The end of the year is approaching fast, and many of us are looking forward to some well-earned downtime over the festive period. With the luxury of having a few days off work, there might be no better time to work on removing any clutter that might have built up in your bedroom over the last 12 months.
It’s really common for people to end up with too much clutter; particularly in their wardrobes. According to VoucherCodes, on average, each of us is sitting on around £572 worth of untouched clothing, which equates to around 365 million coats, bags and jumpers…
But it’s not something which can’t be changed. Not only can a good clean out of unwanted / unused items give you some extra space, but it also goes some way to improving your sense of well-being, in that your living environment is instantly improved!
The great thing about sorting through a space is that you’re not forced to throw anything away, if you don’t want to. There are plenty of options, such as hiring an affordable self-storage space, reselling the items online for cash, or donating them to charity.
With that in mind, let’s run through some essential tips to get you started on decluttering your bedroom.
Tip #1 – Work on your wardrobe
This is most likely the ‘hub’ of all your clutter, and your worst-affected area! Start by organising your clothing and footwear by season, if you can. Then take whatever isn’t wearable for this season, and store this in your loft, basement, or even drop it down to a storage unit if you already hire one (and if there’s room for it!). I use my local storage unit in Cardiff for this.
To help with the ongoing challenge of keeping your wardrobe uncluttered, try turning all of your hanging clothes 180 degrees, so that the hanger hook hangs backwards. Why? After a few months, you’ll start to see which items remain unused.
Tip #2 – Look at your surfaces and in your drawers
It’s easy for bits and pieces to build up on surfaces like your side tables, chests of drawers and shelving, so spend some time going through these and seeing what can be chucked away, what can be put away, and what belongs somewhere else (perhaps in another room).
Now take a look inside each drawer of the furniture in your bedroom. Start by taking everything out and sorting them into piles:
- Items which can be thrown in the bin
- Items which can be donated to charity, or sold
- Items which are still wanted and can therefore be put back
You’ll hopefully discover that what you end up with in your units has freed up some space, and it should now be easier to find things too.
Tip #3 – Identify opportunities for storage
Straight off the bat, the most likely place you might have to hand in the bedroom for this is under your bed. With a few appropriately-sized storage containers, extra blankets and bedding and out-of-season clothes and shoes can be neatly and conveniently stored away, out of sight.
It could be that you’ve actually got a bare wall which could house a couple of new shelves. Also, you may not have thought of it before, but sometimes moving a few items of furniture around in the room can free up some extra space which could house a new cupboard or a ‘blanket box’…
And if you’ve started to go off the look of your bedside tables, perhaps look for new ones which contain better storage.
Remember: your bedroom should be a place where you can relax and unwind at the end of a long working day – and also somewhere that you enjoy waking up in, in the mornings! It’s therefore worth spending a bit of your spare time ensuring that you make it into your perfect sleep space.
