Keeping an Orderly Master Bedroom

This entry is part 4 of 6 in the series #ClutterFree Journey

simple steps to maintain a well-ordered master bedroom

I have been on this crazy de-cluttering mission I am calling my Clutter Free Journey (check out the other posts here) and it has been rocking our entire house.  Even the places where I didn’t realize clutter was lurking.  As I have been working through this process, I have discovered I had allowed some clutter fixtures to creep in.  I wrote about clutter fixtures a while back and thought I had banished them forever, but there they were standing in plain sight, yet invisible to my eyes.

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Anyway, I got down to working on our master bedroom and found a number of things to get rid of.  Most of them didn’t belong in the room.  Much of the stuff needed paring down.  And as a result my master bedroom is infused with a new sense of peace.  So I thought I would share with you how I am keeping an orderly master bedroom.

1. Master minimalism in the bedroom

I realized that I try to do too many things in the room that was/is really intended for restful things.  I don’t have need of keeping my planners and goal setting materials in my bedroom.  I don’t need to bring work into the space I sleep in.  I do like to relax at the end of the day and read a good book.  BUT, I don’t need more than one good book on my bedside table (I had five).  Since I have a designated spot for books (my office), I moved all the books I am not reading at the moment back to where they belong.  Having less stuff on my bedside table gives me the go ahead to relax at the end of the day.

2. Giving my mate grace

Ok, so my husband has at any given time, on any given night, 3 or 4 devices plugged into the outlet on the wall situated at least 3 feet away from the bed and 2 feet away from his bedside table.  It is not his fault that we have oddly placed outlets in our master bedroom and he has need of all those electronic devices.  But at the end of the night, when I want to recover our bedroom to order for the day, I am always dealing with these cords and devices.  I came up with a quick solution that makes my day and doesn’t frustrate him (too much!).  I re-purposed a basket and placed all the cords for the fully charged devices in it.  I set it on the corner of his bedside table and, voila!  I have a solution to the cord craziness.  By the way, I am the one who puts these cords away for the day.  I don’t mind doing this because it is my desire (not his) to be this organized and put everything away.  I can’t get all frustrated with him not meeting a standard that is not his to attain to. I give him grace to use and enjoy his devices and he gives me grace to put them away, meaning he has to take them all out again (more grace).  We may not see eye to eye on device/cord organization, but we are accepting each other’s quirks and moving on.

Keeping an Orderly Master bedroom

3. Have two versions of a “made bed”

An item my husband just does not understand the need for in our bedroom is throw pillows.  I love the look of our bed with freshly laundered, crisply stretched and hospital-cornered sheets and four plump throw pillows.  He can’t stand them and tosses them off the bed immediately.  And by tossing, I am not talking about a gentle placing in a proper spot.  So I came up with a solution that I think works for us.  I consider the bed “made” two different ways.  One for me and one for him.  The one for me is just as I described above – oh, how I love a hospital corner.  And the other is pretty much everything done the same, minus the copious throw pillows on the bed.  I do the “full made” on the days I change the sheets and the “just made” on the days I haven’t changed the sheets.  That way, I can be in charge of the home the throw pillows find on the days they are not in use.  Having a “made bed” can be possible every day and we can both be happy!  P.S. I shave a few seconds off of my time on the days I don’t have to add the pillows!

Maintaining an Orderly Master Bedroom

4. Baskets for absolute necessities

As I stated before I had been trying in the past, to make my bedroom work for far too many things, when all I want it for is peace and rest.  But I still need to store a number of things in the bedroom.  We keep our various medicines away from the humidity of the bathroom in our bedroom.  We keep our undergarments and bedclothes in the dresser at the end of the room.  And I keep a number of hair accessories and seldom used jewelry in our bedroom.  So, I keep all those items hidden in baskets in the armoire/dresser we have at the end of the room.  I worked during my de-cluttering process on making sure the items in there are things I will use or use on a regular basis.  I got rid of the things that were unused.  The baskets keep everything at hand, but not on display and I like the clean look of them.  They have a closed top so I really don’t have to see the items inside unless I want to.  And as I mentioned above, my husbands cords are now nestled inside a basket on his side of the bed.

keeping an orderly master bedroom - baskets for essentials

5. Kick the kids out

We do allow our kids into our space, but there are rules to them being in there.  The main one is: “When you are done playing in Mommy and Daddy’s room, you take your toys with you.”  This means that throughout the day and week, the girls can bring every single one of their Dr. Seuss books into the room (and they do), as long as they clean them up and take them back to their proper place when they are done.  We also are the parents who chose not to allow our kids to sleep in our room or in our bed.  We decided this before we actually had them and have never had a circumstance that has caused us to change our minds.  Our bedroom is for us and their bedroom is for them.  Having this clearly defined line ahead of time has made it natural and routine.  I don’t know what we would have done if we had to transition them back to sleeping in their own beds in their own rooms.  Part of maintaining an orderly master bedroom is defining what the space is used for.  And in our case, it is used for us as a couple, not as a family gathering place.

orderly master bedroom

6. Recover

The biggest part of keeping order is having a recovery process.  Life happens and things get messy and disorganized.  Having a process in place to get it back in order is important to me for keeping hope.  I do a little pick up of our master bedroom in the morning after I get ready for the day.  But I also have what I call a Monday Morning Refresh process that helps me to know that at some point in the week the room will look as I want it to look.   My routine of recovering ensures that I get the dusting, vacuuming, and sheet changing done at least once a week.  And mine only takes 15 minutes each Monday morning (and I get a couple of other things done in the process).

What do you do to maintain order in your master bedroom?  I would love to hear from you!

6 steps to maintain a well-ordered bedroom


Series Navigation<< #ClutterFree Journey, Week 2 EntrywayA New Bathroom Organization System…that WORKS! >>

This Post Has 6 Comments

  1. Sarah Palmer

    This post is so great! We recently bought a fixer-upper and our bedroom has become to dumping ground for everything. You have inspired me to reclaim my master bedroom! Thanks for linking to Tips & Tricks. I can’t wait to see what you link up next week. I pinned this to our Tips & Tricks lifestyle board. 🙂

  2. I love this post! You have some really great ideas. Right now I don’t have my own place, so everything I own is in my room. I’ll be moving later this year when I get married, and I’m excited to be able to create a minimalist bedroom! I’m definitely pinning your tips to remember. Thanks for sharing them with Hump Day Happenings!

    1. ussleah

      Thanks, Jenna! I hope these help! Congratulations on your upcoming wedding. God bless you in your married life together!

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