Clear the Bedroom Floor

Of Clutter in One Day.

Here’s how I finally learned to clear floor clutter:

#1. First I make my bed. Beautifully so I am proud of how it looks.

#2. Then I spread a blanket on top of my bed that can be washed when I finish cleaning my floor clutter.

#3. I ALWAYS have a trash can, a recycling bin, a donate box and my dirty clothes basket within arms reach.

#4. I PUT EVERYTHING ON MY BED. (Well, not nasty trash or recycling, I have bins within arms reach for those items).

#5. I start with the items I know for sure where they belong. I put them away first. This makes me feel like I am making a dent in the pile and getting a lot accomplished fast. And I really am accomplishing a lot quickly. The space created by doing this is valuable for step #6.

#6. I end up with different keep piles and I sort them according to the following “categories”:

“On the Bed Pile A”: I don’t know where to put ‘it’ yet.

“On the Bed Pile B”: ‘It’ belongs in another room (kitchen, bathroom, pantry, living room, garage, etc.) and I am waiting until I leave my room before taking some of it with me to put it away (I get a little break too!).

“On the Bed Pile C”: I’m not sure if I want to keep ‘it’. Make sure you sort this pile as your brain makes decisions while you work. YOUR BRAIN IS SMART. Ask it what you should do and then keep working. Your brain will eventually tell you the answer you may already know but weren’t listening to yourself during the messy living.

“On the Bed Pile D”: I’ll put ‘it’ away when I’ve gathered a few more items of the same type for a similar destination in my bedroom (like my desk, library shelves, music area, closet, etc.).

Because I am easily distracted, I DO NOT organize my destination spaces until the bed is mostly conquered. One of my destination spaces is my desk. When I’ve piled so much stuff on the desk and it’s impossible to keep adding more from the bed, I start organizing the desk so I can keep conquering the bed. If the desk has items that do not belong there, I get them to the piles on the bed.

One of the ways I stay motivated is I am determined “I WILL SLEEP ON A CLEAN BED TONIGHT!!!” Getting finished becomes a must and I keep on keeping on!

I take breaks when I notice some of my red flags showing. Some of my red flags include getting a headache, getting overheated, feeling fatigued, or getting thirsty. When I take a break, I set the timer on my phone or the oven and rest in a different room until the timer goes off. Using the oven timer helps because I have to get up to turn it off. If I need a longer break, I do the timer again. Facing the mess again can be overwhelming and it sometimes takes every ounce of strength I have to get going again. If I am really struggling to restart, I find music I love and make sure the volume is turned up so I can get lost in the music while I work. I don’t start with music because it overloads my brain in the beginning of this process. After a break is a good time for music because I have my piles established and my brain goes into automatic pilot and I can zone out to the music and just keep moving quickly.

As my dirty clothes hamper gets filled, I start doing my laundry so it can be getting clean while I am working. Rotating the laundry gets me out of the bedroom once in awhile so I can take a breath of fresh air, get something to drink, use the bathroom and look around. And sometimes I even smile at myself in the bathroom mirror and tell myself I am doing a great job! I need to hear it from myself and that is the best way I’ve found to believe in myself.

When the bed is finished and I am tired, I make sure I finish.

1. I wash the blanket that covered my bed. It might look fine, but it is probably pretty dusty. If in doubt, always wash it.

2. I realized years ago, when my children were young, their favorite clothes were in the laundry and their least favorite were still in the dresser drawers and closet. So, when I clean this big of a mess, I QUICKLY go through my closet and dresser drawers and pull anything I don’t love. I put them straight into the donate box. It’s time to let someone else love the clothes that barely see the light of day in my bedroom.

If they are clothes waiting for me to accomplish a weight goal, I group those clothes together and get real with myself on what I am willing to do to fit into those clothes again. And I make sure I am willing to do the work AND be willing to eventually donate the clothes I’m currently wearing…Some clothes will need to go whether I stay this weight or not…I do my best to decide and donate the actual reality.

3. I fold and put away my newly cleaned clothes. If there is anything I don’t want, I add it to the donate box. If anything has holes in it, I put it in the trash. I used to think I would mend the holes, but I finally got real with myself and decided to be honest about my priorities. Mending is at the bottom of the list with cleaning the bathroom…the bathroom getting cleaned is more important than mending. Mending is optional. Cleaning the bathroom is not.

4. I take the trash and recycling outside to the trash and recycling bins. By then the fresh air is usually a welcome break. I try and remember to look up into the sky and be grateful for what I am witnessing. No matter what the weather is, I am grateful I can experience the air and whatever beautiful scenery God has gifted my eyes with. I have eyes to see the beauty. I have a nose to smell the air. I have ears to hear the sounds. I have skin to feel moisture, wind and sunshine. And if it’s snowing or raining, I can taste it!

5. I put the donate box into my car and figure out when I am going to the thrift shop to drop it off…and I make sure of their hours so they will be open to take my donation. (When I donate the box, I ask for a receipt for my taxes. When I figure out what the donation amount listed on the receipt should be, I figure about $3USD per item since that’s about what I am willing to pay for used items in a thrift shop.)

6. Then I clean the floor! I vacuum or sweep and mop. I feel so accomplished and exhausted, but I must clean the floor so I don’t have it hanging over my head making me feel guilty. I must finish strong!!

7. I take a shower, I eat a very hot or very cold meal and I relax! I did it!!! It’s finished!!!

SLEEPING IN MY CLEAN AND BEAUTIFUL BED IS MY BEST REWARD!!

Good luck in conquering the floor messes in your life! You can do it! Feel free to print this list and keep it posted during the conquest. I’d love to see before and after pics of how this went for you! Feel free to post comments and pics in the comments. You’ve got this!

P.S. If for some reason this takes longer than a day, that extra blanket under the mess on the bed allows me to bundle it all up, set it aside neatly and get some sleep. Then when I am ready to start again, I make my bed and place the bundle back on the bed and start again. Before moving the bundle off the bed I move the sorted “On the Bed Piles” to boxes or bags. Then I place them next to a wall along with the trash, recycling, donate and dirty laundry bins so they are easy to find and access. If the trash, recycling or donate bins are full I start a new box or bag.

P.S.S. I taught myself to make my bed everyday…It somehow keeps the momentum going and I can now keep my floor spaces clean all the time! It’s been over 11 years since I’ve had a floor I couldn’t manage. This process has catapulted me into becoming a neat person who has control of my spaces.

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