"M" is for March and Master Bedroom Challenge - Come Join! - Page 6

[Annalisasmom]

Today I think I'm just going to tackle a basket of clothes... DH left for work for the week and I just want to sleep when I get DD to bed...

[boogiemonster]

I'm in too! Last month I did a MAJOR downsize on my wardrobe - I cleared out enough to donate my dresser to charity. Now DH has more clothes than I do, so I'll have to put the pressure on him to purge.

DH painted the bedroom last summer, so it looks pretty good. I'd like to hang a shelf for photos and collectables (now that the dresser's gone we have all this empty wall space!) and maybe dye the curtains. They're from the old owners and a little too beige for us. The bedroom is a nice washed-out mango colour, and our bedspread is dark red, so I was thinking dark brown for the curtains would look nice and block out the early sun during the summer months.

It felt SO GOOD to get rid of all my clothes. I took them to the consignment store and told the lady to just donate the items she didn't want so I wouldn't have to look at them again and say, "Oh, but that's really cute. Maybe I'll take it back home." Now, when I look in the closet, it's all stuff that fits and looks good. I feel as though I've gained a new wardrobe rather than getting rid of half of it.

One other perk to purging: DH and I talked about getting new dressers to match our bed (the ones we had were hand-me-downs and in pretty rough shape), and now we only have to get one. So downsizing our wardrobe has saved us the cost of a dresser. Yay!

[TanyaS]

Originally Posted by boogiemonster

I cleared out enough to donate my dresser to charity.

Wow!

Today I have put the shower curtains in the washer, cleaned off the rocking chair and put it on the front porch. I'm not sure if I want to leave it there, but we've never used it and my porch could use the chair. At least it won't keep collecting clutter while I'm cleaning. I've added another laundry basket of things to the yard sale pile. I've a box of baby clothes to give to a friend.

But I've just finished nak and now it's time to lay the baby down. So I'll be taking a break from the MBR for a bit. I feel GREAT about what I've accomplished so far!

[Miss Juice]

Whew! My status can officially be upgraded to "Making Progress."

I cleaned out my closet! I probably only got rid of half of what I eventually should, but it's a start. From my room today I removed:

-One HUGE bag (40+ gallons, the kind you use for yard waste) of nicer stuff to sell or donate to Dress For Success or other charity
-At least 8 pair of shoes and slippers
-Another huge bag of less-nice but good condition stuff to just donate
-Another huge bag of outgrown baby clothes
-Another huge bag of maternity clothes and baby items

I have a third of a bag of just trash, and another half bag of donation stuff.

My room doesn't look any different yet
But my closet does. Here are the after pics!

The next step is to empty my dresser. Then I can start putting away all that laundry. But I'm heading for work now, and I won't have a chance to get back to it until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest.

[SugarAndSun]

\MY MASTER BEDROOM PICTURE

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/sugarand...60762392303659

WHAT I LIKE BEST ABOUT MY MASTER BEDROOM (Include a picture!)

All the light... see windows in above pictures

WHAT I LIKE LEAST ABOUT MY MASTER BEDROOM

All the light ... when dc are sleeping in the morning.
Mattresses on the floor, but I can't think of a better sleeping arrangement.

HOT SPOTS (spots in your room that tend to collect clutter)

Shelf above drawers in the closet.

MY PLAN OF ACTION - here is where you can be as agressive or laid back as you like. If you want to list a series of goals

Paint!
Put curtains up
Bring some furniture up from downstairs
Maybe put up a bed frames and rails, though that would mean we are down a whole mattress.

****************************************

I actually already started before I took pics. I took down a shelf (that used to be above the train) and took down all the pictures. I will spackle (sp?) today. I already cleaned out all my clothes a few months back, but I started with dh's clothes. I bought him all new socks and threw out all the old ones. THey were in horrible shape and he had to sort through to find some without holes. Next I will clean out the rest of his clothes. He has about a hundred t-shirts from triathlons he has done. I think we could have bought a new bedroom set for the price of those sets.

I hope to go and get some paint tomorrow and possibly begin painting.

[AutumnMelody]

Originally Posted by mightymoo

Look for a cheap one on craigslist...

I'd love to, but with our chemical sensitivities it would have to have been used exclusively in fragrance-free households, and what's the likelihood of finding that, yk??

MCS can make so many every day things just so much harder! We tried re-finishing a really nice used dresser that we bought before we got sick, but it was too hard to cover the entire inside to seal out the smell. All of our furniture is contaminated with toxic mold from our old house and we can't risk bring it up here. We don't currently have the money to replace everything, hence the "unique" paper bag system!

