[MisaGoat]

I want to do a before and after of my bedroom. I'll take pictures later tonight and post. I need accountability. My bedroom is easily the worst room in the house. It has gotten progressively worse and needs attention now. I am starting by catching up on laundry tomorrow.

The main problem is that the desk and paperwork is all in the bedroom. We have a small apartment (about 750 square feet). The only other option for the desk is the living room and that is accessible to our son. Really I need to reduce the amount of 'office' type stuff. It has always been the messiest area in our home.

In our last apartment the 2nd bedroom was set up as an office and we were all in one bedroom. It was really nice to have the bedroom just be for sleeping. But now the second bedroom is my son's room and we don't have basement storage so all our stuff is in the apartment.

ETA: http://www.flickr.com/photos/2646584...7616744369515/

This is real. I didn't straighten up first. I am going to go start now.

4/23/09
http://www.flickr.com/photos/2646584...7617233603834/

 

[SeekingJoy]

We are in teh same boat. I am rarely get time in the bedroom bc of the kids (we even have the same doorknob protectors). You can do it.

 

[sunnysandiegan]

You can do it!

 

[doubledutch]

your bedroom has so much cute potential - fun bedding, the lamps, curtains, nice furniture. i'm excited to see your "after" pics.

of course, it's ideal to move the office stuff out. is there any other part of the apartment your son has less access to, like the eating area (dining room/kitchen)? obviously he would be there sometimes but maybe it's less of a play area like the living room. if there is a way to have the office stuff elsewhere, that would be good.

if not, what about moving one or both of your dressers to the living room or your son's room? and/or the bookshelf (unless that really needs to be by the office stuff)? just so it feels less crowded.

how often do you use your printer? if it's once a week or less, you could put it away, even move it to the bookshelf, and just set it up when needed. that way you could move/declutter the piece of furniture it's sitting on (file drawers?) or tuck it under the desk if needed for storage. or put it right next to the bed as a night-stand with a table cloth over it, so that side of the bed gets a lamp too (bad feng shui you've got going on right now!).

what about your vacuum cleaner? it looks like you have wood floors in your bedroom. if it doesn't have a home, it could be tucked into a corner of the room where you use it mots often. i suppose it feels more "put away" in your bedroom, when you're out in the rest of the apartment, but then it makes your bedroom feel like a closet.

good luck! you are going to kick butt on your bedroom and sleep soooooo well in it once it's tidy!

 

[astrophe27]

I agree -- get the office stuff out. Maybe push bed against a wall?

Way easier to keep clean if you have more walking space.

I've been working on my room and I decided to go with the 50% or more of the floor empty even if it means getting rid of things I think I love... and it has been a lot easier to maintain.

A.

 

[SAHDS]

Is that orange/white bedding from Ikea too? I LOVE it!

Good luck!

 

[newbymom05]

Can you stick stuff under the bed? I put all kinds of things in those roll away sweater boxes.

Good luck--you can do it!

 

[Amylcd]

It looks like you have great potential in that room. Can't wait to see the after pictures!

 

[kis95]

Our bedroom has the same problem (and the same lamps, FWIW!). It's where everything goes when I'm cleaning the rest of the house. It drives me NUTS. Can't wait to see your inspiring 'after' pics!

 

[daytripper75]

I am going to do my bedroom today and believe me, it is much worse than yours.

Check in when you can!

 

[Astrogirl]

Ok Ikea Mama, we have all the same stuff

I will tell you what i did for the office stuff in a bedroom (my office splits as a spare room, and we have a lot of visitors, so i had the same problem).

Go to ikea, and get a shelf that can lie horizontal. mount it HIGH up on the wall. Its completely out of the way and gives you sooooo much more space. I did it with 2 expedits (1x5s) but you can do it with a bunch of different options. I am talking about something like this (just the top piece, this is the Besta series):

http://www.ikea.com/PIAimages/0089343_PE221410_S3.JPG

You can calculate how much storage feet you need by adding up what you have on your Leksvik shelf (see, I told you, I spot ikea a million miles away). You can then sell the Leksvik or move it somewhere more useful.

 

[mumkimum]

Dunno if any of these ideas actually work space-wise. . .

