Organizing Your Room is the Key to an Organized Life
Organizing your bedroom can be a daunting task and something that gets pushed aside for so many reasons, it is just easy to ignore. Well I am here to tell you that organizing your bedroom can be one of the first steps in organizing your life. The first thing you need to do when you are going to organize anything, especially your bedroom is to get rid of the junk. You need to devote an afternoon to cleaning out the closet and drawers and anything else you jam junk in. Donate all those clothes that you haven’t worn in a year or that do not fit anymore. This includes things like shoes, purses, and scarves as well. If you don’t love it then don’t keep it.
Since the closet is empty, vacuum it out and wipe down any shelves that are in there. Start with a clean closet and it can stay that way. I would suggest that you move all your newly empty hangers to one side of the closet. Begin to put back your keeper items and put them all together, shirts with shirts, pants with pants, and so on. Another great tool is to keep your shoes in the boxes they came in. These boxes are stackable and can be put along the floor or up on a shelf. This really maximizes your space and keeps your shoes dust free. You can also accomplish this with plastic bins. Just label them so you know what you have in there, summer, athletic, dress shoes, and so on. Depending on how high your clothes hang, under the bed boxes can also be utilized and stacked under your clothing, this is nice for out of season clothing or important papers and photos. Don’t forget about things like belts and purses. You can put up some hooks or even nails on an empty wall to hang these articles from, this way they are easy to see and get to in a hurry and you are not digging in a drawer or box searching for that special match to your outfit.
Now that we have a bit of a handle on the closet let us look at the rest of the room. Keepsakes are important to everyone, but do they all need to be displayed? Pack away some of these, we are looking for less clutter. Just display the really important ones that mean something to you, like that “thing” your child made for you. Find a home for your books. If you are looking at a bookshelf that is overflowing, then pack some of those away as well. Keep out a few of your favorites for the appearance factor and of course anything that you are currently reading. For women jewelry can be a bit messy. We take it off and set it on the dresser or mantle or nightstand. This is the best way to lose it. Find one home for all your jewels. If your current jewelry box is not sufficient to hold it all then we need to find something bigger. A small decorative hat box can work well for this. It is pretty and cheap, you can find one at a local craft store. Put it somewhere in plain view, like the top of your dresser or wherever you seem to find a pile of jewels. We all have a cluster of small things that make it to our bedroom, odds and ends if you will. These need a home too. If you have a small drawer in your dresser, devote it to these things. You know what they are, extra buttons from new clothes, samples of make up, lotions, or perfume, and of course receipts, notes, and little hair accessories. If there is no drawer then maybe another small hat box or even a small plastic bin that can be shoved under a bed or skirted nightstand.
Do the same cleaning for your child’s closet. Get rid of the junk, this means broken and cheap toys as well. You know there are a bunch of never used Happy Meal toys in there, they have to go! I would also suggest including your child in some of this reorganization. This will help them keep it up if they have a say in where it all goes. Kids have small things that get lost in big toy boxes. When a child decides he wants to find that two inch action figure or that other pink doll shoe they will take everything out of the toy box to find it.
So lets organize this stuff so it is easier to find. There are many options for dolls and action figures. A great one is shoe boxes or small plastic bins. They can be labeled if need be and Barbie can have her own little place to sleep. For the doll accessories I like the idea of a fishing tackle box. It is portable for trips to friends and it helps the child keep things organized. That top shelf is great for little shoes, hair fixtures, and all of military man’s artillery. For stuffed animals try putting them all in large plastic bins with lids, these can double as a play surface in the corner or next to the bed as a nightstand. Another great tip for keeping that kids room looking great is what I call the greatest invention ever. Chalkboard Paint! Paint an area of the wall with this paint and attach some molding around it or a frame to give the impression of a real chalkboard. This is a fantastic way for your child to display daily artwork, keep up on there activities schedule, or even a place to keep track of chores. It is also a nice way for them to work out those math problems that homework has made. Most importantly it can alleviate some of the writing on walls that little ones do when they discover crayons. A child’s room is their sanctuary and helping them organize it is priceless. It will make clean up simple, quick, and easy. When they learn that everything has a place it will be with them forever.
Happy organizing. Remember that one day of dirty work can make for months and months of clarity.
