Happy Monday, friends! I hope you’ve been feeling inspired by our Clear the Clutter Challenge the past few weeks – I know it’s really helped me personally get our house into a mostly organized state to tackle a new year. If you joined us last week, hopefully you found lots of good ideas for decluttering your living room, linen closet and mudroom. On this week’s agenda is decluttering tips for the master suite – specifically, the master bedroom, bathroom and of course, the closet. I don’t know about you guys, but when someone says closet organization, I cringe a bit…because my closet is ALWAYS in need of a good decluttering and organizing session! And if you think mine is bad, you should see my husband’s side. Sorry, babe.
I definitely had my work cut out for me with this week’s challenge, since the bathroom cabinets and our walk-in closet get messy so quickly. I feel like I’m always trying to tidy these spaces but they end up disorganized after just days! I think there are two ways to improve this: 1) be consistent in decluttering and tidying these spaces – I can’t just do it once a year and call it good, and 2) invest in some storage tools to make it easier to stay organized. Below, I’m sharing some of my favorite decluttering tips for the master suite!
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Decluttering Tips for the Master Bedroom
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1 – Take a look around your bedroom. Is there anything that simply doesn’t belong in that space? My kids seem to drag their stuff in our room (I work out in there some days and the girls play on the floor and inevitably bring all.the.things. with them). Remove anything that doesn’t bring you joy – as the great Marie Kondo says. Your master bedroom is meant to be a haven from the craziness of life, so make sure the decor and things in the space spark joy.
2 – Go through your nightstand drawers. Throw away old lotion, lip balm, etc. and any papers you no longer need. I find that these drawers can become a catch-all for things if you’re not careful. I don’t know why, but when I started going through my stuff, I had both girls’ hospital paperwork from their birth in my nightstand drawer – I put that in a better location with other important paperwork.
3 – Check out your jewelry box. I have a nice jewelry box on my vanity and I’m ashamed to admit I rarely wear any of the pieces stored in there! I went through and decided if there was anything I was willing to part with and then better organized my jewelry for easy access. If you don’t have any jewelry storage, there are so many different inexpensive options out there like this necklace organizer or this jewelry box.
4 – Go through your dresser drawers. Inevitably, you’re still hanging on to some t-shirts from college that you found it hard to part with (or is that just me?). Every time I purge, I let go of 1-2 more of these shirts, but if I’m being realistic, I can’t remember the last time I wore a college t-shirt so I finally just let them go, once and for all! Throw away worn-out undergarments, bras, socks, etc. This is also a good time to take inventory of what you have and what you may need to buy more of.
5 – Refold everything before putting it back in your dresser drawers. No matter how often I did this, I still found it hard to fit everything in our drawers when all the laundry was clean at once (this is rare, but still!). Enter the KonMari folding method…several months ago, when I hadn’t heard of her show or read her book, I saw a tip on Pinterest about folding laundry using Marie Kondo’s folding method. I started folding my workout clothes like this and was amazed at how easy it was to find things in my drawer and how much I could fit in the drawer.
Decluttering Tips for the Master Closet
6 – Remove everything off your closet shelves. If you’re like me, things get thrown up there and aren’t folded properly or organized in the slightest. By taking everything off, you can see what you have and what you may want to get rid of – bags, scarves, gloves, hats, etc.
7 – Invest in storage boxes. I totally don’t think you have to go spend an arm and a leg to organize things – even the dollar store has nice-sized plastic bins that can get the job done. If you’re more into aesthetics, you can always find cute baskets at Target, Hobby Lobby or HomeGoods. Use these to organize and store things like scarves, gloves, clutches, and other small items on your closet shelves.
8 – Get rid of broken or cheap hangers. I used to be really guilty of keeping the cheap plastic hangers that some clothing stores left in the bag, but not only are they an eyesore, they’re also super flimsy and clothes inevitably end up on the floor. We currently just have the basic thick white plastic hangers in our closet, but upgrading to velvet no-slip hangers is on my to-do list.
9 – Consider a built-in closet system. This is a larger investment, so not something you’d do on a whim – but it’s definitely something to consider. We’ve been eyeing the closet systems at IKEA because they seem to be pretty affordable and would work wonders in our current closet. We have a really nice sized walk-in closet, but the wire shelving and racks don’t allow us to maximize the space. This is on our house project list, but let’s be real, there are 2048843 other things ahead of this 🙂
10 – Review every piece of clothing in your closet. I’ve gotten a lot better at this, but at one point, I had things in my closet with tags on them still and things I just didn’t even know I had. If you’re able, take everything out and lay it on your bed and go through each piece (you can also do it without removing it all from the closet, though). A piece of advice I heard last year was to turn all of your hangers facing outward and as you wear each item, turn the hanger around the other way. After 2-3 months, see what items haven’t been turned around – these might be things you should donate! I started doing this last year and it really helped me finally part with certain things I kept but never ended up wearing. Also, I put all of my clothes in order first by color then by sleeve length – long sleeve to sleeveless.
11 – Corral your shoes. I used to be a shoe hoarder but I am really happy that I finally got over that phase and now I have what I like to call a ‘capsule shoe wardrobe.’ I have a small shoe rack on the closet floor that holds all of my shoes and prevents them from getting messy. Try to go through all of your shoes and discard those that are worn out and if you have any in good condition that are rarely worn, consider donating them.
Decluttering Tips for the Master Bathroom
12 – Remove everything from cabinets and drawers. Check best by dates on medicines, makeup, skincare, etc. and throw old ones out. I admit that I have a hard time throwing out things that I tried but didn’t like – but it’s time to part with bottles of lotion or makeup that you never use!
13 – Wipe shelves and drawers clean. The bathroom is one of the dirtiest rooms in the house and it seems like dirt, makeup and hair collect in every crevice so quickly. Use warm, soapy water and a washcloth to clean surfaces in your cabinets and drawers while everything is out.
14 – Organize everything you’re keeping by type. For example, group first aid supplies together, travel bottles of shampoo/conditioner/soap together, cotton balls/swabs, lotions, hair products, nail products, etc. Invest in some inexpensive storage containers or baskets and fill and label each by category. Place the filled storage containers back underneath your cabinets and you’ll be able to easily find what you need.
15 – Clear the countertop clutter. I know some people like to keep their bathroom counters empty, but with our lack of drawer space, it makes sense to keep things we use daily on the countertop. The best way to keep an organized appearance is by investing in an organizer to hold makeup and brushes. I have one that keeps all of my makeup and skincare in one central location and prevents our counter from being messy. A good rule of thumb is to remove anything that you don’t use daily and put it in a drawer or cabinet out of sight.
16 – KonMari your towels. Whether you have a linen closet or you have to store your towels in a cabinet, learning to fold them using Marie Kondo’s method can save you a lot of space! It’s also a good time to remove any faded or worn-out towels from your collection.
Make sure to check out my co-hosts tips as well!
Decluttering Clothes and the Master Bedroom
DIY Ideas for Organizing Your Jewelry
How to Declutter Your Clothes
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