I'd love decor opinions. Our comforter is Nautica Ocean Beach, since I just bought it recently I'd love to figure out how to match the room to it. Here is the pattern and here is a closeup of the colors (though the colors are a bit washed out in that pic, the light green is a lot more vivid and mossy) - I'm so torn as to what to pick.

A pale gray with blue undertones and white trim??

Melody, your room is wonderful and your family is stunningly beautiful.

I just had to say that.

Jude

Aw, thank you!

I'm not sure how much I will be accomplishing today. I'm a little leery of housework after accidentally setting the vacuum on fire this morning!

[mightymoo]

Originally Posted by AutumnMelody

I'd love to, but with our chemical sensitivities it would have to have been used exclusively in fragrance-free households, and what's the likelihood of finding that, yk??

MCS can make so many every day things just so much harder! We tried re-finishing a really nice used dresser that we bought before we got sick, but it was too hard to cover the entire inside to seal out the smell. All of our furniture is contaminated with toxic mold from our old house and we can't risk bring it up here. We don't currently have the money to replace everything, hence the "unique" paper bag system!

Hmm, that's rough. How about a used bookcase, much easier to cover completely (if that works for you), then you could hang fabric in front to hide the clothes? Do you have an IKEA near you? I'm not sure what you are sensitive to, they have some cheap unfinished wood shelving. Maybe a combination of something like that and baskets or bins of some type? Then you could hang fabric in front of it to make it look pretty. (This is what i'm thinking of)

[anthasam]

Originally Posted by Miss Juice

My room doesn't look any different yet
But my closet does. Here are the after pics!

Nice work on the closet!!

[Rikki Jean]

Subbing, and will post pictures, etc. in the next few days. Last month's challenge was super helpful to me, even though I didn't get to everything!

[lisalulu]

Everyone's making so much progress. I need to get in gear. I've only gone through three drawers of clothes. It was so beautiful here today, that I mowed the lawn instead of decluttering!

[Rikki Jean]

Okay, here goes! I'm warning you, my bedroom is a DISASTER, and I'm really quite embarassed to show these pictures. Nevertheless, I feel that I have to do it, or it's just not going to happen, kwim?

MY MASTER BEDROOM PICTURE TOUR:
The view from the door
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...e/100_3052.jpg

The bed, with DS asleep on it.
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...e/100_3028.jpg

The "walk-in" closet (we can't do much walking in it!)
The floor
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...e/100_3042.jpg

DH's side
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...e/100_3046.jpg
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...e/100_3045.jpg
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...e/100_3044.jpg

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...e/100_3043.jpg

My side
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...e/100_3041.jpg
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...e/100_3040.jpg
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...e/100_3039.jpg

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...e/100_3037.jpg

The awful shoe and purse pile. My grandmother works in the "handbag department" (as she calls it) at a department store, and she sends me countless ridiculous purses.
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...e/100_3036.jpg

DS's dresser in our closet. It needs a lot of work, inside and on top. This is DH's childhood dresser, which is why 1) It has stickers all over it, and 2) It's hiding in the closet! DH still uses the bottom drawer as a junk drawer...he needs to do something about that.

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...e/100_3035.jpg

Inside of the closet door. In the bag, is my wedding dress. It's been over three years, and I still haven't gotten it boxed! The other dress is a bridesmaid dress I had to wear in DH's grandparents' vow renewal a few years ago. I can't stand it, so if anyone wants to buy it, let me know!
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...e/100_3049.jpg

Shoe thingy on the back of the closet door
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...e/100_3050.jpg

The pile...dundundun! On the left, our changing table/diaper area is hiding. I think it was clean there once. Next to it, is a pile of stuff I don't know what to do with, as well as my ebay pile, which has been collecting for a few years without ever being listed on ebay.
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...e/100_3033.jpg

The other pile. Now you can see the changing table again. In the bags are a bunch of clothes that are too small for DS, and I need to figure out what to do with. I'll be saving a lot of them for the next babies, but I want to give away and sell a lot too.
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...e/100_3032.jpg

The corner on DH's side. That's my belly cast sitting there, where it has been waiting for the last seventeen months to be painted and glazed by DH...: And, more stuff we don't know what to do with.
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...e/100_3031.jpg

The dresser. That gumball machine is DH's. I'm not really sure why we have it. One day, he just decided that he wanted one. Not sure why our wedding cake topper is sitting there...
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...e/100_3030.jpg

DS's closet (this is actually a cupboard in our hallway right outside of the bedroom, but it's the best place to keep his stuff organized. It's storage for other stuff too though...)
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...e/100_3051.jpg





WHAT I LIKE BEST ABOUT MY MASTER BEDROOM: Not much. I'ts far too small. I really like our bed linens, and our bed itself, comfort wise, but that's about it.

