Bringing Order to Bed and Bath Areas

At their best, bedrooms and bathrooms are the ultimate retreat from a chaotic world. Too often, however, bedrooms become crowded repositories of refugee items from the rest of the house; and bathrooms become overstuffed storage areas due to lack of space, creating an uninviting environment for personal care.

To start each new day with a spring in your step, it’s time to restore peace and order to the most private areas of your home. Try these ideas to cut the clutter and calm the chaos in bedroom and bath.

Creating Blissful Bedrooms

Sleep therapists (and marriage counselors!) tell us that bedrooms work best when restricted to a single task: rest. Looking around, however, you wouldn’t know it. In one corner, a dusty treadmill is draped with geologic layers of discarded clothing. Along the wall, storage boxes tumble in unsteady stacks, while an unfinished craft project spills over the top of a portable table.

Get organized in the bedroom by listing activities you’d like to pursue there, keeping in mind the goal of a restful and supportive space. As you ponder potential bedroom activity centers, evaluate the objects currently in the room with a critical eye. Dust on the treadmill is evidence of wishful thinking, not actual exercise!

Clearing out the items that don’t belong in the room is the next order of business. Use the STOP clutter method discussed in Chapter 3 to assess and reroute wayward stuff and free your bedroom space.

Finally, revamp bedroom storage areas and tap new ones with these tips:

•  Beneath the bed lies a treasure trove of bedroom storage space. Make good use of it to store folded sweaters, extra blankets, or out-of-season clothing. Long, shallow plastic organizers designed for under-bed storage slide out easily, while their lids protect contents from dust. Slip an emergency kit beneath the bed, too, to keep a flashlight, extra batteries, emergency radio, and fire escape close by.

•  Grandma knew what she was doing when she added a cedar chest to the foot of her bed! Pillows and blankets fill the space nicely, while the closed chest adds extra seating.

•  On the bedside table, create an overnight charging center for cellphones and tablet computers. Plug charger bases in a multioutlet surge protector, and use adhesive cable loops to position charger tips atop the table. Your cellphone will wake as refreshed as you are!

•  Put the back of the bedroom and closet doors to good use. Over-the-door hooks hold bathrobes and pajamas, while a drawstring bag collects clothing on the way to the dry cleaner. Stow scarves, hats, and accessories in the pockets of an over-the-door shoe bag.

Bathrooms That Work for You

It’s hard to pull together a polished look each morning if you’re hindered by clutter and chaos in the bathroom. Streamline your center for personal care with these ideas for an organized bathroom:

•  When bathroom storage space is limited, designate a remote storage area as a bathroom pantry. Consign extra bottles of mouthwash, bulk packs of toilet tissue, and extra packages of cotton swabs to storage elsewhere, restricting bathroom storage to just what you need for immediate use.

•  Small shelves or specialty wall mounts provide a good home for personal care items and appliances used daily, while keeping them off the bathroom counter.

•  Store towels in the bathroom, close to where they are used. Install towel bars above or below existing towel bars, to multiply available towel storage. A basket of rolled towels provides extra storage and a decorative touch. If you have no room on the floor, stack rolled towels on a narrow shelf for a colorful accent.

•  In the shower, make space for shampoo, conditioner, and shower gel with a hanging shower caddy or tension-pole shower organizer, or take a tip from the gym and install wall-mounted dispensers. Alternately, place personal shower items in small plastic baskets to tote supplies in and out of the shower quickly.

ROAD HAZARD

Just because we call it a medicine chest doesn’t mean medicine should be stored there. Heat and humidity can adversely affect medications and nutritional supplements. Instead, store these products in a cool, dry location—such as the linen closet—to protect their potency.