A bedroom should be a place where you go to relax, unwind, and rest. If your room is dirty, cluttered, or unorganized, it is not living up to its full potential.
I will be the first to admit that my bedroom used to be a catch-all for the random stuff that didn't have a home. This was especially true when guests were due to arrive. However, I was able to overcome this with some time and intentionality. I now have a bedroom that feels calm, peaceful, and full of bliss.
Here are 7 tips for making your bedroom a place you can unwind and feel pure bliss.
DECLUTTER
Before you do anything else, declutter! Even if you're not a pack rat, you can
probably find something that you don't use or love. You should never feel guilty getting rid of something. It's your room. Keep only what you use or love. Consider what is more important - those heels you never wear or a feeling of peace.
2. RETURN
After you have decluttered any items that don't belong, it's time to return any items that don't belong to their original homes. Is there hairspray that belongs in the bathroom? Take it there. Is there a bowl or cup? Take it to the kitchen. Is there a baby doll? Take it to your child's room. If the item doesn't have a specific home, now is the perfect time to find a home for it. As the old adage goes, "A place for everything and everything in its place." You should have a place or home for every item in your possession.
I used to say, "But I can't have a home for everything. I don't have space in the cabinet or drawer or closet." But then I read Dana K. White's book -
"Decluttering at the Speed of Life." Dana explained that my house is a container. Each drawer is a container. Each cabinet is a container. Each shelf is a container. If it doesn't fit in the container, you either need to get rid of it or remove something else to make room for that item. Just because your house is small doesn't mean it has to be cluttered. So, find a home for every single item. If you absolutely can't find a space for it, it probably isn't as necessary as you think it is.
3. CLEAN
After you have decluttered and removed items that don't belong, it's time to get down to business. Now is the perfect time to clean your entire bedroom. Dust from top to bottom, wipe down any flat surfaces, televisions, or computers. Sweep and mop or vacuum, depending on the type of flooring you have in your bedroom. Put fresh bedding on your bed. Although we're not finished, your room should be much improved after these first three steps.
4. ORGANIZE
Unfortunately, organizing can have a bad reputation. It doesn't come natural to everyone, and it can be difficult to keep things organized over time. The concept of organizing is far more than bins, baskets, and containers. If you want to keep your space organized for more than 2 days, you need to make the organization easy. If you don't have time to open and close a lid every time you get out an item, don't buy containers with lids. If you don't have the time to keep everything in the bin looking picture perfect, don't buy transparent bins. If you switch out things often, create labels that are easy to remove or change.
The most important thing to know about organizing is to plan what you're doing BEFORE you buy containers. You need to decide where and how you're going to organize each item before you get a bunch of containers that won't work for your situation. We will discuss more organizing tips in future posts. For now, group like items together and keep them near where you use them. Make it aesthetically pleasing, and you're on your way to a beautifully organized bedroom!
5. GO NEUTRAL
When going shopping, two colors used to really stand out to me - aqua and bright pink. If I found something in either or both of these colors, it called out to me. If it was something I needed or really wanted, it went home with me. Before I began decluttering my home, I felt extreme anxiety just by looking around. Not only were there too many things, but there were also too many bright colors. Don't get me wrong - I'm not at all against having color in your home. I just think you should be intentional about what colors go well together. While something that is bright pink might look beautiful in the store, it might not look so great when combined with all of the other colors in your home. I have found that it is important to determine a color scheme for each room in your home. First, choose one or two neutral colors as a base. Then choose one or two accent colors that you want to incorporate into the room as well.
I find that white brings me a lot of peace, and that is the feeling I wanted to have when walking into my bedroom. So, I chose the base for my room to be white and light gray. I also chose a light aqua and dark navy to add some more color to the room without making the sight of color overbearing.
6. LESS IS MORE
As it is with chocolate, so it is with "stuff." Less truly is more. (This is true for the health benefits of chocolate, although I'd prefer to eat more.) Whether in artwork, knick knacks, pens, or books, less is usually better. The visual clutter should be at a minimum. Even if it's something you really love, does it have to be constantly on display? Is there a drawer or closet that would serve as a better home for the item? In the past, I enjoyed getting new wall decor - photographs, paintings, signs, or anything cute on the clearance shelf. More recently, I have noticed that when I add a new piece to my wall, it feels more cluttered and busy. On the other hand, removing items causes me to breathe a sigh of relief. I try not to utilize as many signs with words either. Using signs with words isn't wrong, but it is more of a visual distraction.
When your eyes scan a room, visual words will cause your brain to work harder in order to try and absorb the information you see. I also feel that smaller pieces of artwork make you feel like you need more items to make the room feel complete. This, in turn, means more to clean and more to manage visually. I now try to stick to keeping only a few larger pieces of artwork that are especially beautiful or important to me. This keeps my visual clutter to a minimum, there is less to clean, and the room looks more peaceful. If your space feels visually cluttered, I encourage you to try removing some things from the walls and clearing flat surfaces. You can put the artwork you took down in a bin to check back with later. You may decide you want it back, which is fine. But I encourage you to try having a bedroom with less stuff on the walls. Doing this can help you create a room with less visual clutter and more bliss.
7. PURPOSEFUL BEDDING
Just because so-and-so on YouTube intricately places 10 pillows on her bed every day doesn't mean you have to do the same. While I do enjoy a couple of extra pillows on my bed, I feel the concept "less is more" should be applied to bedding as well. You don't need 3 blankets, countless throw pillows, and a wooden tray to create a beautiful bed. Choose some comfortable, practical bedding solutions that go well with the color scheme you have chosen. I prefer a pale blue, grey, or white comforter. One of my favorite comforters came from Amazon. It washes well, is aesthetically pleasing, and is amazingly comfortable. You can click here to read more about it.
I also love my grey comforter from Sam's Club. I found a similar one available to purchase on Amazon. You can click the photo below to read more. It is really comfortable, washes amazingly well, and looks so beautiful! I loved it so much I had to go back and buy another one.
Disclosure: Some of the links are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.
Thanks so much for reading to the end! If you follow these tips step-by-step, I feel certain you will find your bedroom is a more blissful and peaceful place. Happy simplifying, and I'll catch you next time.
Sierra <3
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