How to keep a bedroom clean and organzied?!?

Question

How to keep a room clean....

I’m an extremely organized individual when I WANT TO BE. Key words here: “want to be”. I have a hard time keeping organized when I don’t like what I’m trying to keep up.

I hate my bedroom. It is SOOOOOOO boning. It has cream carpet, and cream walls. And a HIDEOUS bed frame. I don’t have any cash to decorate it but I want to clean it and make sure I keep it that way?

I keep trying to add stuff to it to make it better but I was thinking simplifying it may make it easier…

Any suggestions on simplifying my bedroom and keeping it CLEAN so I don’t have to clean it every week!?

Answer 1

The key is to do a one step organization and clean-up and then occasional minimal maintenance.

Firstly phase - General room use:
- With cream carpets and walls I'd recommend not wearing shoes into the bedroom. That will save you having to vacuum up dirt every second day (shoes from outside contribute to 75% of dirt in household).
- I also don't get into bed without having a shower and changing (keeps sheets cleaner and fresher so I change sheets fortnightly instead of weekly).
- I don't like to eat in bed or in the bedroom, but if you must use a bed tray, and hand vacuum to wipe up bread crumbs (which invariably get onto bed).

Secondly Phase - Organization:
- The key is to have a place for everything and organise room to match your lifestyle.
- Find a laundry basket and place it in the corner to dump your dirty clothes in (not on floor).
- You want all your things which you have/bring into the room to have a place in the room. For example, books or CD's should be used and placed back in a specific place each time (Book case CD stand)
- Hang clothes when you come back on door hooks or get a cheap cloth organisation hanger for the back of the door to dump mobile phones, coins, keys etc instead of leaving them on floor
- The idea is to have minimal things on the floor or on bedside desk tables to make it easier to vacuum and wipe off dust (and not have to move things here and there when you do so) and also you'll be less likely to lose things.
- Ideally on your bedside table you want to have just a light and book. Everything else you don't use everyday and night should be placed in drawers or somewhere out of site. Get a drawer organiser for your dresser and put your cosmetics etc. into them in drawers out of site or have just a few nice looking vases/glasses and brush on the dresser.
- Get under bed storage with lid to place blankets, out of season clothes, and sheets (saves you also vacuuming under bed as dust will fall onto plastic covers and can easily wipe off). This will make it easier to find and change your sheets when you need to.
- Sell or get rid of everything you don't need - old magazines, out of date cosmetics and clothes.
- The key here is to place things which you use frequently in easy reach (chest height) and less frequently in drawers at below chest and then above head height.

Phase Three - Maintenance:
- Once you've organised, you will only have to spend minimal time cleaning or organising each day to maintain this regime. No big clean jobs.
- Break it down into small tasks each day - fortnightly change of sheets, once every couple of days wipe down dust from bedside table, once a week vacuum, once a month clean windows/mirrors. Use a timesheet.
- Reward yourself with a break or snack after each small task.
- For windows I like to use Windex and paper towel (squeegee are faster but difficult to use).
- If you don't wear shoes into bedroom and don't eat in the bedrrom you should only have to vacuum infrequently (weekly or fortnightly).

General cleaning tips:
- I don't like to use chemicals in the bedroom, so I use baking soda instead of carpet powder on carpets (if I need to), and water/vinegar on windows and mirrors.
- I use an open tin of baking soda in cupboards to absorb smells.
- Use citrus solvent to clean stains on cream walls (also gets gum out of shoes and clothes) - smells orangy also.

Answer 2

First, go through every single inch of your room, every drawer and the entire closet. Get rid of anything you do not use or absolutely need. If you must, box some stuff up and store it elsewhere in the house (attic, basement or garage rafters). Now you know what you have to work with. The key to decorating a small room is not to have too much stuff on the floor. The floor is prime real estate and should not be cluttered with stuff so you have a more airy feel in your room. Use the vertical storage, such as the walls. Hang shelves above your desk with storage containers (baskets, CD boxes with lids, canvas baskets or what have you). Keep things in labeled covered or stacked containers so that nothing is out in the open causing a cluttered look. If you can, put a dresser in your closet and put your shoes in an over the closet door organizer or a shoe rack inside the closet. Hang a double rod to double the hanging space or make up for space you used for your dresser in the closet. Do you have electronic equipment, wires, chargers, an ipod, ear phones and such? An over the door clear plastic pocket shoe holder is ideal to store these things in. These shoe holders can keep so many things in order, you'll see. O kay, tropical. You can decorate in colors such as coral, turquoise and yellow or orange, royal blue and yellow. Then get some big leaf print bedding to give it that tropical feel.

Answer 3

I agree that it's difficult to keep a room tidy if it is not organized in a pleasing way. Cream walls and carpet are a good neutral base for you to add colorful accessories, such as colorful pictures on the walls, colorful pillows, comforter and a nice comfortable chair. The bedframe can be disguised with throws or draperies, depending on its style.

Organizing your closet is one of the most time-saving activities you can do - it can lay a great foundation to motivate you to keep your room tidy. Hang a shoe pocket organizer in a closet or on the back of a door to hold small items (cosmetics, hairbrushes, CD players, pens, pencils, socks, underwear, etc.). Stackable plastic crates and bins can be used to store things like books. Baskets are easy to find and can be used to store many items. Most of these can be spray painted to match your decor.

The HGTV website is a mine of information about organizing and decorating bedrooms. Here is an example:-

http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/ah_organizing_bedroom/article/0,,HGTV_3134_2755025,00.html

A tidy room is much easier to clean!