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Organized Master Bedroom Oasis

9/17/2019

9 Comments

 
​Whenever someone tells me they don’t know where to start when it comes to getting their home organized my answer is always the same, the master bedroom. Everyone needs a sanctuary they can retreat to, even if the rest of the house looks like a tornado blew through it. Having the last space you see at night and the first one you see in the morning be calm and peaceful helps to start and the end the day on a good note.
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Too often the master bedroom is neglected because it’s typically the room no one but you or you and your significant other see. We tend to put the other areas and people in the home before ourselves. That is a critical mistake.

By taking care of your personal space first, you’re taking care of yourself. A clutter-free and organized space lifts your spirit and gives you energy and motivation to do more. Who wants to spend the day organizing the kitchen then retreat to a bedroom with laundry everywhere, overflowing bedside tables, and shoes all over the floor? Not me! And I’m sure you don’t either.
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Here’s a great plan for turning your master bedroom into an organized oasis.
​Declutter
Before you can organize, you have to declutter. Take a couple of minutes to run through the room throwing away trash and collecting items that belong in another part of the house. Straighten up the room. This is just a quick pass of the space. We’ll tackle a full decluttering later on. Right now, let’s get your space beautiful.
Organize
Follow these steps to get your bedroom organized and feeling like an oasis
​Make the Bed
Nothing straightens up a bedroom faster than making the bed. That one task makes a tremendous difference in just a couple of minutes.
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​Extra Pillows and Linens
This is a great time to gather up any pillows you have but are not using and put them in your donate pile. Pillows, blankets, and sheets take up a lot of space. If you’re not using them, toss them. Animal shelters are always in need of these items so consider donating them there.
​Tidy Tables
Keep the clutter off the side tables. Stick to the basics like a lamp, clock, book, etc. No more than a few key pieces that you need at the ready or truly love should take up this important space.
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​Containers
Place beautiful boxes, baskets, or other containers in places you know are clutter hot spots, like the top of the dresser. Things like chapstick, lint rollers, and eyeglasses are often here. Use the containers to corral that homeless clutter, whatever yours may be.
​Tween Clothes
No, I’m not referring to a preteen child, but rather your clothes that have been lightly worn. You know the clothes I'm talking about. They're not clean, but they're not dirty either. They're in between. Those clothes always seem to end up on a chair, a bench, a seldom-used piece of exercise equipment, or even the floor. I suggest putting hooks on the inside of your closet door or even inside the closet itself to give those clothes a proper place to hang out.
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​​Jewelry Corral
Jewelry is another thing guilty of cluttering up your master bedroom space. You can find it on the bedside table, dresser, bathroom countertops, among other places. Quickly gather up the jewelry around the room and return it to its home. If you don’t have a designated place for it, or if the place you have isn’t working well, try these:
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  • On a wall, back of a door, or side of a dresser, place several self-adhesive hooks. Hang your necklaces, bracelets, and rings. You can also place your earrings in a bag and hang it from a hook as well.
  • Get a jewelry box large enough for all your pieces and place it in your closet or on a dresser.
  • Using appropriately sized dividers or a jewelry tray, turn a drawer into a jewelry box.
  • For double duty, use a jewelry armoire. These are beautiful cabinets that house your jewelry, lock when not in use, and have a full-length mirror on the outside.

