Spare bedrooms or bonus rooms usually have multiple purposes. It seems a waste of space to have that room sit vacant most of the time waiting for a guest or being used as a junk room. This room is perfect for repurposing.
Before you start your organizational process, be clear about your vision and the purpose for this room. Will it house guests? Will it become an overflow storage for supplies or off-season clothes? Do you want to use it for a craft room or an office? Maybe it can become that library room or music room you have always wanted.
Once you are clear on your vision, note how the reality of the present is not matching up to your vision.
Make a list of all that needs to happen to make your vision a reality.
As an example, my spare room does house the occasional overnight guest, but it is also offsite storage for my office, a place to store my memorabilia, and a storage area for some off-season clothing. The door to this room is always open so when I walk past, I do not want to see any clutter.
Last month I reorganized and decluttered my office. This led to items from the office migrating into this spare room. Diane Quintana and I are also working on a new organizing product (Organize Your Home 10 Minutes at a Time) that has caused boxes of material for that project to end up in this room. My closet where I store the office excess and my memorabilia is already full to the brim.
So, the first thing on my list is to take everything out of that closet and release anything that I don’t currently need and consolidate what is left to make space for the new items. Next, there is a dresser in that room which holds some supplies, clothing, and memorabilia. It is not quite so full. I will empty that dresser, release some items, consolidate others and make room for some of the items I removed from the closet.
I am only allowing one month for this project. It is a short month and a busy month so I need to schedule time in my calendar to allow for completion.
By the end of the month, I will have this guest bedroom matching my vision for the upcoming year. I will celebrate by putting fresh flowers on the dresser.
This room will only need weekly cleaning maintenance until next February when I revisit this room in my house.
If you want help or just some accountability in working your plan join Diane Quintana and me on our Clear Space For You clutter support group.
Jonda S. Beattie, Professional Organizer owner of Time Space Organization, and co-owner of Release, Repurpose, Reorganize. She is based in the Metro-Atlanta area. As presenter, author of four books including the best seller Filled Up and Overflowing as well as a retired special education teacher she uses her listening skills, problem solving skills, knowledge of different learning techniques, ADHD specialty, and paper management skills to help clients tackle the toughest organizational issues. Jonda does hands on organizing, virtual organizing. For more of Jonda’s tips connect with her on Facebook.