Day 11 :: Get Your Home Decluttered in 28 Days: Master Bedroom

 

 

Add some fresh flowers to your room.

 

How are you doing in our Home Challenge where we are working at de-cluttering and redecorated our homes in 28 days?  You can jump in any day you want, and don’t worry if you skip a day or two.  This isn’t a contest – just a communal effort on all our behalf.  I have needed to get our place de-cluttered for some time now as we had/have too much stuff!  I am not quite that bad where I need to be on that hoarders show (well, maybe you should see my garage first before you decide that), but it was a matter of things kept coming in and no real focus was made on getting things going out.  Boy, you should have seen my linen closet!  We had eight year old towels in there that are now happily being used at our local animal shelter!  So in an effort to help myself and hopefully you – let’s begin to de-clutter the…. Master Bedroom!  This room should be your sanctuary of peace and beauty.  Well, at least we can dream!  But seriously, let’s make this room a place you enjoy coming in to.

 

Make sure to have boxes labeled: Sell, Give Away or Trash ready to go.  This way you can toss what you no longer need into these to-be donated or sold boxes.  You can also use large trash bags if you prefer.  I did this with our linens and it worked out just fine.

 

 

Organize Your DVDs:

We store a lot of our DVDs in the master bedroom because we tend to have our family movie night in this room.  Having a King bed allows the whole family to get comfy and eat popcorn while watching one of our favorite movies.  I started with our DVD’s that were on top of our dresser and overflowing out of a broken basket collecting dust on the chair.  If you have DVD’s in this room -or if stored elsewhere – go through them and put aside ones you think your kids (or yourself) no longer watch.  I then dusted off each one with a dust cloth and put them back into some cute and inexpensive baskets I picked up at Marshalls.  I put them in sections – like Holiday DVD’s, Toy Story DVD’s, the Madagascar series, etc  You could even go a step further and alphabetize them if you want.

 

 

Remove the stuff off your chair:

If you have a chair in the master bedroom, you are probably placing things on it (just like me).  This chair is a catch-all for things I don’t want to put away just quite yet.  But in my quest for keeping our place organized – I try not to do this anymore.  So go ahead – start putting away the things you have hanging over the chair.  And make a commitment to keep it clear of stuff.  This chair should be a place to sit and even read if you have some downtime.  Make it comfy!  Add a cute pillow!  I found a colorful Jonathan Adler one at Marshalls for $5.00 and like the contrast of modern and antique style of the chair.

 

 

Clear off your bedside table:

I try to keep this area cleared off so when I wake up in the morning the first thing I see is not a bunch of things staring back at me.  Try to place on the bedside tables only things you love.  Maybe a picture of your family.  A vase filled with flowers from your garden.  Keep it clear so when you go to bed at night and when you wake – you see things that have meaning for you.  Not paperwork, bottles of empty water, etc.  I know since I have been making an effort to keep fresh flowers there, it has really made me feel much calmer.  What’s not to love about flowers and you are doing something nice for yourself!

 

Remove Books:

If you are like me, you might have a corner of the room reserved for books.  Well, time to let get them out of this room and placed elsewhere.  Since we are going to store all of our books in the garage in our bookshelves – I placed them in boxes until we get to this part of the house!  Pick and choose a few of your favorites and place them in a little basket or wooden tray.  This way you have at your fingertips the ones you are reading or want to read. I picked up a wooden tray from Anthropologie years ago and like that it keeps the books organized and neat-looking.  Play with what you have and see what works for you.

 

Clear out under your bed:

I find the storage containers from IKEA to be the best for this.  But you can use just about any container you want – just make sure to toss what you no longer want or things you want to sell and place only those things you use back into these containers.

 

 

Clear off your dresser:

Again, place on here the things you want to see every day that will put a smile on your face.  I decided to bring up from the living room some of my favorite ceramics and recently picked up a cute owl at Marshalls for $4.00.   There really is an art form to this and I found some really great décor ideas I want to incorporate.  First though – clear it off and put back only what you really want to see every day!

 

 

I love owls and this guy definitely puts a smile on my face!  When redecorating move things you already have around and play with it.  Check out pictures on Pinterest to get ideas on how to redecorate your dresser.  There are a ton of ideas and remember, this doesn’t need to break the bank!  My owl was less than $5.00 but he adds a lot I think!  You can pick up an inexpensive mirror or vase to place on top of your dresser.  Have fun with this part of the Home Challenge.  This is your room to create as you like it – of course asking your husband’s input!  My husband let me redo the room as I wished – though he is not a fan of our African Wedding Baskets above the bed so I am on the lookout for something else.  Have my eye on a painting from Room & Board but will have to sell more of my stuff to justify purchasing it!

 

Now have some fun!

 

What is Your Dream Room?

Take some time to think about what type of room you want to create.  Is your style more romantic?  Or modern?  Look through magazine, online and Pinterest to get some ideas and then just go for it!  Because of my travels throughout Southeast Asia and living in Japan for a couple years – I love the Asian-style décor – mixed in with some African pieces.  Decide what you want to create and see about getting some pieces that can help make it the room of your dreams!  Make a wish list as well. I am all about working towards getting the things you want to make your home exactly the way you want!  First step is visualizing it and then write it down, and then work towards making it a reality!

 

 

Make Your Bed!

I make my bed everyday because I can’t stand seeing it messy when I come back into the room.  This is a good way to start off your day and do something nice for yourself.  Look at bedrooms on Pinterest and décor magazines to get some ideas on how to decorate your bed.  This doesn’t have to cost a bunch to redo either!  These IKEA polka dot pillows use to be on our sofa but I moved them up here after I found some inexpensive ones at a discount store for $12 each that look better on our sofa. Have fun with this exercise and if you can – splurge for some a new duvet or quilt.  I found this white set at Marshalls.  Amazon also has some inexpensive selections.

 

 

Add in some art:

This is one of my absolute favorite pieces I own.  Mostly because it comes from a Japanese family I dearly love and I find it is just so beautiful.  Place art that you love in this room.  Look around your house and see if you can’t find pieces that might look better in this room – or pieces that aren’t get their due!  You might be surprised what you might find around the house that looks better in your bedroom.  I have mentioned that I find most of my art at estate and garage sales and some on eBay or even at your local art school.  You’d be surprised what you can find that don’t cost a ton of money.

 

 

I found this Japanese women block art piece at a rather run-down house estate sale in one of the bedrooms.  I love this piece as they look a little mischievous and it goes with my African/Asian décor in the bedroom.  And I love the funky walking canes I have collected over the years.  It is fun to add in interesting pieces in your home.  These were found at an estate sale and one is my father’s and my husband’s grandfathers old cane.  These are gentle reminders of the people we love!

 

Give everything a good cleaning, put some fresh flowers in a vase and maybe even add a plant or two to give it a finished look!  Enjoy!

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