brilliant!  The main gist of it is that every surface should get a cleaning. Sweep, mop, vacuum, strip linens, dust, clean off the draperies, wipe down the fan blades and really enjoy your haven.

After all this, it will be a well-earned relaxation!

Step 4: Redecorating for the best bedroom ever... to be continued.  This will be a much more involved decorating post and I feel like this first section is overwhelming enough.  Plus, I'm still curating pictures.

-N