UPDATED from: 2/15/2017

Sharing a small master bedroom with another person can be an enormous challenge. During the early days there were certainly times when I thought I was going to lose my mind trying to keep things in order. Prior to getting married, I had set nightly and morning routines. Furthermore, when I sat something down, or arranged my bedroom in a certain manner - it remained that way. All of that changed.

Now, after many years of sharing small sleeping quarters with my husband, I’ve come up with a few clever bedroom organization tricks to make it work for both of us. My ideas are simple, but effective. And after successfully implementing them over and over, I can say that having a beautifully organized master bedroom, regardless of its small size, is a goal within reach.

Welcome to Week 9 of the Whole House Organization Challenge, a personal mission to organize my home in 14 weeks or less!  Hopefully you've been following this organizational adventure, and implementing new - easier ways of organizing things in your home.  If so, give yourself a pat on the back, 'cause we're now at the halfway point!   So grab the nearest trash can, and let's get started. 

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Creating an Organized Sanctuary in Your Master Bedroom

Although I began this WHO Challenge in the kitchen, I firmly believe that the bedroom, the master bedroom, is the most important room of any home.  Think about it:  Who on earth wants to wake up and retire in a room that looks stressed out?  That’s just not a way to start the day.  Your bedroom is the one room where you spend your most valuable time.  But before creating a restful master bedroom that is beautiful on the outside though, you’ll have to start with the areas unseen - the inside. Follow the 5 steps below to create a master bedroom sanctuary that’s so clean and organized, people will swear you have a personal maid!

To get started you'll want to have the  following items ready:

• A bin/bag for items one for items to donate

• A bin/bag for items to toss

• A bin/bag for items that belong in another room

Step 1:  Do a Full Master Bedroom Sweep

Before we open any drawers or doors, let's do a sweep of the bedroom.   

• With a trash can in hand, clear every surface of unusable items including: old safety pins, faded receipts, rubber bands, napkins, broken pins & pencils, water bottles, magazines, etc.

• If there are items that belong in another room, collect and place them in the bin designated for them. To avoid getting distracted, put these items away after you've COMPLETELY finished decluttering the room, and not one at a time.

• Set limits on the number of items you will leave out on the bedroom nightstands and dressers.

TIP: For surfaces with 3 or more items on display, use a tray to corral the items. This gives them a more structured, organized, and purposeful look. Trays also make cleaning easier, since it allows many items to be moved in one motion.

Notice in the photos below how neat and organized things look on our master bedroom nightstands just by placing them in boxes and trays. Even if items are just tossed haphazardly inside the boxes or trays, the clutter is still contained.

Step 2:  Empty the Bedroom Drawers and Group Like Items

Here's where we get to the nitty gritty.  Pull everything out of the bedroom drawers, and group like items together.  Then purge, purge, purge! Toss or donate clothes that are either damaged beyond repair, too small, too big, or have not been used in the past 12 months.

Step 3:  Scrub Down the Emptied Spaces

Now that the bedroom is decluttered, and the clothing is sorted, use your favorite cleaning solution, scrub down the insides of the dresser drawers as well as all the top surfaces. 

• Sweep/mop/vacuum the rug

• Wipe down the headboard. If you have a fabric headboard, use a lint brush to pick up the dust. This works even on lamp shades!

• With a soft rag, wipe down the all the furniture

• Change your bed sheets

• Don't forget the window sills, light fixtures, and switches

TIP: Place 1-2 dryer sheets in the bottom of the drawer to keep clothing fresh.

Step 4:  Return Items to the Dresser Drawers and Nightstands

FIRST consider how you move about in your bedroom before returning the clothing to the drawers.  Is clothing strategically placed for the way you get ready or wind down each day? Arrange your drawers in a way that allows you to naturally flow through your bedroom.

Usually PJs are best housed in the night stand drawers (if you have them).  I like to organize my drawers according to how I dress.  So underwear goes in the top drawers of my dresser, flowed by shirts in the next drawer, shorts & pants, and finally sweaters. E-A-S-Y. Effortless. That’s what you want.

TIPS: Use shoe boxes or drawer organizers or compartmentalize your drawers. This is helpful when you have a drawer that is so deep, you can't see all the items inside.

Instead of stacking clothing on top of each other, Fold and store clothing vertically, as you would if you were filing papers. This makes it easier to Find, Retrieve and Return items. Below is a photo of how I "file" my clothes so that I can see everything I need to see.

Step 5: Implement Smart Storage & Double Duty Items

Like I always say, double-duty is king in small spaces.  While my bedroom is not tiny, it is smaller than most master bedrooms today.  But it helps that our platform bed has two large storage drawers underneath.  Yes!! 

Notice that instead of keeping bed sheets and blankets in the linen closet, I store them in the bedrooms where they will be used. That means they're in the drawers right underneath our bed. 

A positive domino effect happened when I made this switch many years ago. Before, my linen closet was always a huge mess because of all the bed sheets. Furthermore, each time I would reach up to grab one set, it would result in an avalanche of all the sheets falling down onto my face and all over the floor. This simple switch helped me 1) to create and maintain an organized linen closet, and 2) I now avoid having too many sets of sheets in the first place.  I love that!

So now you can finally stop hanging your head in defeat. The Husband and I are living proof that you really can have a small, yet organized master bedroom that works for two people. With a little effort and practice, you will be able to say the same.

Please tell me in the comments below, what's your secret to keeping your small master bedroom organized?

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