WHAT I LIKE LEAST ABOUT MY MASTER BEDROOM: It's a complete disaster. It's the catchall for everything in our house that doesn't have a home, which is a lot of stuff, since it's a pretty small one bedroom.

HOT SPOTS: Um, the entire room. The tops of the dressers, the vanity, and the floor in front of the vanity. The latter seems to be the worst, because it's where clothes, laundry, and evertything eles, really seem to congregate.

MY PLAN OF ACTION:

• Dust ruffle on the bed
• Purge at least 10 pairs of shoes
• Purge at least 25 pieces of clothing.
• Get DH to clean out his junk drawer in DS's dresser.
• Paint the gold mirrors hanging on the walls. I like having them there, but they are totally not our style at all! If DH doesn't want to paint them (he's the artist around here, not me), maybe we'll sell them and buy something else at Ikea...
• Paint, glaze, and hang the belly cast
• Clean out and clear off the vanity, and sell it on Craigslist
• Decorate the walls, because they are oh-so drab. We can't paint though, because we rent. I'm going to need some serious help here, because I am not so great at decorating.
• Get that wedding dress boxed!
• Go through the boxes in the closet that have been there, waiting to be sorted since we moved in three years ago.
• Go through the boxes in "the pile" area that have been there, waiting to be sorted since we moved in three years ago.
• Put the guitar clock that DH's grandparents gave us for Christmas up in the family room. I know that's not the bedroom, but the clock is taking up room in the bedroom right now.
• Put up curtains over the super ugly vertical blinds.
• Possibly put some decor around the bed, in place of a frame (suggestions welcome!). We don't really want a frame , because we like our bed on the floor, on top of the box spring. This way, when DS takes a spill off the bed, he doesn't go far.

[Judegirl]

Last night, for the first time since somewhere around the time since we moved in a year and a half ago, I went into my bedroom just to leaf through a catalog! It's not quite paradise yet, but it's MUCH nicer.

The lingerie dresser is gone!! I moved the dresser down so that I now have a full-length mirror hanging on the wall that I can actually see full-length! This meant that the enormous change jar could get slid out from behind the door, which, in turn, means we can open our door the whole way!! Woo-hoo!

During all this furniture-moving, I learned that we have a mouse running around the house. Yikes. Spritzed peppermint oil all over the place and let dd know we have a mouse "friend" living with us so she doesn't freak if she sees it, and chastised myself for my former slovenliness.

I put a low-energy light bulb (one of the squiggly ones, I forget what they're called) in the lamp and plugged it in! (That's also been just sitting there since we moved...) I also put a night-light in a corner so that whichever of us comes to bed last doesn't have to turn on one of the brighter lights in order to get ready for bed (which bugs the heck out of the already-sleeping person!)

The corner bookshelf (which was functioning as a storage unit) has been mostly cleared and dh's clothes have been banned. I'm working on my vanity next.

I also vaccuumed the rug the other day. (I learned that our vaccuum doesn't quite work, but still...)

Once the room is actually clean and uncluttered I'll think about how to make it look nicer. There's not a whole lot we can do in terms of furniture placement, and now that I've pushed the dresser down things are less centered and look a little funny.

I'm going to really, really try to post pics today!!

Thank you all for doing this challenge!

Jude

[Ellien C]

Originally Posted by lisalulu

WHAT I LIKE BEST ABOUT MY MASTER BEDROOM (Include a picture!)
I love the color. I like our bed frame (but its not in our room right now), the mirror and the closet.

I LOVE the color, too! And that built in closet with the drawers underneath to die for!

WHAT I LIKE LEAST ABOUT MY MASTER BEDROOM- too small.

I hear you. My house was built in 1923 and the closets and rooms are small by standards today. But you can't beat the kind of character we have!

8. Find another home for my knitting stuff. Not sure where??

Have you thought about some nice baskets hanging on hooks for your knitting and the bags on the backs of the door? I'm thinking if you got a good knitting basket, you could just take it off the wall and bring it with you.

[lisalulu]

Originally Posted by Ellien C

Have you thought about some nice baskets hanging on hooks for your knitting and the bags on the backs of the door? I'm thinking if you got a good knitting basket, you could just take it off the wall and bring it with you.

What a great idea! I NEVER would have thought of that.

[triscuitsmom]

OK finally back with pictures! My "master" bedroom is really my only bedroom. My son and I rent it from my Mom and share it.

MY MASTER BEDROOM PICTURE TOUR

My North wall. Has our bed, the pack n play, and my tall dresser.

