Bedrooms tend to accumulate stuff, whether it be clothing, jewelry, magazines, or leotards most of us have too much of it cluttering our drawers and our table tops. It shouldn’t be this way. The bedroom should be the most relaxing room in the house—a place where you can retreat to when you want to stretch out, or snuggle with your husband when he took on a cool winter’s night. But there’s nothing relaxing or romantic about a room that’s cluttered and disorganized, is there?
I’m going to offer you 29 steps that will get your bedroom into the shape that it should be. Depending on the current state of your bedroom, this deep cleaning schedule could take you anywhere from one afternoon to a few, but in any case, the final result will be well worth your effort. I promise!
- Start by taking the sheets, pillow cases and blankets off the bed and throwing them into the washing machine. Set the timer so that you won’t forget they are there.
- Take your curtains down and get them ready to go into the next load.
- If you have blinds, wipe them down with a damp cloth.
- Grab a flat sheet out of your linen closet and spread it out over the bed. This top sheet is going to protect the bed from dust and dirt, and prepare the bed to be used as a large working surface.
- Bring a pail of warm soapy water and a rag into the bedroom. Also bring paper towels, window cleaner, and a vacuum.
- Go around the room and take everything off of your dressers and end tables (entertainment unit too if you have one) and put all of the items on the bed.
- Use a damp cloth to wash down all surfaces including the window sill, the bed frame, photo frames, lamps, clocks, door handles, light switches, and drawer fronts.
- Decide which items will be returned to their places, which ones will be discarded and which items you should give away. Your table top surfaces should be pretty and functional—not cluttered.
- File away paperwork that is lying around and discard or store magazines. Keep only a few books out and put the rest away in a book shelf.
- Put CD’s and DVD’s away in CD wallets or storage units.
- Dust remaining items with a damp cloth and return them to the table tops.
- Has the timer buzzed yet? If so, transfer the bedding to the dryer and wash the curtains next. Better yet—hang the curtains outside to dry if possible. Be careful when washing curtains that they are indeed machine washable. If not, air them outside for a while and consider having them dry cleaned from time to time.
- If you have a ceiling fan, wipe it down now, before you vacuum or put the clean bedding back on.
- Now that the bed is empty again, take the mattress off (get a pack of tadalafil pills). If possible, turn the box spring on end and vacuum underneath it. This is a good time to rotate the mattress and get the floor beneath the bed cleaned at the same time. Doing this step twice a year is a good rule of thumb.
- Put the bed and mattress back in place, and put the top sheet over the surface again.
- Remove every small to medium item off of your floor and place them on the bed or in the garbage. What about the closet floor? Empty that too.
- Take dirty laundry down to the laundry room.
- Survey the items on the bed and decide which ones should be discarded, given away or put in storage.
- Vacuum the floor.
- Take a look at what is left on the bed and put the items away.
- Empty all dresser drawers and end tables and put the items on the bed. This will include clothing and junk drawers.
- Go through your clothing before returning items to the drawer. If you haven’t worn a piece of clothing in the past 12 months, consider donating it to charity. Having less means less work in the future.
- Take rarely used items of clothing such as slips, camisoles, drugs, and leotards and place them into a small box that can be put up in a closet. This will free up drawer space for necessary items. Or keep an eye out for a vintage drawer at flea markets. These drawers can easily be slid under the bed to store extra items.
- If you are short on drawer space, store off-season items in large rubber bins.
- Wipe out the drawers before returning the items, and if necessary vacuum them with the hose.
- Once all of the items are put away, gather the four corners of the top sheet and bring it down to the laundry room.
- By now your sheets and blankets should be dry. Bring them upstairs and make your bed.
- Wash the windows, the mirrors, and any other glass surfaces with window cleaner and paper towels.
- Finally hang your curtains up, put your laundry supplies away, and get ready to snuggle in the most comfy room of your home!
You are loved by an almighty God,
Darlene Schacht
Find more articles like this in my book, The Good Wife’s Guide: Embracing Your Role as a Help Meet
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