I'd consider moving the dresser over where the desk currently is, you might be able to scoot the bed toward the dresser & away from the closet a few inches, and maybe fit a chair for the spare-still-wearable-but-not-put-away-clothes (I assume that's what you've got, cause I do too. My hint - toss everything in laundry weekly if you do this, it cuts back a lot).

Anyway, then move the desk over in the corner where the bookshelf is. Scoot the bookshelf next to the desk (or move elsewhere in the house). And, if you really wanted, I thing you could probably hang some fabric from the ceiling to cover the bookshelf and possibly desk (unless it would be too in the way - then forget it. You could maybe work something out though with some fabric on a stretcher frame to block a portion of the bookshelf or something though - since it'd be right across from the bed). Hey - you might even be able to just put up another curtain rod on the wall and cover stuff that way?

Oh - consider a basket or making a fabric skirt for the bedside table.

Bedrooms are the hardest to figure out hiding the extra 'stuff' - good luck with it & I'm a fan of the bedding too.

 

[bender]

I think if you target the laundry and clothing first, that'll be a big step to making the room feel cleaner.

Then target the magazine/book piles around the room. Maybe take the baskets off the bookshelf (since using them for paper doesn't seem to be working), and just get all the reading items shelved there.

For the paper clutter, sort through and file what needs filing. Shred as much as possible, because then you don't need to deal with it again.

 

[MisaGoat]

Well the baskets are actually filled with more books and the paper just got shoved on top.

There already are under bed storage boxes!

The main problem with putting anything under the window is that there is an air conditioner built in to the wall under the window that sticks out a good 8 inches.

Ikea-yes. When I took the pictures I realized how much Ikea stuff could be spotted right away.

I am going to work on decluttering and cleaning and once that is done I'll decide where to move furniture of if I need different storage options. I have to do laundry now and later tonight I'll do paperwork.

Thank you all for your comments and ideas.

 

[2cutiekitties]

Doesnt look too bad to me

: I think once you do laundry and do a 15 minute tackle on your paperwork you will be in great shape.

 

[tinybutterfly]

Looking forward to after pictures! LOVE your bedding!

AND you've inspired me to straighten up my own bedroom. I have "stuff" on my dresser, a pile of books by the bed, leftover Easter stuff on the floor that I haven't put away yet, a basket of clean clothing at the foot of the bed, dust bunnies and a picture that needs to be hung.

It would take me an hour at the most to make it look nice...

Good luck and thanks for the nudge!

I'll be back to see what you have done.

 

[MisaGoat]

Update:

Progress is slow.

-Donated one large bag of clothing (my husband and I both did a quick look at the closet).
-Listed shoes on freecycle (have been meaning to do this for months).
-I did all the laundry, but a week passed so there is more laundry now.

Ideas:
-Paint! I have paint samples tapped to the wall, motivation to get the room together so I can paint.

-Discussed getting rid of desktop computer (we have a laptop and a netbook, and in two weeks we will both be out of school).

 

[doubledutch]

ooh, getting rid of the desktop sounds awesome! then you really could get rid of the whole set-up.

 

[Knittin' in the Shade]

getting rid of the desktop would be a huge step in clearing out the clutter. I think, though, that the biggest problem is the laundry - I know piles of clothes in baskets always make me feel claustrophobic. Also, it looks like you're not utilizing all the space on that bookshelf - is the entire top shelf empty? I'd try to do more use of vertical space. Like the printer - if you will still need it after you get rid of the desktop, I'd consider installing shelves on the wall next to the curtains, and put it there.

 

[MisaGoat]

Today I:

-4 loads of laundry
-Cleared off the desk
-Organized the book shelf
-Cleared off most of my dresser
-Swept the floors
-Gave two pairs of shoes away
-Got the rest of the photos and sentimental cards in one bin (when I get around to putting in in albums or books it is all together)
-Shredded some paperwork

To do:
-Wash all bedding and curtains
-Get my husband to clear off his dresser
-Clean out closet
-Figure out if I need all my notes from school and what to do with them (I have my textbooks which I am holding onto for reference but I don't know if I should keep the notes).

To buy:

-A hamper
I want a large hamper that looks nice and has a removable, washable bag inside. Any suggestions?

-Photo albums- so I can organize the rest of the photos

We are probably going to move the desk to the living room and not have the desktop set up on it. We might keep it in the bedroom but take the computer off of it.