Cleaning up the Holiday's ~ Week 4, Day 2 & 3 - Bedrooms

Are your bedrooms ready for company? Are they black holes that stuff gets thrown in and never to be found again? Or are you one of the lucky ones that just have a messy room? Our goal for the next two days is to work on bedrooms. You may be asking yourself why all bedrooms? I don't plan on having people hanging out there. I have found over the years though you have no thought that someone will be in your room at some point they will. Times include, kids playing a game, playing with your children's toys, coat area, a place to wrap last minute gifts, taking care of a baby, or just to get away from the party. I am lucky to have friends and family who don't care how clean my house is but I wince every time someone needs to go in to rooms we don't use often. The goal here is to set up an easy to do routine over the rest of the week to start you on a better path.

1. Laundry 

- I know there are cute baskets out there, and we all buy them with the best of intentions. We all start out using them and for a bit it's great, then we forget about using them, they get buried under piles of clothes, or tossed in the back of the closet. Find those hampers/baskets again and fill them up. I know everyone has a secret dirty clothes pile in a room somewhere. Keep them up close and prominent in your bedroom or bathroom. Make it a point every morning to grab all the dirty laundry and place it in the washer. 

- Do you suffer from an abundance of clothes you never really wear but think one day you may need them/want them again? Grab out your trusty donation box and start filling it up with items that are too small or too large. They really aren't doing you a favor taking up space. "But what if I gain weight or lose weight? I'll need those clothes again." Toss them in anyways! You're not donating your clothes right away so you have a just in case set up in place. Now that you have all your old clothes out of the way it's time to pack up none seasonal items. Where I live we generally don't bring out the winter gear till the temps hit the teens and even then it's a toss up as long as we have layers. I pack away anything 100% summer; swim suits, sandals, shorts, and most of my tank tops. I leave out some tank tops to wear under t- shirts and sweaters since the temps here tend to fluctuate a lot.

2. Organize
- Nothing in my room is where it should be and my children's rooms are worse.  I started organizing our closets but it fizzled off last year because the system was HUGE! Just in my daughter's room alone she had 15 baskets of toys and clothes. This time I'm starting small, shoes area  big thing for me so instead of my hanging shoe holder I'm spending the money to buy more plastic shoe boxes. For toys I'm thinking large see thru totes with lids attached. That gets part of the clutter down and I can go from there.

- I'll be going through all of our stuff to see what needs to be tossed, donated, or saved for hope chests.

3. Bed
- Take off all your sheets and wash them. Pillows too if you can, if you can't throw them in your dryer at the hottest temp with a dryer sheet. It will help kill germs, fluff them, and make them smell pretty again. Replace your pillows if the no longer hold a shape or support your head and neck.

- Febreeze your mattress and flip over. Mattress should be flipped every 6 months and replaced every eight years. Things like dust mites and dead skin collect inside your mattress causing it to weigh more and not give you the best nights sleep.

- Remember to wash your sheets weekly and your pillows as needed.

4. Surfaces - including but not limited to; head boards, shelves, tables, and dressers
- Night stands seem to be some of the most cluttered areas in a bed room. Time to declutter it, do you need a space to have items such as jewelery, phones, eye glasses, or books? That's fine. I'm talking about all the other items that pile up, old dishes, papers, books you've read but never put back. Get them off! Put everything in it's place. Add a decorative bowl or plate for your daily needed clutter. If your table has drawers get them cleaned out as well.

- Dressers collect a lot of clutter as well. Clothes being pulled out in a hurry, lotions set down, movies and games if you have a tv and consoles in your room. 

- Every other surface needs a good cleaning off as well.

-Dust everything at least weekly. This cuts down on allergens and helps for a cleaner room.

Now you have a start to a clean and organized bedroom in your home. I suggest for the first cleaning in a child's room you involve them with any task they can help.If you are unsure what chores are age appropriate take a look at my chore post here. Routine is the key to keeping everything neat and tidy. A good routine for bedrooms and bathroom is to do your swish and swipe, grab the dirty clothes, and start your day.