​​Multi-Function Pieces
When organizing it is important to have as many pieces as possible perform multiple functions. Things like under the bed storage drawers, bedside tables with drawers and/or shelves, benches with storage, and so on. I’m not suggesting you go out and buy all new furniture. Well, you can if you want to, but most items can be found for free or nearly free on Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, or your local Facebook free and community share groups. Adding in double-duty pieces will help your room stay tidy and free of the clutter monster.
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If your space is small, go vertical with your storage. Something like the Kallax cube shelving unit from IKEA is a great option. It’s sturdy, versatile, and can be painted any color you like. They hold a ton of stuff and can be used as open shelving, with cube drawers, or have doors or additional shelves put in.
​Oasis
Now that the space in order, it’s time to add in those extra touches that turn your bedroom from boring to an oasis.
Good Quality Mattress
Invest in a good quality mattress. They can be pricey, but it's worth the money for something you spend a third of your life on. If a new mattress isn't in the budget right now, a nice memory foam mattress topper is a great alternative. Depending on the size of your bed, you can pick one up at Walmart for $100-$200.
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Luxurious Sheets
Nothing gives your body that sense of luxury like slipping into some high thread count Egyptian cotton sheets. They feel divine against your skin and last for many years.
​Candles
No master bedroom is complete without mood lighting. Place candles throughout the room for a relaxing and soothing touch. If you’re sharing the room with a significant other, the gentle glow also creates a romantic vibe (if you know what I mean).
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​Smell
If the candles are unscented, you need to add some soothing aroma to complete your master bedroom retreat. My recommendation is an essential oil diffuser. You can change the scents at will to create whatever mood you choose with a variety of essential oil combinations. As a bonus, the essential oils can also be used in cleaning and disinfecting your home. You know how I love double-duty items!

​Do you have a master bedroom oasis? Email me a picture of your space!

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9 Comments

25 Things to Declutter Now

9/16/2019

0 Comments

 
For a quick round of decluttering, use this list to lighten up your belongings fast!
  1. Cookbooks
  2. Takeout menus (just Google them)
  3. Broken toys
  4. Board games missing pieces
  5. Old school papers and artwork
  6. Worn out shoes
  7. Worn out clothes/clothes that don’t fit
  8. Purses or wallets you don’t use
  9. Old makeup and nail polish
  10. Old vitamins and medications
  11. Old paint you don’t need
  12. Outdated newspapers and magazines
  13. Unused cords (old phone cords, broken chargers, etc.)
  14. VHS & cassette tapes (and if you have 8 tracks, please, those too)
  15. Dead plants
  16. Expired coupons
  17. Junk mail
  18. Broken jewelry
  19. Excess food storage containers
  20. Used up candles
  21. Instruction manuals (they are online)
  22. Old electronics (cel phones, record players, Walkman, etc)
  23. Receipts
  24. Greeting cards
  25. Phone books
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How to Tackle Your Clutter

