Bedroom Cleaning Challenge Week 2

In the second and final week of our Bedroom Cleaning Challenge we are getting our closets all the way together in addition to our floors and bedroom decor.  By the way, although I haven't included it as a task, it goes without saying that if you have a chair or loveseat in your bedroom and its full of clothes, declutter that area this week as well.  Now let get into this closet.

The Bedroom Closet

Our goal here is to help you be completely satisfied with your closet. That means that you may have to remove the clothes that are burdensome: the skinny clothes, the clothes you feel guilty about, the beautiful – but never-going-to-have-an-occasion-to-wear-them-again clothes.  Give yourself permission to donate them to a thrift shop.  Somebody may really need that special occasion dress.

Only keep the clothes that you love and fit you well.  Clothes that you can wear in several different ways are keepers (as long as they fit well). For example, the shirt that goes with a skirt, slacks, jeans, under a jacket, with a scarf, etc.  

Go with colors that work together and complement your skin tone. It doesn’t matter if they are all the same style, as long as you look good and feel attractive, no one will notice if you wear the same color or style all the time: they will only notice that you look amazing. Trust me on this one!

1. Remove all your clothing from the closet.
2. Remove any empty hangers and set them aside.
3. Sort in 3 piles: trash, donate, and keep.
4. Look at your keep pile.
5. Go through each clothing item and try it on: Do you love it? Does it flatter your body type? Do you feel confident, beautiful, and comfortable in it? If so, then keep it. If not, let it go.
6. Take out the trash (clothes that are tattered and not fit for the thrift shop).
7. Take the donation box straight to your vehicle.

*Tip: When hanging clothes in your closet, a good rule of thumb is to hang them by type then color.  For example, group all your skirts together and organize them by color.  This makes it much easier to see what you have.

*Tip: Hang all the items you are going to keep as well as the items you are on the fence about, back in the closet but this time turn the hangers around so they face you.  If by this time next year, you still have clothes on backwards hangers, you'll know it's time to give them away.

*Tip: Only keep hangers that are in good shape and try to stick to the same kind of hangers for uniformity.  If you have an overabundance of hangers after you've decluttered your closet, pair them down and donate some to the thrift shop along with your clothes.  You don’t need all those hangers sis.

Bedroom Closet shelf

The actual purpose of a shelf in the closet is to keep seasonal clothing and footwear. Although, many people use it to store their hats or handbags as well.  That is ok, just give it a purpose.  What do you need to store up there?  What random items are stored on your closet shelf? Think hard about “why” you are keeping them here. Get rid of as much as you can, and find another home for anything that does not belong in your bedroom.

1. Remove everything from the shelf.
2. Clean the shelf with your favorite Good Vibes All Purpose Cleaner.
3. Replace only what belongs there: seasonal clothing, hand bags, hats or shoes. Use boxes or baskets with labels if possible: i.e. winter sweaters, winter shoes, gloves, hats, scarves, etc.
4. Toss garbage and put donation items in a donate box to take out to the car.
5. If there are miscellaneous items that don’t belong in your bedroom closet, put them where they belong. If they don’t belong anywhere, ask yourself: Do I even need these? If they are important, make a place for them elsewhere in the home, where it makes sense.

*Tip: If you have a large collection of shoes, hats or handbags (too many to store neatly on your closet shelf) you may want to consider donating items in your collection that you have not used or worn in over a year.  Ouch... I know that hurts.  It hurts me too.  Because now I have to go through my collection of vintage Coach bags and make some tough decisions 😒

Bedroom Floor

Your bedroom floor should be as bare as possible. Having a clear floor clears the mind, makes the room appear more open and keeps fire hazards and accidents at bay. When your floors are clear you don't have to worry about getting up in the middle of the night, tripping and falling over stuff on your way to the bathroom.  Clear floors also have an immediate effect on how cluttered your bedroom appears to be.  Having a clear floor makes the room feel calm and serene, which is exactly how we want our bedrooms to feel because this is where we sleep.

Working clockwise around the room and beginning at the doorway:

1. Remove everything off the floor. If you need the items in your room then make a home for them in the closet. If you don’t have room, find another place in the house that makes sense. There shouldn’t be much for “needs” in the bedroom: basically, clothes & bedding is all that is needed in this room. So, as you evaluate the items being stored on your bedroom floor, ask yourself if they are really useful to you, and if so, where in the home do you make use of them? Can you store them there instead?
2. Sort in 3 bags or boxes: trash, donate, and keep.
3. Take the trash out and put donation items into your vehicle.
4. Sweep and mop or vacuum the floor.

Shelves

Do you have shelves of any kind in your bedroom?  Bookshelves, decorative shelves, storage shelves?  If so, do you find that they collect clutter?  Do books get piled up on your bookshelves?  Are your shelves a dumping group for miscellaneous stuff that you don't know what else to do with? 

If you answered yes to any of these questions, know that I have been there.  So much so, that I decided to remove all the shelves from my bedroom, because they were clutter magnets.  No matter how often I cleared the clutter, it just came back again and again.  Not to mention the fact the high wall shelves collect a bunch of dust, because who's looking up there?  Out of sight out of mind.

Now, you may really like your shelves, so I won't encourage you to get rid of them.  But, if your shelves are collecting clutter, you have options, sis.

If you are getting rid of the shelves:

1. Set up three boxes or bags, trash, donate, and put away.
2. Remove everything from one shelf at a time.
3. Evaluate: Does this item merit donation? Does it belong in the trash? Do I need it, but it belongs in another room?
4. Take the shelf down.  Clean it if you're donating it.

If you are planning to keep the shelves:

1. If you have an abundance of shelving, break it up into manageable tasks: 1 or 2 shelves per day until it is all decluttered. In this case, you may be able to remove enough clutter to reduce the amount of shelves you have.
2. Remove everything from one shelf at a time.
3. Clean the shelf and only put back the items you use or love.

Once the shelf is clean:

1. Toss garbage and put donation items in the car.
2. If there are miscellaneous items that don’t belong, put them where they belong. If they don’t belong anywhere, ask yourself:

Do I even need these things? If they are important, make a place for them.  If not – get rid of them.

Bedroom decor

What you keep on your walls is very important, especially in the bedroom, where you need to rest, recharge and recover from any daytime stress. Surround yourself with items that give you joy and make you feel peaceful, comfortable, and thankful.

Remove anything with bad emotions attached to it; guilt, shame, anger, resentment, annoyance. If you have decor that you do not treasure, or that drains you of good feelings when you look at it, remove it from your home (regardless of who gave it to you).

1. Remove anything you don’t love, anything with negative emotions and put them in the donate box.
2. Decide on your focal pieces for the room and put decor items back on the wall, one at a time, stopping when you find the “sweet spot,” where there is the perfect amount of decor on the walls, and you love everything that you see.
3. Reposition items, if needed. Groupings of uneven numbers are most visually appealing: 1 or 3 items, with space between items so each piece can be appreciated.
4. Take the trash out.
5. Take the donation box out to the car.

*Tip: If you have decor items you don’t want displayed, but feel bad about getting rid of, consider taking a picture and journaling about the giver/reason. Let them sit in the garage or an out-of-the-way closet for a month or so, while you experience the room without them. This way, you will be firm in your decision without second-guessing yourself.

This concludes our two week bedroom challenge.  Getting rid of the clutter in your bedroom should make you want to spend more time in there, which means better rest for you. Enjoy it and don’t forget to follow us on Instagram to keep up with our daily cleaning routines.