Let's Work on the Master Bedroom Today!

As we go through our homes while we're on this decluttering mission, I find it easier to take one room at a time, tackle it completely before moving on to the next room. The next room that I will work on is our master bedroom. I want that room to be a haven for my husband and me. I want it to be neat and orderly, so we can relax. Sometimes we all need time just to be by ourselves and just think, spend time with the Lord, pray. Oftentimes, it's the only room I can go where it's quiet. :-) The older I get I'm having a harder time with concentration. While I enjoy being with my family, it does me good to just be still and quiet. So, here's the plan for the master bedroom:

Walk into your bedroom and look at it critically. Is it cluttered? What’s the first thing that you notice? Tackle that area first. Does the bed need to be made? Do the sheets need to be washed? Have you aired out the pillows recently? Does the bedspread or comforter need to be washed? Whatever it is, tackle that now.

Now, clear off the top of the dresser. If you're like me, you've got piles that need to be gone through. Weed through those piles. Put those items in their "home" or throw away whatever needs to be tossed. Go ahead and go through the drawers and straighten them up. If you find clothes in there that you've not worn in a year, put them in a bag for donation. After the dresser top and drawers are clean, give it a really good dusting.

Now, let's tackle the floor. Before I started doing this "decluttering thing" a few summers ago, I used to have a pile of papers, books, articles, etc. sitting in a pile in my room. I really got tired of it collecting dust and the pile just kept getting bigger. I wanted to see the carpet underneath, so that's when I tackled it. Can you walk freely in your room? If not, grab a box or use your laundry basket and pick up the things on your floor.

Next, I will pull out whatever is under the bed. (Oh, that's a scary thought, isn't it?) It amazes me how much dust ends up under the bed. I feel so much better about sleeping in the bed when I know that at least for a few days or weeks, the dust isn't accumulating under my bed. Can you get rid of anything under your bed? Take a few minutes and put those items in their correct location and run the vacuum in the areas where you can walk.

Look at your windows—can you see through them? 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! And don't forget the miniblinds. I was amazed at how much dust they collect in a year! No wonder we have sneezing fits. It's such a good feeling to know I can once again see through the windows. I love to sit in my chair and look out at the beautiful scenery, blue skies and trees blowing in the wind.

Okay, the last thing I do is give the furniture in our bedroom a really good dusting. I think I've mentioned that we do a spring deepcleaning and a fall deepcleaning. We declutter every three months and maintain the rest of the year. I can't homeschool my children and manage our home and keep things spotless, so I find this to work for our family. We do clean our house on a weekly basis though not a deep cleaning. I've used this system for about three years now and it works for us.

So, now what can you do to add a few inexpensive decorations to your bedroom. Can you put a few candles in the room? Add a new flower arrangement? Think of some things that will make it feel like a haven for you and your husband. Our husbands work hard every day to provide for our families. Most of them have to relate to the public and work with challenging people. Coming home to rest after a hard day is a reward and comfort for them. It's our way of ministering to them.

I started doing this decluttering a few summers ago. It's been rewarding to be able to actually keep our bedroom mostly straight. I try not to let it get to be a catch all and get all cluttered up again. I'm on a mission to keep it straight so I don't have to work so hard to declutter it again. I take a few minutes each Friday when we clean house and if things have gotten messy, I put those things in their "homes". Hopefully these suggestions will be helpful in your journey to declutter. Remember, less is better! Happy decluttering!