The #1 Place in Your Home That Needs Organized

It is the start of a new year and you desperately want to get your space organized. It’s time to clean up, toss out, donate and feel more calm at home. Organization & decluttering in your home is the key to a calm, welcoming space. It is more important than the most beautiful design. If you space is clean & functional you can tackle anything that comes your way. It just makes you better. But starting to get organized can feel overwhelming.

There are million thoughts on the process – do I need more bins / baskets / cubes? Does it ‘spark joy’? And the list goes on. I like to keep it simple – in my designs, in my own life and in my organization tips.  There are plenty of options about how…you can spend days researching and never get to it. So let’s get started with the first place you need to declutter – your bedroom!

I know what your thinking what about the basement or the kitchen or my kid’s playroom?? Those need organized too (at my house too). But you start and end everyday in your bedroom. If it is messy, unorganized and chaotic you will start and end every day stressed out. We are truly effected by the space around us. If the color is off or the layout doesn’t work, it creates an internal struggle for us.

To help you get started in your bedroom, here are my favorite places to get organized.

#1 – Your Side Table

This is the place where everything gets dropped at the end of the day. It never gets put away. You probably have your tablet & phone on yours right now. Maybe a lamp and some little accessory your picked up at your favorite home decor place.  There might be pictures of your kids or the dog. All of these things take up valuable real estate and can quickly get cluttered.

Take everything off the side table and give it a good cleaning. I love starting with a clean slate! Then put the lamp on there. It will give you the perfect light for drifting off to sleep or in those early waking hours. Next select one accent piece – a pretty vase, a favorite picture or a book. So far so good. You can do this! Want to know what’s next?? NOTHING!!! That’s right, nothing else goes on there. Every other item you removed gets put away in its proper place or in the trash.  Even your phone. If you use your phone as an alarm clock, go buy an alarm clock. We have so many bad effects from our phones being in our bedrooms – so get it out of there!

#2 – Your Bathroom Counter

Think about your morning and evening routine. Just before bed you are in the bathroom washing your face or brushing your teeth. Your bathroom counter is another place of prime real estate. Don’t cover it up with stuff. Get everything in the cabinet below or in the trash. If you must have something on the counter get a small basket and DO NOT OVERSTUFF IT!!! Remember simple and clean is our friend.

#3 – Your Closet

I know this is the scariest one but this one makes such a difference. This will take a bit more time so plan a Saturday or Sunday to tackle this one. Take everything out and look at each piece. You can do this is an hour or so, even with a ton of clothes.

Only keep the things you love and that fit you. If you are holding onto something for sentimental reasons or in the hopes of fitting into it ‘someday’ LET IT GO!

Is this area tough for you? It might be good to hire someone to help here. I recently hired a stylist to do a closet cleanse. It was worth every penny. When you have reviewed the items, start putting them back in by type – shirts together, pants together, etc. This will create a clean crisp visual and make it easier to get dressed in the morning.

Adding cube storage for bags & shoes is the perfect low cost option and it gets all those things off the floor (I think this is the key to decluttering – off the floor).

Starting with these 3 places you will set yourself up for a great morning, a good night’s sleep and the endurance to tackle the rest of your home. Creating calm in your bedroom allows you to be in control of your day and enjoy your home as the relaxing, recharging place it was meant to be.