9/15/2019

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​If you look around your space and feel overwhelmed by all the stuff and don’t know how to start taming the chaos, use the list below to tackle your clutter and take control of your environment.
  1. Rubbish Roundup - Before you can begin the decluttering process, you need to do a Rubbish Roundup. Grab a trash bag and walk through every room in your house throwing away every bit of garbage that you see. Don’t forget things like old magazines, bad batteries, fast food cups, wrappers, and so forth.
  2. Big Money - Take look around for large items you could sell. Things like furniture, appliances, large toys, etc. If you’re not using them, why not make some money? You could have a traditional yard sale or go the modern route and post the items for sale online through Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, Varage Sale, Letgo, or OfferUp. The online sites often bring in more money than a traditional sale. 
  3. Goods for the Greater Good - As you walk through your space, gather up linens, blankets, and towels you no longer need and donate them to your local animal shelter. If you have books your kids no longer read give them to their school (the teachers will love you!). Daycares go through a lot of toys and would be overjoyed to take in your gently used children's toys. 
  4. Hot Spot Signals - No, I’m not talking about Wi-Fi. I’m referring to those areas in your space signaling for help. Those areas are where clutter seems to naturally gravitate and pile up….your hot spots. Walk through your space and make note of those areas. Write them down if you need to. 
  5. Homeless Clutter – Using your list from number four, you’re going to create a home for all the homeless clutter accumulating in your hot spots. Place baskets, bins, small boxes, whatever you have into those hot spots to corral that clutter. Give all your items a home, including your keys, purse, papers, mementos, etc. Assign a home for everything. 
  6. Worst-Case Scenario – If you find yourself struggling to get rid of things or aren’t sure what to let go of, ask yourself what is the worst thing that could happen by letting the item go. Let's say you have 20 different food storage containers but you really only use 5 regularly. You want to keep the other fifteen in case you need them in the future even though they take up an entire cabinet in your kitchen. If you get rid of those extra containers you are guaranteed to free up valuable space in the kitchen while the worst-case scenario is you MIGHT have to buy a few containers someday in the future. 
  7. Expired Contents – When you are on the fence about letting go of something for fear you may need it in the near future, place it in a box. On the outside of the container write an expiration date six months or one year from now (do not write the contents!). Then seal the box. If you have not opened it by the expiration date, take the unopened box and donate it. Don’t open it! That will just have you rethinking whether or not to keep it. If you haven’t used it by the date, you clearly don’t need it. Let it go. 
  8. Making Time – Do you want to know how to eat an elephant? Take one bite at a time. The same goes for your clutter. No matter how big your project is, you can conquer it bit by bit. If you don’t have hours to dedicate to decluttering, take 15 minutes here and there. Do one drawer at a time. Scale down your bathroom contents while your kids are in the tub. Wherever you can squeeze a few minutes in to get rid of clutter, do it! Before you know it your space will be clutter-free. 
  9. Full Cycle – Combat clutter by finishing the cycle. If you run the dishwasher, put the dishes away when it’s done. After making dinner, put the ingredients away. When you do laundry wash, dry, AND put it away. I know many people who wash their clothes and leave them in the washer for days to mildew. Others leave their clean laundry in a basket or on a chair without ever putting them back in the drawer or closet. If you want to keep clutter at bay, do the full cycle in your tasks. 
Removing clutter from your surroundings not only improves your physical environment, but it also improves your emotional well-being and mental health. YOU CAN DO THIS. Take one step at a time and keep at it. Join my Facebook group, Clutter Cricket – Decluttering, Organizing, and Cleaning, for tips, tricks, and support from myself and others who are on a journey to a clutter-free space.

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0 Comments

Why Declutter?

9/14/2019

1 Comment

 
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Decluttering is more than just an aesthetic activity. Of course, we all want a beautiful space, but removing clutter does so much more than free up room, it’s therapeutic. Our stuff represents us, our lives, and believe it or not, our emotions. We are our things. When we tackle those excess items, we not only lighten our environment, we lift a weight off of ourselves as individuals.

Niecy Nash, the host of the popular TV show Clean House, said it best, "Clutter is an outward expression of an inward thing." I didn't know how true that was when I first heard it. Over the years, I came to realize my space reflected whatever was going on in my head and my heart. Some people say it’s just stuff. That “stuff” speaks. It tells a story.
Hoarders are the most obvious example of inner turmoil being reflected outwardly. Most hoarders are extremely organized people who have suffered some sort of loss or trauma, which has manifested itself into the inability to let go, leading to a home that's bursting at the seams. That is why hoarders need counseling to be able to declutter their home because it's not about the stuff. It’s about what the stuff represents.

An acquaintance of mine shared her story with me. Her boyfriend had been unfaithful which ended the relationship. She had a folder full of emails, letters, photographs, receipts, and credit card statements proving his indiscretions. She held on to that folder for over fifteen years. Think about that. Fifteen years of being reminded of what happened, of betrayal, of loss. Fifteen years of anger, sadness, and pain. Despite how that folder made her feel, she struggled to let it go. It took the motivation of a friend for her to finally take that folder and throw it in the trash. What happened when she did that was a turning point. By letting go of that folder, she was able to let go of everything it represented. All the hurt and negative emotions went into the garbage right along with that folder. Then, she forgave him. And with that, tons of sadness was lifted off her soul. She was finally free.

Decluttering means so much more than changing our physical surroundings, it changes our mental health and emotional well-being. Letting go of items helps to let go of what those items represent, bringing closure, relief, and even inner-peace. It brings a sense of calm to the space and the emotions. Tackle your clutter head-on. It may seem scary or overwhelming, but it will liberate you and improve your life.
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Tell me, what does your clutter say about you? Let me know in the comments below.

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    All blogs posts are written by Clutter Cricket, Certified Organizational Specialist.

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