Sleep is such an important part of your life, but if you’re in a bedroom that encourages chaos, sleep will be the furthest thing from your mind.
Creating a cozy, welcoming bedroom that invites sleep doesn’t have to cost a lot. It’s also something that can be accomplished on a Saturday afternoon.
3 Steps to Create the Bedroom of Your Dreams
1. Clear the clutter
The master bedroom is often a catch-all (and hiding place, in my case) for random items.
Start creating a cozy master bedroom by removing everything except the bed. Don’t worry about organizing. For now, just remove everything and start with a clean slate.
This isn’t the time to get sentimental or hang on to items that you “might use someday maybe.” Dump everything into the center of the room.
This is your opportunity to remove everything from under your bed, in your dresser, and in your closet. When my closet and dresser are bursting at the seams, it can easily make everything else in the room (and ironically, in my entire life) feel overwhelming and out of control.
If you have dressers, nightstands, bookshelves, or any other surfaces in your room, one of the easiest ways to “tidy” your room is to remove everything from the surface. Then, if your nightstands have drawers, dump the drawers.
2. Organize based on your priorities
Now that everything you own and store in your bedroom is dumped into a massive pile in the center of the room, it’s time to organize. Start by creating three piles: trash, donate, keep. You may also want to create a separate pile for items that need to be dry cleaned or repaired.
When I clean, I often make the mistake of hanging on to things. Even if I know that I don’t use them, I return them to my closet or drawer because “someday” I might use them. Don’t make that mistake!
Marie Kondo, author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, suggests picking up each item and asking if it brings you joy. If not, thank the item and discard it.
As you’re organizing and going through your items, base everything that you keep on your current priorities. Does each item bring you joy right now?
While you may feel a little silly talking to your items, the concept of determining whether items bring you joy is a great one. There’s no sense in hanging on to a pair of “skinny” jeans if they don’t currently bring you joy. In fact, if they don’t fit perfectly now, they’re probably causing you more stress than joy, even if they were once your favorite pair of pants.
Take a moment to think about where you’re keeping each item, also. Does it bring you joy in its current location? If not, store it somewhere else. That picture of your kids is adorable, but if you don’t notice it on your nightstand, try hanging it on a wall. By placing it somewhere new, you’ll notice it more and it’ll bring you joy again.
3. Create a cozy atmosphere
I love the idea of “quieting a room” and creating an uncluttered but still beautiful and welcoming space. Especially in a bedroom, it’s important to create a relaxing atmosphere that welcomes sleep.
As you’re placing items in your bedroom, make sure that you’re only placing appropriate, “quiet” items. Even if you love that bright red, zebra striped arm chair, it may not be appropriate for your bedroom.
I recently read The Nesting Place: It Doesn’t Have to Be Perfect to Be Beautiful. Author Myquillyn Smith shares secrets to declutter, use what you have, and only add items that you truly love in a room. However, she also mentions the importance of “quieting a room” and creating a peaceful environment.
Especially in a bedroom, choose calm colors and soothing accents, but don’t go overboard. Without taking a totally minimalist attitude, try to place items that you love, but in moderation. Also, if you want to play with colors or accents, try painting an accent wall with stripes using a lighter, iridescent shade of paint instead of creating a bold accent wall.
Also, consider the amount of time it’ll take to keep your room tidy. For example, choose a simple bedspread with only a few throw pillows instead of something that will take you hours to make every morning. Having fewer items on your dressers or nightstands means that dusting will be easier, too.
As you’re clearing the clutter, organizing based on your current priorities, and creating a cozy atmosphere, you’ll be on your way to creating a bedroom that you love. You’ll be able to breathe a sigh of relief every time you enter your room, instead of stressing over the mound of throw pillows in the corner that never seem to make it onto the bed.