The first step to organizing your bedroom is to pull out all of the items in the room and put them into a pile on the floor.
You’ll really see how much stuff you have.
Don’t be surprised, the average American has over 300,000 items in their homes!
Bring out everything from your drawers, cabinets and shelves. Grab everything!
As you pull things out, it's efficient to categorize all of the items as you go.
This means grouping together all of the like items. Clothes with clothes, knick knacks with knick knacks, you get the point.
This is the important difference from the method we use at Clutterless Home Solutions and the KonMari Method (you can read more about why Marie Kondo is wrong here). These categories can even be categorized into smaller sections as you go through the process, but we will get to that later.
Make groups of all the books, hobby/extra curricular things, electronics, decorations, souvenirs, memorabilia, sport/workout gear and anything else you have stored away in your room.
The more specific and smaller you can make your groups, the better organized your room will be at the end of today’s process.
For example, if you have a “workout group” of items, then divide everything in it into individual groups of outdoor sports equipment, cardio equipment, and yoga equipment.
Another example would be a “books group,” those can then be further sorted by genre.
You may find that you have A LOT of things you don’t really use.
Smaller categories will make your room easier to find things, quicker to put things away after use and overall better to function in.
For example, think about the amount of clothes you have between the drawers, shelves and hanging items (and the seasonal items!). One of the biggest complaints from our clients is that they feel overwhelmed by the project.
I don't know about you, but I think a giant pile of clothes would be more overwhelming than helpful.
My opinion: the less, the better.
The more stuff we have, the more it clutters our brains. Physical clutter manifests itself into mental clutter.
By making groups of similar items, you will be able to easily see all of the items taking up space in your bedroom and start thinking about which ones you could do without (or if you have too many duplicates!).
Remember this: you can’t organize clutter, so if you want your bedroom to truly be organized, you’re going to have to let go of some of the items that don’t use and things that don’t have special meaning to you. (Don’t skip this step!)
Next is you want to DEEP CLEAN your room (I mean everything: baseboards, sheets, closet, flooring & everything in between). It's the perfect time to do so -- the shelves are empty and the floor is clear (or you can do this in segments if you have things lying everywhere in their categories).
By doing this it’s like you have a FRESH START -- you’ll thank yourself later.
Whew! Good job so far, pat yourself on the back.
Now we get into the 3 categories of decision-making: KEEP, DONATE, & TRASH.
Your things need to go into one of the 3 categories
Keep the items you really care about or serve a purpose
Donate ALL the items you think could help someone else
Trash the rest (this is liberating)
If you are having trouble doing this on your own, we are also decluttering coaches, and we are happy to help you make the decisions!
Now that your KEEP pile is much smaller, it’s time to start putting stuff away!
Put stuff back in a way that works for you. For example, if you know a certain system will work for you to keep your clothes tidy, use it! There is no right answer. Every person is different.
Use bins & storage cubes to put smaller items into to make them look better and more organized. Label the bins, & next time you go to look for something you’ll know where it is (don’t betray your future self, put your items back to where they came from!)
If you need more specific steps on how to organize your bedroom and your home, you can check out our blog on the ultimate organizing guide or our guide to organizing your entire home in 20 days!
The 3 deadly mistakes to avoid:
Not throwing away or donating enough things (too much clutter will create the endless loop of the clutter monster). Be honest with yourself here.
2. Not taking your time. Organizing should be simple, but is should not be rushed. (this is often overlooked - life is already so busy, we understand that you don't always feel you have the time for organizing).
3. Not asking for help when you need it - We all need a little help sometimes. Organizing is not just an activity to add to your Pinterest board. It required tough decisions, some tears and a lot of physical movement. We are always here to support you, pick you back up, and be your own personal cheerleaders.
Talk soon,
Clutterless Home Solutions