Your bedroom (more than any other room in your home) should be a place of peace and calm. A sanctuary away from our busy lives and a place to unwind at the end of the day.
A place to recharge your batteries, reconnect with yourself and loved one.
A place to snuggle up in private, or read a good book before settling down to a good nights sleep. A place to rest and heal when we are ill. A place of relaxation, not only for your body but your mind as well.
But, It's hard to relax and sleep well in a room filled with clutter. We can never really switch off from what's around us and the things that we need to do. A decluttered and simple bedroom brings peace of mind.
Most people love a getaway to a hotel room now and again. But why do we feel so calm and relaxed when we are there? Is it because we are escaping our everyday homes and lives to a little bit of luxury? Or because we are temporarily living in a simple, minimalistic space, not filled with stuff and to-dos?
I think it's a combination of both - the treat of a little bit of luxury and, escaping the physical and mental clutter that exists in our day to day homes and lives and entering a space of calm, order and peace.
For most of us, it's about what's NOT in the hotel room. There are no piles of laundry (dirty or clean to be put away), no bills or paperwork to sort and action, no nagging tasks to be done and nothing piled on the bed apart from lovely clean, soft, comfy pillows and duvet. It's so lovely to be able to walk through the door of your bedroom at the end of a long day and have nothing to do apart from being able to relax, ready for sleep.
We need to create the same feeling of calm and peace that we get in a hotel room, in our own bedroom.
When you think about it, there's not much that you really need in your bedroom. It has a few essential functions - most importantly sleeping and intimacy.
Many bedrooms that I see when working with clients are overwhelmed with stuff, and most of it doesn't belong in their bedroom.
Our bedrooms can act as overflow storage when other living areas become full of stuff. We tend to shove things in our bedrooms, so it's out of the way when guests come round. As it's our personal space, we think it's fine as no-one else will see it, but it's not going to help you to get a good nights sleep.
For your wellbeing, your bedroom should be the most uncluttered room in your house. You'll be amazed at how creating a calm; uncluttered bedroom can help improve your sleep.
Everyone's ideal bedroom is aesthetically different, but this edit is about simplifying what you have to create your calm sanctuary.
If you would like to simplify and organise your bedroom but aren't quite sure how to get started, I've got some helpful tips for you...
Step One: KNOW YOUR WHY
Knowing why you want to change something and being clear on what you are hoping to achieve is one of the most important steps in any life editing project.
☐ How does your bedroom currently make you feel?
☐ How well do you sleep?
☐ What are the problem areas?
☐ What is your primary motivation for making a change?
☐ What are your bedroom goals?
Step Two: DECLUTTER + SIMPLIFY
Decluttering is the single best way to promote calm in your bedroom.
Prepare by allocating spaces, bags or boxes for your sorting categories - Rubbish/Recycling, Donate, Relocate and Keep. (If you are just beginning to declutter, there are some other preparation tips here).
Work your way around the room methodically and thoroughly - one drawer, shelf, surface or area at a time. Place each item into one of your sorting categories. Question everything. Do I love this item? Do I use it regularly, and when? Does it enhance my life? Could I live without it?
Surfaces
Take a good look at the flat surfaces in the room - anything that will act as a dumping ground for things that haven't made it back to their rightful home. Look at the bedside tables, chest of drawers, dressing table and chairs (a popular storage space for clothes!).
Starting with one surface at a time, take all the items off and move them away from the area. Put back ONLY what needs, and makes practical sense, to be there.
Bedside Tables
What's living on your bedside tables; do you use, or even need everything on them? If not, clear them away and limit the space next to your bed to only the essential items - such as an alarm clock, reading book, glasses and tissues.
Under the bed
We've all been there, shoving items under the bed, thinking we're tidying up only for them to vanish into the depths collecting dust.
Storing items under the bed isn't always a bad thing (and sometimes it's a necessity if you’re short of storage space), but it's essential to approach it with intentionality and purpose.
If you have to keep things under your bed, create simple organised categories (such as seasonal clothing, spare bedding, sentimental items or extra shoes) and keep them contained in boxes, zip up bags or baskets.
Easy to pull out and clear the dust regularly.
Instead of using this space as a hiding place, clear it out and keep it free of clutter.
Dressing Table
Tidy up your dressing table and only keep out products and cosmetics that you use regularly. All other items should be decluttered or stored out of sight in the drawers if you need to keep them.
Knick-Knacks and Ornaments
Having surfaces full of knick-knacks in your bedroom makes it hard to dust and keep clean as well as making your room look cluttered. If you have a lot of ornaments, knick-knacks and special items and genuinely love all of them, put some away and rotate them every couple of months. If you forget about some items after a few months, chances they haven't been missed and could be donated.
Step Three: ORGANISE
After having a good sort out, and decluttering what isn't loved or needed. Take a good look at your storage spaces and start to organise.
If you haven't already, start sorting your 'Keep' items into like for like categories, such as clothes (put these all together but don't worry about organising too much - your wardrobe is a separate project!), jewellery, cosmetics, books, etc.
Step Four: STORE + CONTAIN
Work your way through your categories and allocate a home for each.
If you have to keep items stored under your bed, make sure they are organised into categories and neatly contained in under bed storage or drawers.
Step Five: MAINTAIN
Don't fall into the trap of thinking that once you've organised your bedroom, you're done. Regular upkeep is necessary, regardless of how clean and tidy the room is now, but it will be much easier when everything has its place.
Every morning get in the habit of resetting and tidying the room before you leave for the day. Make the bed, put toiletries back in their place, laundry in the hamper and tidy the bedside tables and then shut the door. It shouldn't take very long at all, and you'll appreciate coming home at the day and opening the door to a lovely calm room ☺️.
Add a weekly clean and linen change to your cleaning schedule (Friday is bed stripping day in our house!).
There's a free bedroom edit workbook in the resources page - click on the image below to visit the page and download.
