Learn specifics on how to declutter your room with these six tricks that are essential to maintaining a streamlined space.
Do a Regular Decluttering Sweep
The more often you do a declutter sweep, the less time it will take. Take 30 minutes each week to focus on decluttering your bedroom—you can do it all in one sweep or break it up into three 10-minute sessions over the week. Before you start, grab a recycling bin, a laundry hamper, and a “catch-all” bin.
Start with your nightstands—remove any items that need to be trashed or recycled. Do the same for the tops of your dressers and other surfaces.
Put any items that are out of place in the catch-all bin and then bring them to their proper rooms.
Place dirty clothes and linens in the hamper, and return any clean clothes to the closet.
Go through the drawers in your nightstand and dressers—sort appropriate items into the recycling and catch-all bins.
Go through the catch-all bin to return items to their proper places.
Keep the Floors Clean
Throwing clothing, shoes, books, and other items on the floor creates a sea of visual clutter in your bedroom. To avoid stepping into a minefield of bedroom clutter, make sure you have a place for everything—just not the floor. That could mean adding hooks on your doors and in your closet to toss clothes, bringing in a small bookshelf for books that are usually piled up on the floor, or a deep basket to toss shoes or your pet’s toys that you continually trip over.
Keeping your floor clutter-free also helps you easily move around the space. Take a few seconds every night to pick things up that have landed on the floor and put them into their rightful spot.
Weed Out Your Clothes Closet Regularly
Sorting excess clothing into boxes marked for tossing, donating, selling, gifting, or seasonal storage will go a long way toward decluttering your closet and bedroom. Make it an annual event and be brutally honest with yourself when sorting. For example, it’s okay to admit you’ll never repair or clean that pricy garment because you don’t like the way it looks on you, it’s out of style, or it’s too uncomfortable to wear—so into the donation, sell, or gifting box it goes. For seasonal storage on items you do love, choose clear, stackable bins or under-bed storage boxes to help you identify the contents.
Use Trays, Bowls, and Baskets to Contain Clutter
Bedrooms tend to collect a lot of one-off items like watches, earrings, books, and knickknacks. Sort, organize, and store these items out of sight by using trays, bowls, and baskets to hold jewelry, glasses, and other necessary items.
Invest in Furniture With Storage
If you’ve simply run out of storage in closets and cabinets, turn to alternative solutions, such as furniture with built-in storage. For example, an upholstered bench with a lid that lifts placed at the end of the bed not only provides a place to sit when putting on your shoes, but can also hold those shoes—or extra linens, towels, or anything else that you need a place for. A wicker chest can become a bedside table with storage and surface space for books.
Reorganize Your Space
Rearrange or reorganize the furniture in your bedroom to make it more functional and decluttered. For example:
Mount your TV on the wall instead of placing it on a console or surface.
Move your bed away from a corner wall and into the middle of the wall so you can have space on both sides for nightstands.
Put a small dresser inside of your closet (if there’s room) for better organization and free up space in the room.
