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The Master Bedroom |
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As we move through the house, we’re going to hit the
master bedroom next. I want this room to be a haven
and an escape for you. You won’t see your room as
that if you don’t like it and the decorations you
have in it. Remember: small steps!
Walk in to your bedroom as you walked in to the
family room and look at it critically. Is it
cluttered? What’s the first thing that you notice?
Do whatever that is first. If it’s making the bed,
do it. If it’s putting dirty clothes in a basket, do
that. Whatever it is, get it done.
Does your bedroom fall under the Law of Flat
Surfaces? If so, start by clearing off the dresser(s)
and headboard. If you have papers there, look
through them, pitch what needs to be pitched, and
file away (as you did in the study) what needs to be
filed. Once you can see the tops of the dressers and
headboard, run over them quickly with your duster.
If you have lots of things on your dresser tops and
top of the headboard, the next challenge is to
de-clutter. You’ve already done the paper-aspect of
this—now look critically at the other things you
have. Do you have too many jewelry boxes? What about
baskets that are supposed to organize things? Now is
the time to determine what you absolutely love and
wear all the time and what you hardly look at and
almost never wear. Pull out the things you’re not
crazy about and get rid of them. Give them away,
throw them away, or sell them online. It doesn’t
matter—as long as what’s left is what you truly
love. If you have too many “organizing baskets,” now
is the time to realize that more things to hold your
clutter isn’t “organizing”—organizing is paring down
what you have and then keeping it orderly. Go
through your baskets and determine which perfume
bottles are your favorites and which ones you just
don’t use anymore. There’s no glory in keeping 35
scents on your dresser if all they do is collect
dust and make things look messy.
Let’s move on to the floor. Can you walk freely in
your room? If not, use the laundry-basket method and
pick up the things on your floor. Deposit the items
in their correct location and run the vacuum. No
moving the bed or dressers—just sweep where you can
easily walk.
Look at your windows—are they grimy? What about the
window ledges? Grab your rag and window cleaner and
give them a quick once-over. You’ll be amazed at how
much dust you pick up and how clean your ledges will
look after that!
Keep going in the master bedroom—we’re going to go
inside closets and dressers next!
Walk to your closet. Whether it’s a walk-in that you
could camp-out in or a smaller closet that has
bi-fold doors, it is supposed to organize your
clothing. Do you have Fibber Magee’s closet in
there? If so, open it, grit your teeth, and then
proceed to step over whatever just jumped out and
tried to kill you. If you have too many clothes in
your closet, it’s not doing you any good. If you
have “fat clothes” and “skinny clothes,” now is the
time to be realistic and get rid of anything that
you cannot wear RIGHT NOW. Don’t hope for a
different size in 2 months—pick out the best of what
you have right now and will wear right now and keep
only that. If you’re staying at home and not in the
working world, get rid of your work clothes. Donate
them to a women’s shelter or sell them online. Do
whatever you have to do to pare down the number of
outfits in your closet. When you have only what you
love, you’ll take better care of it.
Once you’ve purged your closet of things unworn and
out of style, take a look at what’s left. Organize
that by style of clothes. In other words, put
blouses with blouses, skirts with skirts, and pants
with pants. Make it easy on yourself to find clothes
in the morning!
Now look at your dressers. Same procedure as your
closet—go through and get rid of that which you
don’t wear often and don’t love. You’ll be better
able to close your drawers and keep what you have
from looking rumpled! Pitch, donate, or sell—it’s
your choice.
Now there’s just one spot left—your bedding and
window treatments. Do you love how you’ve decorated,
or does your room still sport the big orange flowers
of the 1970s? When is the last time you washed your
bedding and curtains? You might find that a quick
trip through the washer and dryer brings back even
the dingiest of bedding. Strip everything off and
cart it to the washer—hot water and bleach—all
bedding is made to withstand the normal amount of
bleach and not lose its coloration. Take it from the
washer to the dryer and once it’s dry, schlep
everything back to your room. As you make the bed
and re-hang the curtains, look around. If you still
don’t love it, make plans to replace it.
Remember—your room is to be a haven for you and a
place you love to unwind and spend time.
Although all of the steps for the Master Bedroom are
here, all are easily done in other bedrooms,
too—don’t neglect those!
Congratulations—your bedroom is done! You have a
special, organized sanctuary from the stresses of
life.
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