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How to Declutter and Organize Your Bedroom

A cluttered bedroom is a chaotic environment of jumbled energies that are not conducive to a restful night's sleep. The abundance of disorganized stuff is not very helpful when you're running late in the morning, and the left shoe and the right sock are missing. Sort it out, smooth it over and straighten it up so you won't face the world half-dressed and half-asleep.


Empty the Closet
Empty the whole closet. Just dump every single thing on the bed. Set up three boxes and label them: "Toss," "Donate" and "Consignment." Then put all the obvious discards in one of the boxes; try on the rest of the clothes and shoes; ditch anything that doesn't make you look fabulous; and sort what goes back in the closet by type and color. Jackets with jackets, shirts with shirts -- use a double row of hangers to fit twice as much in an orderly display. Hang a shoe rack over the door and get that scramble of boots and kicks off the floor. Designate bins or hooks for hats and bags. Bag the off-season threads or store them in the hall closet, and add a light so you can see your mini-boutique. Now you can get dressed; no stress.

Clean Under the Bed
You have too many pillows, blankets, throws and bathrobes -- and what is that lurking under the bed? Strip the bed, pull everything out from the murky depths, and think minimalist. You need one or two pillows, a place to fold and store extra blankets, a neat underbed container for out-of-season clothes or extra bedding -- not tennis rackets, six half-read novels and the holiday roasting pan -- and a practically bare bedside table. A bench with storage at the foot of the bed will hold the blankets. A nightstand with a lamp, one book, your phone and maybe a small box of tissues or a solitary bloom in a vase take care of bedside necessities. Hang up the bathrobe and donate the stuffed animal collection. Now there's room for you in the bed -- sweet dreams.

Clear Out Drawers
The dresser -- the horror. What is in those drawers and hanging mostly out of them? When was the last time you could close one? You know the drill. Pull over the cardboard boxes, dump and sort. You can put back no more than half of what you take out. Be ruthless. Partition one drawer for various undergarments, another for socks -- matched only -- and hose or tights, another for T-shirts. Designate a drawer for sweaters and hoodies and one for shorts and jeans. Done. Do not keep items that are so ragged they should be rags or so holey they are candidates for sainthood. Divide drawers so you can roll T-shirts and casual pants and line them up in highly visible rows. Every time you buy something new, one thing from the dresser goes out. Now you can shut the drawers.

End the Multitasking
Your bedroom is not an office; it is a peaceful island in a calm lagoon with a stretch of smooth empty sand and a whisper of palms. You sleep there. Move the work station. No computer, printer, scanner, sound system, TV, piles of paper, boxes of files and supplies. No bills. No lists, invitations, social obligations or other distractions from the dreamy dreams and personal pursuits that are the true purpose of your serene bedroom. All that plugged-in stuff is sending a stream of electronic data -- and worrisome to-do reminders -- to your brain 24-7. Protect your precious downtime fiercely. If you are a hopeless wired addict and the idea is inconceivable, turn a closet or an armoire into a rigorously pared-down home office, keep it spare as a monastery, and close the door.

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