We spend a lot of time talking about child sleep, but one of our goals is to improve sleep for the entire family. When life gets busy and stressful, our homes can become cluttered and disorganized. The bedroom is not immune from this issue. However, a cluttered sleep space can lead to disorganized sleep, higher stress, and less fun in the bedroom. Moms and Dads, this post is for you so you can declutter your bedroom so you can sleep better.
In an ideal world, your sleep space would only be used for sleep and sex. Reality with young children may be quite different. If your house is like mine, there may be laundry piling up, nightstands stacked with books and maybe even household mail. This doesn’t mean your bedroom is a lost cause! Christy Lingo, a Professional Organizer who loves to help mamas who love their kids but hate the mess, provided us with some great solutions for decluttering the bedroom.
Just Like Your Car, Schedule Routine Maintenance
Make it a regular routine to clear your nightstand and dresser top. Even the best laid organizing plans and systems need some maintenance. Choose a date each month to hit the reset button…get rid of the old glasses of water, pare down the books and magazines piling up, clear and take action on any little slips of paper your find there, and wipe down your nightstand or dresser. You’ll start to notice with regular maintenance, the space won’t get out of hand as quickly.
Sleep tip: Our sleep tip to go with this declutter tip is to consider putting a picture of your loved ones on your bedside table. Keep some essential oils nearby for relaxing as you ease into bed.
Use the Two Minute Rule
If you can do a task in 2 minutes, just do it now. This is known as the “2 minute rule” from productivity expert David Allen. So often our bedrooms get cluttered because there are small tasks we plan to do later. But either later never comes or so many laters pile up that it feel like it will take forever to do. Something like emptying a laundry basket, going through a pile of papers, clearing random dishes, or putting your shoes away at the bottom of your closet will take minimal time and effort, but can make a huge difference in the look and feel of your bedroom. If you can declutter it in less than 2 minutes, just do it now.
Sleep Tip: Doing these quicker two minute tasks will allow more time for you to go through a more relaxing bedtime routine. If you aren’t feeling stressed by the clutter, you’ll be able to focus on getting ready to sleep…or whatever else!
Seasonal Purges Help Prevent Clutter
Make time to purge the excess stuff. I recommend a seasonal purge of closets and dressers. Take a long hard look at what you have actually worn during the past season and what you can let go. A reason I often see that laundry piles up in baskets is because there is no room in the dresser or closet. Make room by purging the items you no longer wear on a seasonal basis. This will also make tip 2 easier because you can actually put stuff away in 2 minutes or less if there is room for the stuff to go away.
Sleep Tip: We often recommend taking stock of what is working in your family’s sleep routine. Scheduling a family meeting for sleep and a time to take stock of what may need to purge each season is a great way to keep on top of things. This will also lead to less overwhelm.
We hope these tips help you enjoy your bedroom a little bit more and allow your sleep space to be peaceful, full of sweet dreams, and maybe a bit of fun. If you’d like to hear more of Christy’s fabulous organizing tips, check out her podcast, Cocktails and Containers. Be sure to let us know if you put any of these tips into place!