Declutter Bedroom Checklist
Hate your messy bedroom? Wish you could learn how to declutter and fix it for good? This article will help. It will walk you through step by step how to clean out your bedroom. Use this Declutter Bedroom Checklist and make creating a space you love to sleep in an easier one to do.
Before you leave, don’t forget to grab your FREE Declutter Your Bedroom checklist below!
I am a terrible sleeper.
No matter how hard I try, I struggle just about every night. I have no problem falling asleep; it’s the staying asleep part that gives me issues.
And maybe that is why always having a neat and tidy bedroom is so important to me.
I have said it before, clutter is noisy. Just the sight of it starts off these negative conversations in our heads, like a nagging berating version of ourselves. Seeing the piles and bags and random things around it is enough to start a heated debate with yourself.
- Me: Oh my goodness, look at my room!
- Self: Yes, it is an absolute mess.
- Me: I don’t know why I can’t keep it neater.
- Self: Because you are lazy.
- Me: I’m not lazy; I’m just really busy.
- Self: You’re selfish, then.
- Me: No, I’m not selfish! I am always doing things for everyone other than me.
- Self: It must be that you don’t care because look at this room. It’s a mess, and I am embarrassed for you and how little you care to clean it up.
- Me: Why don’t you just be quiet already?
Each time we see a mess, a conversation takes place. We are our worst critics, and we are so busy giving everyone around us a well-deserving break, yet we refuse to give one to ourselves.
Wait, clutter can do all of that?
Yes, it can.
And when you are in a room that is meant to be a sanctuary for a good night’s sleep but is instead a starting point for self-imposed criticism, it’s no wonder why we wake up just as tired as we were when we went to bed.
If you struggle to keep your home neat and put away, that is a project for another time. Our goal today is to work on just one room. Your bedroom. And my hope for you is that you will create a space that is just for you and one you truly do deserve to have.
Clean Up Your Room – Declutter Bedroom Checklist
I love checklists, so much so that my entire life depends on them. From my personal life to my business life, I can keep everything running smoothly because of a list.
I also love lists because they take away the guesswork. They allow us to get in there and get busy. If you are not a fan of checklists, I hope by the end of this article and your bedroom decluttering project, you might have at least a slight change of mind.
Step #1. What Needs to Stay?
Before you can get started, you need to know where the finish line is. For most people, a bedroom is simply a place to sleep and get dressed for the day ahead. For others, it is also a place to pay the bills, read, exercise, and even do a little crafting.
Take some time to determine exactly what tasks will happen in this space.
Why is this important? Because it will help you to better determine what needs to go and what gets to stay.
So, for example, if you only sleep and get dressed in your bedroom then only blankets, sheets, clothes, and personal items will stay in this space. That means anything else that you find can be put into another location.
For each activity you do in a room, this is the line in the sand that you can use to better decide what needs to go.
Step #2. Set Up a Sorting Area
For clutter bugs like us, getting distracted is a big deal. Just one small thought pops into our heads, and before we know it, we are off to do a task in another room, completely forgetting about our goal for our bedroom.
Over the years, I have learned that preparing for a decluttering session is crucial to getting the best results. Lucky for us, preparing is super easy to do. It only requires setting up a sorting area.
A sorting area is where you are going to put everything you touch as you are working through your bedroom. This will help you to categorize your things so that when you are done, all you will need to worry about is what is staying and how you can organize those items in the very best way.
Setting up a sorting area is easy as long as you follow one simple rule. Be sure to use containers that are big enough for the job. Remember earlier when I told you how distractions can completely stop a project in its tracks? This is why large containers will work much better than small ones.
So, instead of using small shoeboxes for sorting, you can use big plastic totes full of grocery bags that you can fill up and tie off until you can take them to the donation center.
Step #3. The 3 Core Steps
This is part of the Declutter in Minutes formula that is quite possibly the biggest game-changer out there. When we get ready to clean out a space, we look at the piles and bags and stuff and just assume all of it is clutter. But that is untrue.
Many times there is trash, recyclables, or simply things that need to be put away.
Before you really dive in, there are 3 steps to do first, and I think you might just love them as much as I do.
