If you’re treading the same minimalist life path as I am, there’s simply no space for clutter in your life! Reaching a decision to clear and declutter your home is a freeing first step.
A few years ago, our little family decided to try out tiny living and live a truly minimalist lifestyle for a short time. You can read about our tiny house adventure here. It was an incredible experience and one I learned so much from. One of the biggest realisations I had was how we had lived well with so little!
We hadn’t needed piles of cutlery or drawers of makeup, hadn’t missed the closets stuffed with clothes or the myriad of half forgotten, apparently useful things scattered around the house.
Embracing minimalism changed my life forever. I’m now able to really enjoy my family and have the time and space to appreciate quality moments and renewed creativity.
Whether you will declutter your bedroom for the first time, or doing a regular spring clean, I’ve created a helpful 6 step approach to help you identify clutter-gathering areas of your bedroom and target them with intention.
Step 1: UNDERSTAND WHY AND STAY MOTIVATED
To me the most important part of decluttering any area of your home (or life) is to really understand your why. Initially, excitement and energy will carry you as you start the decluttering process, but when this inevitably fades, it can become overwhelming and difficult to complete. Having a clear motivation and reason helps you stay on track and see your project through to the end.
If you need help finding out WHY you want to declutter your bedroom, download my free Find Your Why resource here and discover the powerful motivation that will ensure your success.
Step 2: DECLUTTER YOUR BED AND NIGHTSTANDS
Decorative pillows: While beautiful, they generally serve no valuable purpose. I’d recommend going with a single decorative or accent pillow. Donate or give away the rest.
Bedside Tables: The storage space these tables offer may be valuable especially in a smaller house or apartment. But avoid the temptation to gather clutter here! Remove everything from the drawers and top of the table. Keep only one or two items on the top – perhaps a reading lamp or a small vase of flowers. Keep items inside the nightstand to an absolute minimum. Wipe, dust and polish the nightstands before replacing your chosen items.
A note on electronics: I’m a fan of keeping electronics away from the bed. To me, a peaceful sleep starts with a restful, non-stimulating bedtime routine. One of the things that really helped me sleep well and start getting up early, was to avoid social media or just generally using my phone or laptop before sleeping. I keep a quiet alarm clock on my bedside table and store my phone and laptop elsewhere.
Make your bed: A neatly made bed changes the entire feel of a room. Decide to make it a ritual you’ll honor each morning.
Step 3: ORGANIZE YOUR CLOTHING
Decluttering your clothing might be a large task and require more time than other parts of the room. I’d recommend dedicating time specifically for this area so that you don’t get overwhelmed. I created a number of free decluttering resources especially designed to help you build a minimalist wardrobe. A minimalist capsule wardrobe is one of the best ways to keep your clothing collection in check and minimize clothing clutter for good.
Feel free to read this article I wrote on how to declutter your closet in 6 easy steps which will help you tackle this decluttering project in just a few hours!
Some general rules for keeping your room decluttered of clothing include:
- Creating a mindful habit of immediately putting clothing items away after use.
- Avoid using the bed or other surfaces in the bedroom as a temporary storage place for coats, scarves, or discarded items of clothing.
- Ensure you have enough storage space for your clothing. Adding a chest of drawers or under the bed storage helps to minimize clutter by providing a proper place for clothing to be.
Step 4: ORNAMENTS, KEEPSAKES, PHOTOS
Decluttering items with sentimental value can be tough! By all means keep things that hold value and meaning to you. But also keep in mind that holding onto the past, even memories of the past, can keep us from creating and living our lives in the present.
Designate an area of the room to display one or two meaningful items that inspire joy in you. Whenever you feel the need, bring out another pair of mementos to exchange with the ones you have on display. Store your special items in an easy to reach place that is out of sight. By rotating these special items, you keep clutter to a minimum, but also enjoy the happiness these pieces inspire in you.
Step 5: MAKEUP, JEWELRY AND PERSONAL CARE ITEMS
When things have a home, it’s infinitely easier to keep clutter and mess to a minimum. Use small containers or drawer organizers to keep your makeup neat. Make sure the products you use regularly are most easily reachable. Discard old and seldom used products and keep only what you love and what you use.
If you have lots of bottles of lotions, creams, shampoos etc, make a commitment to not buy any more until you’ve used up every last one. Then purchase only exactly what you love to use best and you’ll effectively avoid clutter creep.
Sort through your jewelry, keeping your favorite, most worn items. There are many beautify storage solutions for jewelry that will fit your needs and bedroom space. Find one that contains most or all of your jewelry in one place so that you avoid creating clutter with storage containers!
Give your drawers and containers a good clean once a month (or more often if you’re inclined). Makeup invitingly arranged in unstained containers, jewelry polished, lotions and shampoo bottles clean – you’ll be inspired to maintain your clutter free habits!
Step 6: DECLUTTER REGULARLY
Clutter creep happens to the best of us. The best way to combat this nuisance is to declutter your room regularly. Spend 30 minutes (or less if you’re fast!) once a week going through your closet, nightstand and drawers to weed out unnecessary items. This will help you stay on top of your decluttering goals.
Try to ensure you keep only exactly what you need in your bedroom. Get rid of whatever has lost its purpose, is broken, you no longer use or need or you don’t like.
Once you’re done, gather the pile of unwanted items to donate or discard and turn to admire the sanctuary you’ve created.
Breathe deeply and feel how your mind expands to fill the space. Your bedroom has become a place where you’ll find peace and calm, a haven away from the busy world.
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