My bed needs a general tidy done. (Please excuse my napping DS, the only time I can take pictures is when he's sleeping because he's teething and very high needs these days.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...m/IMGP0542.jpg

The dresser and surounding area needs a general decluttering. Most of what's there doesn't fit or we don't use. I can't decide whether to leave the pack n play up or take it down. We only use it for playtime when I'm folding laundry or doing other busywork and even that rarely.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...m/IMGP0545.jpg

My west wall. Has my storage rubbermaid bin, and the window.

There is a LOT of clutter as you can see. A laundry basket and a few boxes all overflowing that I need to sort and put away.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...m/IMGP0544.jpg

My south wall. Has my big and little dressers and the green chair (that currently has a pile of too small clothes and diapers on it.

Stuff needs to go IN drawers and the too small/unused stuff needs to leave the room completely.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...m/IMGP0543.jpg

My east wall. Very little going on here. There is a closet but it's got my Mom's stuff in it and I never open it. There is a small pile of too small stuff there that needs to move out.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...m/IMGP0546.jpg

WHAT I LIKE BEST ABOUT MY MASTER BEDROOM (Include a picture!)

My favourite thing about the bedroom is big window... lots of sunshine comes in. The colour isn't bad either.

WHAT I LIKE LEAST ABOUT MY MASTER BEDROOM

I don't feel I have enough space to put anything. I have no hanging closet space, the two dresses I own are on the back of my door. It's really going to be a challenge to make everything I need to fit in here fit.

HOT SPOTS (spots in your room that tend to collect clutter)

EVERYWHERE! Seriously the tops of things, the chair by the door, the bed... I have so much stuff in such a little space that clutter is everywhere.

MY PLAN OF ACTION - here is where you can be as agressive or laid back as you like. If you want to list a series of goals

1. Go through and trim down to the bare essentials.
2. Box up Tobias' outgrown stuff.
3. List outgrown diapers on FSOT.
4. Put everything in it's spot, making sure it has a spot. If there is no spot for it it must leave the room.

I have a bunch of stuff still at my Dad's that I have to move out by the end of March and find some place for. Man... this is going to be interesting. I'm going to need all the help and encouragement I can get!

[mommaof3boz]

When you guys are decluttering I'll happily take any of the beautiful kids in the pics!!!!!!!!!! So sweet!!!!!!!!!!

[Rikki Jean]

Does anyone have any good ideas for something I can do in lieu of a headboard? Here's my bed: http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...e/100_3028.jpg. I'm thinking of something that would just be on the wall, kwim?

[my2girlz]

MY MASTER BEDROOM PICTURE TOUR

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9292608...n/photostream/

WHAT I LIKE BEST ABOUT MY MASTER BEDROOM (Include a picture!)

the size. It's just right. not a lot of wasted space

WHAT I LIKE LEAST ABOUT MY MASTER BEDROOM

the size of my master bath (wish it was bigger)

HOT SPOTS (spots in your room that tend to collect clutter)

desk, dressers, and closet

MY PLAN OF ACTION -

~clean out closet!!
~get rid of desk
~clean out from underneath bed
~find a home for the vaccum
~get rid of a dresser?
~get organizers for the closet

[Kateana]

Originally Posted by Rikki Jean

Does anyone have any good ideas for something I can do in lieu of a headboard? Here's my bed: http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...e/100_3028.jpg. I'm thinking of something that would just be on the wall, kwim?

Martha Stewart had a project that was making a headboard out of an old wood door. Just paint it and mount it horizontally on the wall. It looked pretty neat. Otherwise, you could get a neat tapestry or something, and hang that... maybe a mantle?

[mamabearsoblessed]

MY MASTER BEDROOM PICTURE TOUR~ coming soon. hopefully

What I like best about my Bedroom~ The size~ its very spacious, the vaulted ceiling and wall of windows that lets sun stream in, the woodwork, the closet space

What I like least~ There is no design setup with our furniture. the walls are beige, only shades on the windows, no style at all

Hot Spots~ the double closet, dressers (dhs hasn't been clear in the 5 yrs we've lived here: )bookcase tops, laundry baskets filled w/ outgrown and next seasons kids clothes etc

Plan of action~
clean and organize the closets/dressers
purge all that is not used or needed
purchase bedside stand for dh, and 1 for my side too
paint and purchase/make curtains
make the crap corner into the reading area as I had intended upon moving in
find a better place for the nautilus, than beside my bed~ Lord knows I don't use it every am and pm like I had originally intended!!:

Where the $ will come from for this makeover remains to be seen : .
But I'm getting motivated.
I loooove laying in my clean room with fresh bed linens after a hot bath reading myself to sleep. Also~ it is incredibly nice to be able to walk across the floor of my bedroom in the dark of the night and not risk my life . I'm telling you there are baskets everywhere it seems!!!