Your bedroom should be a place for relaxation, where you look forward to spending downtime.
The problem is that bedrooms can easily become cluttered. They are safe places for stashing stuff you’d rather not leave out when friends and family visit. Afterwards, it’s all too easy to live with the mess rather than clear it away.
Decluttering your bedroom is the quickest way to create a more peaceful space.
Before you start, have a selection of bags, boxes or baskets to sort items you want to throw away, sell, donate, recycle or move to another room.
Trash
The first step is to get rid of rubbish. This could include:
- Till slips and shopping bags.
- Sweet wrappers and empty cooldrink bottles.
- Clothing items that are torn, stained or just plain old.
- Magazines and books that are no longer needed.
- Broken clothes hangers.
Be thorough in your cleanout. Check under the bed, under the desk and any other corners of your room that often go untouched.
Flat surfaces
Once you’ve removed the obvious rubbish and have your containers ready for unwanted items, it’s time to look at the flat surfaces in your room. These include the tops of dressing tables, bedside tables, or other furniture.
Remove the items that don’t belong there and look at each knick-knack to decide whether or not it complements the décor. You don’t have to get rid of items immediately. Instead, try living in your room for a few days without them and see how you feel about the space.
The next step is to declutter your bedside table. If it has drawers or a cabinet, you may be surprised to find which items have been collected there.
Take everything out and sort the items. Throw out any rubbish, put unwanted items in the sell or donate boxes, and set aside items that belong elsewhere.
Drawers and shelves
Now it’s time to organise your drawers and shelves.
Start by taking everything out of one drawer or shelf at a time. However, if you have T-shirts or jerseys in two drawers, take out both at once. That way, you can see how many items are in each category.
You might find some clothes you had forgotten about that you’d like to wear – as well as some that you haven’t worn in years. Evaluate all the items and decide which ones you want to keep and which need to go.
Before you put items back into drawers or shelves, see which spaces are suitable for the various items. Be realistic about how much can fit in each drawer or shelf. You should be able to see what’s there at a glance, so don’t fill them to the brim.
Give the shelves and drawers a thorough cleaning, then decide how to put away the items. You may prefer to simply fold and put away your clothes or use dividers or organisers to optimise the space.
Hanging space
Wardrobes and built-in cupboards are ideal places for accumulating clutter. This is because it’s all too easy to close the door and forget about what is inside.
Start by removing all the items from the cupboard and laying them out on your bed or another large surface. As you take them out, sort items into categories, such as dresses, jeans, short and long-sleeved shirts, etc.
Then, work through each category, deciding what you want to keep and what needs to go. Again, determine whether the items you are discarding will be donated, sold or recycled and place them in the appropriate containers.
Once you have finished sorting, do a thorough cleaning. Vacuum the floor, and wipe down door handles before putting everything back.
You should have a tidy wardrobe that’s far less crowded than it was before. You should now be able to easily assess what you have and find the items you need.
Dispose
As you declutter your bedroom, you will almost certainly find some items you can part with.
These could include:
- Clothes and shoes you haven’t worn for a long time – or ever.
- Books that you don’t want to keep.
- Furniture that takes up too much space and just collects dust - and clutter.
As you come across items you no longer want, place them in designated containers for throwing away, donating or selling. Set a deadline for selling items, so they don’t clutter your home for much longer.
Have a separate container for items that belong elsewhere in your home. Once you’ve finished decluttering, put those items in their proper places.
Keep it tidy
Now that your bedroom is tidy, you need to find ways of keeping clutter from collecting in future.
Evaluate what’s left in your space and find the best way of keeping it in order.
Storage solutions could include:
- An attractive tray to hold odds and ends on your dressing table.
- A decorative holder for jewellery.
- An ottoman with hidden storage space for larger items.
Be sure, though, to avoid incorporating storage solutions that will encourage clutter.
Writer : Sarah-Jane Meyer