Week 2 Master Bedroom

Week 2: Master Bedroom

Week 2 Task 1 Quiet Time:
What kind of shopper are you? There are polar opposites. I call it the “Wal-Mart shopper” vs. “Saks 5th shopper”. Wal-Mart shoppers tend to buy a lot of the same item because they are cheap. A sweater may start fading and lose its shape after only a few months but since it was only $10, that is OK and the purchase is repeated. The Saks 5th shopper carefully spends a larger sum of money buying one quality sweater. They might have this top for 2 years, but it lasts and looks good during that time. There is no right or wrong answer. Both shoppers will end up spending about the same amount of money on that item whether it is 1 sweater for 2 years, or 10 sweaters for the same length of time. This same line of thinking can go for sheets, kitchenware, a car, electronics etc. What kind of shopper are you? Keep in mind that the more you go out shopping, the more you will tend to buy as the number of shopping opportunities increases. You have more “buying” opportunities going to Wal-Mart monthly, versus going to a finer shop less frequently. Jot down your thoughts on how many shopping opportunities you have. What kind of stuff do you bring in to your home? Needs or wants?

Master Bedroom: As I shared last week, here is my Big Plan list of what I would like to accomplish in my bedroom. This is the end goal for this room and not necessarily the assignment for the week. Paint Ceiling, paint walls, obtain curtain rods, choose curtain color, exchange curtains, hang curtains, sort through/label kids keepsake chest, choose and buy bed, wash-measure then sew sheets for duvet cover, hang paintings post paint, purge side table, re frame print from Korea, dryel load, iron 7 shirts, purge 20%. Added: refinish side tables and chest, patch holes, wash walls prepaint, buy new light switches, install light switches,

Take a look at your Big Plan list for you master bedroom and consider what you can accomplish this week. The most important part is to clear the clutter and have your room breathing again.

Task 2: Organizing
You will need a transportable system to take through each of your rooms. You can use cardboard boxes, laundry baskets, big boxes, etc and have 2 large trash bags. Label the boxes, “Give away/exchange party”, “mend”, “belongs elsewhere” , “storage”, “dry-clean” and “sell”. Label the bags, “Trash” and “recycle”. I also have, “consignment shop” and “sell online”. CUSTOMIZE to make it work. Perhaps you don’t want to sell a thing, just give it all away!!!

Frugal tip: As you purge, consider hosting a Naked Lady Party as explained here: http://www.getcrafty.com/home_nakedlady.php

I strongly suggest “west coast style” as it is way more fun and works out perfectly. My friend hosted one in the fall and we had about 10 ladies- all shapes and sizes. It was great and we all left very happy.

Action: The Master Bedroom Purge
1. Throw all your sheets into the washer.
2. Clothes: Take everything out from your dressers and closets putting like items together. Take the time to try on your clothes. Do you love them? Do they fit? If you are planning on being a new size, start a storage box with that size clearly labeled (maternity, size 10 etc). Carefully look at each piece of clothing. Are their holes? Do they need to be hemmed? Do you have 14 black skirts? (don’t laugh, my mom did!!). How many summer dresses to you have? Do you ever wear the ones that are not your favorite? Give away the ones you don’t wear. Do you have matching shoes? A sweater? I tend to keep the items that have complete outfits ready to go. Stained underwear goes. Holes in socks go. Bras that have lost elastic go. Belts that don’t fit or have lost their color go. Anything older than 5 years GOES!!!!!

3. Nightstand: Pull everything out. Does the item REALLY belong next to your bed? Grab some Ziploc and sort, or purge, or move it. My magazine rule is when the new one comes, the old must go.

4. Put sheets in the dryer.
5. What do you have on the “tops” of your furniture? Picture frames? Books? Clutter=anything you use so infrequently you must dust it. Items with dust = more work. Store it, sell it or purge it!
6. Lay out all your jewelry. Is there any you can give away? Sell? Is anything broken and needs to be repaired?
7. What lurks under you bed? Pull it out and sort it. If it is under your bed, why are you keeping it? Now that you have room under your bed, can you move some of the memento clutter, or books you want to read under you bed? Clearly mark the box so you remember.
8. Are you done? Are there any other areas in your room that need to be sorted? Do it!
9. Move all your containers where they need to go (e.g. trash, back of car, storage etc).
10. Grab your sheets from the dryer and make your bed….I present to you….your Clean BREATHING MASTER BEDROOM!

Lastly, put on your calendar all the to-dos that you added from your bedroom clean. Jewelry cleaning (or fixing), mending, dry cleaning, goodwill run, ironing etc. See if you can’t tackle those tasks this week.

My before purge video (keep in mind, this is a maintenance purge and you might have a much larger task ahead).


My purged bedroom: Doesn't my 5 year old videographer do a fantastic job!?!?!?!


My bedroom is purged and we have made a lot of progress on the Big Plan list. I’ll have a picture in about 2 weeks!

Next Week: The entertainment area. (go ahead a toss those VHS tapes now)
In preparation: Start meal planning out of your cabinets, fridge and freezer.
If you want to develop a system of maintaining clutter free and organized, I highly recommend Brook Noel’s “The Change Your Life Challenge: A 70 day life makeover program for women”.
Disclaimer: This advice is for the occasional collector- if you have a serious hoarding problem seek professional advice immediately.

Disclaimer 2: I have zero responsibility for my dh's laundry or clutter. I wish I did. I invited him to join our club. At this point, his see-are-aye-pee is encroaching on my closet space.