Now that you’ve cracked the bathroom, it’s time to move on to de-cluttering the master bedroom. The master bedroom is all about you. You could even say, ‘you are your room.’ So spend a moment in your room, visualising who you are (or who you want to be), and think about how you can make your bedroom represent that person.
Removing the clutter from the master bedroom might not seem like the obvious choice for room number 2 (we know you want to get stuck into that kitchen!). But the master bedroom should be a place of sanctuary and serenity, and be conducive to a good night’s sleep (among other things). This is you space, and we want you to own it.
And because it’s your space, it’s one of the few rooms in the house that needs constant monitoring for clutter. This room will show you what the rest of the home could be. And it will be a consistent source of motivation for you.
De-cluttering the master bedroom
The first thing to do is have a good look around the room and remove anything that doesn’t belong in there – i.e. dishes, kids toys, office/paper work, rubbish.
Depending on how much you have accumulated in your room this could take 10 minutes to an hour or more. The key thing to do here is to return all of the items to their proper place – don’t create more work for yourself by making piles all over the house.
Also important – do not get distracted and try to organise any of the other rooms as you return items.
Now have a look at the furniture. Obviously you will need a bed, bedside cabinets, bedside lamps, a dresser, a mirror and a wardrobe (either built in or freestanding). If you have a large room you might also have a head and base board, a bookcase, a reading chair, a television and a laundry hamper.
If you have any furniture that is not bedroom related – out it goes, again to its proper place or to the garage for storage.
Once this is done, sit down with a pen and paper and have a play with the layout of the furniture. Most bedrooms have 1 wall taken up with windows and 1 wall that includes the door. This will leave you with 1 to 2 walls that are free of obstructions.
Try not to block the natural light from the windows by placing large, heavy furniture pieces in front of them. It is often nice to place the bed under the window to allow good ventilation. Don’t forget to allocate enough space on either side of the bed to allow for the bedside cabinets.
The dresser should go against the one of the unobstructed walls and have plenty of space to walk around. Smaller furniture items can be placed around the room in the empty spaces, but remember – less is more when it comes to furniture.
At the moment, don’t worry about the contents of your wardrobe and/or dresser – we will tackle this at a slightly later date.
Now that the furniture is in place, you can start putting a few key items around to personalise the room. But remember only a few. The key is to keep surfaces as free and clear as possible. As soon as you start using the top of the bedside cabinet or the dresser to “store” things, you are collecting clutter.
This is a very good tip for keeping on top of the clutter – each day, do a 5 to 10 minute sweep of the room to remove anything that doesn’t belong there and return it to its proper place.
If you are an evening person, do this before you go to bed. If you’re a morning person, do it before you have your breakfast. Whatever works best for you.
Always remember to make the bed – it makes such a difference to the look of the room.
Check out Clear room, clear mind: Clearing the clutter in 7 areas of your life for the rest of this great series.
