For organizing and decluttering my home, I use a Zone Plan. Every month I choose a different area to clean, declutter, and organize. During the month of May, I concentrate on the master bedroom.
Whenever I work in a zone, I start with my vision for the space. Since I share this room with my husband, we must form this vision together. Last year we decided that we wanted our room to have a soothing, calming, and supportive look. When we are in this space we want to feel secure, relaxed, and happy. We like soft light yet still have enough lighting for reading. In the past year we have painted this room a very soft yellow to help capture the light and changed some of our artwork and accessories to meet this vision. We will continue to explore and when we find an item that builds on our vision and gives us joy, we will bring it home and place it.
I use four weeks to complete this zone.
On week one, Rob and I clean out our dressers (and clean the walls where the dressers stand). We take out every article and toss anything that is stained, stretched out of shape, or holey. Then we donate anything that we no longer need or love. I change out my heavier tops that were stored in a drawer for lighter ones that were in a bin in my closet. I clean and wax the dressers and light a candle.
On week two, I work on the closet which stores only my clothes. I pull our all the clothes and sort them on the bed. I get rid of anything that does not fit either my body or my lifestyle. I also do this for my shoes. This closet also stores my suitcase and a duvet.
On week three, we tackle our end tables. This means purging or rehousing a lot of reading material that has accumulated. I also clean one window, and clean the bed and all bed linens. I clean the wall behind the bed.
On week four, I finish the room. This means cleaning one more wall and window, brushing the ceiling and the ceiling fan.
As a reward for finishing the bedroom zone, I buy fresh flowers and stand back and admire our clean, uncluttered space. I know we will sleep well here.
Jonda S. Beattie Professional Organizer