Bedroom Cleaning Challenge Week 1

Our bedrooms are supposed to be our sanctuary and resting place.  The space where we prepare ourselves for the world and retreat to get away from it.  Having cluttered unkept bedrooms takes away from that purpose.  Trying to get some rest in a room that reminds you of everything you need to do is a challenge and preparing yourself to step out into the world in a room that makes you feel guilty and burdened is counterproductive.  You deserve a bedroom that calls your name at night and relieves you of all your burdens.  You deserve a room that is organized and orderly when you are readying yourself for the day ahead of you. You deserve a clean and clutter free bedroom sanctuary.  Let's get into it.

The Bed

Every room needs a clean area to start. The kitchen has clear counters to work with. The bathroom has the vanity. Your bedroom has a bed, and it begs to be made.

If you aren’t in the habit of making your bed, you might think I need to mind my business. But I just want you to work with me through the rest of this series: let’s do an experiment.

If, by the end of the next 2 weeks, you still don’t want the bed made – then, by all means, don’t make the bed. But I know that if you do this everyday until the end of this challenge, you will see the benefits. Not only does it make the whole room look and feel clean, it also encourages you to keep it that way. When the bed is made you will be less likely to allow clutter in and you will feel better about the room.

1. Remove blankets, sheets, and pillow cases.
2. Retrieve clean sheets, or wash these.
3. Make the bed.
4. Do you have throw pillows here? If you love them, then keep them.  But, if the throw pillows are only put on display to impress people when you show them your bedroom, then satisfy yourself with a lovely bedspread and leave it as simple as that.

New Daily routine: Make your bed every morning when you wake up.

New Weekly Routine: Change your sheets every week.  Bedsheets collect our dead skin cells for 8 hours every night while we sleep.  In one week's time that equates to 56 hours of accumulating dead skin cells.  Dust mites feed off of dead skin cells and dead skin cells make our sheets feel yucky.

*Tip: Follow Good Vibes’ daily cleaning routines on our Instagram Stories to stay on track with weekly bedroom cleaning. Bedroom day is every Wednesday.

Under the Bed

Having clutter under the bed impedes the flow of energy and can make it harder to sleep at night.  It’s also just plain unpleasant! Dust bunnies and critters can make their homes amongst all the clutter that gets pushed further and further beneath the bed. Items are forgotten or squished and left for another time. This can make tackling the clutter under your bed an enormous job.  It's best to keep it clear or use it intentionally for storage of items needed for the bed like bed linens or blankets in under-bed storage boxes.

1. Pull everything out from under the bed.
2. Sort in 3 bags or boxes: trash, donate, put away.
3. Sweep, dust or vacuum as far as you can reach under there.
4. If using this space for storage, make sure everything that is put here is needed, neatly folded and easy to get to (try under bed storage boxes with wheels)

*Tip: If you store shoes under the bed, consider putting them in plastic shoe boxes and storing them stacked in your closet.  This not only reserves space, it also reserves your shoes by preventing dust from settling on them and it helps them retain their shape.  Also, if you have too many shoes, now is a great time to get rid of the ones you haven't worn in years.

Nightstands

Having a clean, clear nightstands is always peaceful to sleep next to. You can set your watch and rings on it at night without worrying about them getting lost amongst clutter. It’s a lovely feeling to turn off the light at night and have a place to put your book on the nightstand without having to make room for it or tossing it on the floor.  Our nightstands should be decorative, useful and clutter free. Let’s get them where they need to be.

1. Remove everything from the night stand. (Surface, drawers, floor beneath, etc.)
2. Wipe down all surfaces of the night stand.
3. Sort the stuff in 3 bags or boxes: Trash, donate, put away. If you have a pile of things “to read” here, set it in a bag or box to wait for the “books” section of the room. This is not a place to store the stuff you've been meaning to get to.
4. Put back ONLY what you use here: journal, 1-2 current books you are reading, lamp, etc.
5. Take the donation box to your vehicle.
6. Take trash out to the garbage.
7. Vacuum/sweep floor under/around nightstand.  Don’t leave anything piled on the floor under it.

*Tip Re-evaluate the things you store in or on your nightstand.  Think about your bedtime and first wake routines and use your nightstand in support of that.

Dresser Tops

An uncluttered home has as many clear surfaces as possible. Clear surfaces make a room appear bigger and more open.  Clear surfaces help us feel more peaceful and more at ease in our homes. 

You can think more clearly when you can sit in your space unburdened by the piles of stuff on the surfaces.  And your bedroom is the last place you want piles of stuff, constantly reminding you of all you have to do.  Your bedroom should be your sanctuary.

So let’s get all those piles of paperwork and books and hair ties and clothes and stuff off the dresser tops. If they don’t have a home, get rid of them and don’t let your dressers become dumping grounds.  Once you allow one thing to sit on your dresser, out of place, it starts inviting its chaotic friends to the party and the next thing you know, the pile up is back... Ask me how I know.

Let's work one dresser at a time:

1. Remove everything off the top of the dresser.
2. Wipe down the top of the dresser.
3. If there is trash, toss it right away. Place everything else that you don’t really want in your bedroom into a box.
4. Keep this space as clear and empty as possible. Maybe a box for jewelry, or a framed photo, something that makes you happy, but takes minimal effort to remove so you can dust easily.
5. If there are drawers in the dresser that contain miscellaneous items (not clothes) then take time to remove all the non-bedroom items and put them into the box as well.
6. Take your donation box to your vehicle.
7. Take the trash out to the garbage.
8. Vacuum/sweep the floor around the dresser.

That Miscellaneous Dresser Box

Now let's get back to that box you threw everything in.  I know you didn't think we were gonna let that rock did you? 😅 Not a chance.  We're going to go though that box and make a decision about everything in there.

1. Have a decluttering station set up for yourself and make three collections.  Keep, donate and trash. 
2. Sit down with your misc. box and begin sorting. Be as ruthless as possible. Generally we have allowed things to pile up in our dressers and be out-of-sight-out-of-mind, so take the time to really ask yourself if you want it, love it, or use it.  Notice I didn't say ask yourself if you're "gonna" use it.  Ask yourself "do I use this?"
3. Sort in 3 bags or boxes: trash, donate, put away
4. Find a home for all the items you plan to keep and put it there. Just DO NOT put them back into the dresser drawers.
5. Take the donation box to your vehicle.
6. Toss the trash.

New Routine:

Get out of the habit of putting things down on your dresser and night table surfaces.  When you catch yourself doing it, tell yourself, "aht-aht, that doesn't belong there."  This habit can be hard to break because we are so used to putting things down where they don't belong.  So if you find that stuff is finding a home on your surfaces again, take 5 minutes every night or every morning to clear your surfaces and put things back where they belong.  

Doing this every day prevents stuff from piling up.  Remember, once one little thing finds a home on your surfaces, it gets comfortable and invites all of its unruly friends over. That one thing becomes a magnet for all the things.  Nip this in the bud by clearing your surfaces daily and by refusing to put things down in the first place.

This concludes week one of the Good Vibes Bedroom Challenge.  Be sure to come back next week when we tackle the closet and finish strong. 💪🏾

And if you haven't already, get you some Good Vibes All Purpose Cleaner so your bedroom will smell like heaven as you clean and declutter.  Nag Champa and Sandalwood are the perfect scents for cleaning the bedroom where you want the vibe to be calm and sensual.