Declutter Along! Master Bedroom - Part One

Yesterday I spent somewhere around 30 minutes working on decluttering our bedroom. As you will see by the pictures, it was hideous to start with.

Believe it or not, it used to be considerably worse. That big pile at the foot of the bed used to be at least five times the size it is now. A few months ago, my husband and I took a weekend and tackled it, but that's as far as it went.

Oh, and don't let his side of the bed fool you! The floor is only that clean because I just did his laundry. ;-)

I cheated and worked on this little project while the toddler was napping. My preschooler helped with the first two steps but eventually got bored and wandered off.

Step One
Take BEFORE pictures. -- 3 minutes
This might sound silly, but it is a really great motivator. When you're halfway through and feel like you've gotten nowhere, you can look back and see evidence to the contrary.

Step Two
Remove all trash. -- 7 minutes
Such a simple task, but it can have an amazing effect. I gave my preschooler a plastic grocery sack and set her to gathering everything from broken hangers to discarded clothing tags. Meanwhile, I went to work consolidating and gathering all of the water bottles on my nightstand. Yes, I'll admit, I have a water bottle problem. After I was finished, I went back over the room to get any trash she might have missed. We ended up with a full sack of trash and another full sack of water bottles. Our time even includes taking them outside to their proper bins.

Step Three
Remove all items that do not belong. -- 20 minutes

This step took a little longer than my ideal time limit but it was well worth having all that stuff out of there! I began by designating a laundry basket to collect all of the random items: kids' toys and books, two of my husband's lunch boxes, medicines and hair items. Next, I gathered things that needed to go to the basement: formal dresses, extra coats, and the extra fan. Once these items were taken downstairs and put away, I went to work on things that belonged in the closet: some out of season shoes and purses, and a few backpacks and such. Once put away, I moved on to the bit of dirty laundry. It was mostly things that belong in the giveaway pile or had fallen out of laundry baskets and therefore needed to be rewashed. Into the laundry hamper in the bathroom they went! Now back to that laundry basket full of randomness. It only took a few minutes to go room-to-room and restore the items to their proper places.

Only 30 minutes spent on the project yesterday and I am still amazed at the difference it made. I'm pretty sure I slept better in there than normal last night. And what a weird feeling not to step on things when I get out of bed in the middle of the night.

Wonder what I can get done in 30 minutes tonight after the kids go to bed?

So there you have it: our first Declutter Along! Did you work along with me? Share your progress by leaving a comment below!

<3 Danielle