- Remove the trash
- Remove any recyclables
- Gather anything that belongs in another room and put it all the way away. I like to use a laundry or clothes basket for this step. To help, here are a few things to look for:
- Dirty clothes – Go into the laundry room.
- Dishes – Go into the sink or dishwasher in the kitchen.
- Food – Close up tightly and return to the pantry.
- Toys – Can go into the playroom.
- Mail – Goes into the office or bill-paying area.
- Tools – Go into the garage.
- Shoes – Go into the bedroom or mudroom.
- Receipts – Go into the office or bill-paying area.
Once you are done, survey the room once again. I bet you will be pleasantly surprised how just those 3 steps made a nice dent in what you once thought was clutter.
Read: The Three Core Steps (do these before you declutter)
Step #4. Break it Down
This is another integral part of the Declutter in Minutes Formula. So many times, we tend to tackle an entire job in one shot, and sure, maybe that makes complete sense. The problem is when you try to do it all at once, we tend to make things much worse off in the process.
Instead, I want to encourage you to break this room down into 3 to 4 areas and only work on one of these areas at a time. This will not only help you to get more down without getting lost in the chaos, but it will take away the overwhelm of trying to do such a huge project all in one shot.
Step #5. Get Busy
Now, we are ready to sort. And prepare yourself; it’s much easier than you may think.
Focusing only on one area, pick up the first item you see. Ask yourself if it is something that needs to stay in this space. If it is a yes, put it in the KEEP bin. If it’s no, put it in the TOSS, DONATE, or PUT AWAY bin.
Move on to the next closest item and repeat the steps. Keep going until you have touched and sorted every item in your area.
I know most people think there is so much to the decluttering process, but to be honest, it’s what you do before and after that is the important part.
Step #6. Keep Going
Continue the same process for each area that you have divided out for your bedroom. Be sure to work at least 10 minutes each time so you are always making progress. Don’t overthink it. There is no easy way to do this other than to get in there and do it. Make a goal of working 10 minutes daily this week on just one area in your bedroom. You might just be surprised at how much you can get done in that short time. And remember, 10 minutes every day comes out to be 1 hour and 10 minutes a week.
Step #7. Clean
This is something I love to do. Cleaning without clutter is quite possibly the nicest thing about this entire process. No moving things to dust, no vacuuming in squiggly paths to get around the piles. You can get in, get busy, and get done usually in a fraction of the time.
Step #8. Organize
I like to look at organizing as my reward for a lot of hard decluttering work. But, for some, this can be the part that really trips them up.
So, let’s back up. What exactly is organizing?
Organizing is a way of creating specific areas to hold specific things using containers. Our goal with organizing is to make it easy to find whatever we are looking for and, more importantly, just as easy to put those items all the way away when we are done with them.
D/M PRO TIP: Do you want to know the secret to a clutter-free and organized home? Putting your things, every single one of them, all the way away when you are finished using them. If you can adopt just one habit, this one is the one I choose for you. By always putting things away, I am talking about all the way away; you will never have to declutter your room again.
When organizing a space in your bedroom, be sure to work on just one area at a time, like a dresser top or a nightstand drawer. Look at what items will be kept there and ask yourself what containers will work best to keep your things together. Keep it super simple to use so you know you will stick with it.
Test before you invest!
Shop your home first for containers to use before heading off to the store. I always like to test things out before spending money on something new. This way, I am going to be sure that a new organizing plan I have set up is going to work. After you organize a space, let things coast for a month or so. After that time, check back and make any adjustments to your containers if needed.
How will you know if a new organizing setup is working? You can put your things all the way away.
Step #9. Now, Keep it That Way.
The final piece to the puzzle is being sure things never get cluttered up again. I like to set up baskets to keep the clutter from taking over. Your goal is to put these baskets where you “think” you might have a clutter issue.
A few ideas are:
- On top of your dresser.
- On your nightstand.
- On the floor.
- At the foot of your bed.
Remember your goal is to catch the clutter as you work on putting your things all the way away. Eventually, you can remove the baskets and see your room stay neat and tidy daily.
Sometimes when cleaning out a room, you only need a checklist to make things easier. I hope you found this Declutter Bedroom Checklist the magic tool you need to create a bedroom you love.
What a great post, Tracy! I really enjoyed reading this helpful article. This is actually my problem, thanks so much for your help!