Decluttering the Spare Bedroom

As much as I hate to admit it, I am a pack rat; I always have been.  Despite this inevitable family trait, I have tried to fight it most of my life--my grandmother's influence, no doubt.  I can remember spending many days of my childhood taking everything out of my closet and reorganizing clothes, shoes, and toys until they were perfect.  There was just something about having a clean and neat closet that made me feel good about my bedroom.

Now although I prefer having an organized closet, it rarely remains in its neat state longer than a month or so at a time.  The pack rat in me ever so slyly sneaks back in and begins putting stuff wherever it will fit.  Thoughts like "this could come in handy one day" or "this was a special day so I should keep this thing" mean saving brochures, bags, greeting cards, wristbands, hotel cards, ribbons, t-shirts, and the list goes on and on.  I've gotten really good at fitting the most amount of stuff in the smallest spaces and tricking myself into thinking that it's okay.

I may have mentioned before that we essentially have no storage at our house, so our spare bedroom becomes the storage space and also functions as my closet for my clothes.  I have really disliked going in that room for a few weeks now because it has just gotten out of control.  I will clean the main rooms in the house but feel very incomplete because the spare room is a mess.  It had gotten to the point that I was just taking my clean clothes in, sitting them on the bed, and leaving the room because I didn't want to deal with the extra stuff.  I knew that I was going to have to reorganize and do some major work in order to feel good about that room and actually want to go in it again.

So, how do I purge and get organized?  How do I know where to start?  The truth is that I just start with whatever makes the most sense or feels the easiest.  Since my closet always personally feels easiest to me, that's where I started.  I go through my clothes and whatever I haven't worn in a year or can't fit into, I automatically put into a bag to donate to Goodwill.  I throw away very little; it all gets donated.  I will keep one pair of jeans that are too little as a goal to fit back into.  Anymore than that is just taking up space, and when I do lose the weight, I'm sure I will want new clothes to celebrate!

Once the closet is finished, I move to the dresser and finish going through all of the clothes.  At this point, I just start going counter-clockwise around the room until it's finished.  Every bag and every pocket should be opened and cleaned out, every nook and cranny should be inspected.  Items that belong in a different room or different space need to go to their appropriate place.  Sounds simple, right?

It always has to get worse before it gets better, so if you're trying to declutter, don't get overwhelmed; just stick with it.  If you need to take a break, do it.  Just make sure that you come back and finish.  This room took three days to finish because we had other obligations during the day.  It's hard to stop mid-process and have this task looming over you, but it feels so good once it's actually done.  Here are some pictures of the process. 

Disclaimer: It's pretty embarrassing putting these pictures out there for the world to see.  I know this isn't a stylish room.  Maybe one day I'll work to actually style it, but hopefully we'll own our own home before too long.

This is a "before" picture.  Sadly, this is pretty much what it looked like with everything put in its place.  The big black trash bag is full of Goodwill stuff from the last time I went through my clothes. There are also three plastic totes along the windows that hold other storage items.

My sewing machine sits under the desk with all of its items.  I move it every time I need to use it.  My grandmother's old typewriter is on top of the desk.  Although I love it, I don't use it, and I keep it covered to protect it.  The TV isn't actually plugged in.  I just needed a place for it to get it off of our bedroom floor.







The space under the bed served as free-for-all for craft supplies, luggage, notebooks, and just anything in general.

 A few months ago, I bought these closet organizers, and I actually really like them!  They hold a ton of clothes.  The closet pretty much ends where you see it horizontally, but has another shelf above the one you can see.  It. is. packed.  It holds all of our random storage things, like some Christmas decorations, candles, wedding keepsakes, etc.

 I started going through the plastic drawers that hold socks, swimsuits, etc and Baxter decided that it was more important for him to lay in them than let me finish my work.

 Seriously. It gets worse before it gets better.  (This is actually definitely not the worst shape.) Don't let the mess discourage you.  Just keep working.

 It'll eventually get done.  All of my shoes are in one place, and I was able to empty all of the totes along the windows.  I did inherit a sewing machine table from my mom over the course of cleaning this room, but it works out.  I hope (if she lets me) to paint it later this summer.

 I moved the typewriter to storage since it isn't used and put the sewing machine onto the desk.  The lovely tupperware containers hold sewing supplies in one and office supplies in another.  Also, a basket under the desk holds clothes and other items that need mended.  Finally, a functional workspace!

 There are still items under the bed, but it makes sense now.  My luggage, sax, and curtain rods are each in their own spaces.  I hope to get a bed skirt so that you can't see underneath. :)

The Michael's bag is still out because it has a wreath that I am working on making.

It looks pretty similar but actually makes more sense.  I now have all of my craft supplies in a clearly labeled bag, party supplies are in a box, and winter gloves and hats are in a box.






Finally a space that I don't mind being in! --And seven bags of clothes, purses, and shoes to be donated to Goodwill.