Bedrooms don’t have to be nightmares, and they can’t be a nightmare if you are seriously considering selling your home. Bedrooms need to appear restful and relaxing since that is the main function of the bedroom. It is a room that a person can enter and immediately feel relaxed; an area where one may lie down and sleep without worry or concern. These are the feelings that you want a buyer to feel when they enter your bedroom.
Take a look at your bedroom. Are there piles of clothing draped over the chairs or hung on the foot of the bed? Are shoes scattered over and under the bed? Do DVDs lurk under the nightstand? Does the closet door refuse to close? Or – the worst case scenario – is the computer in your bedroom?
If so, don’t despair. Instead let’s begin to organize the bedroom and make it into that dream area discussed in the first paragraph. You will need some supplies besides the usual cleaners, vacuum, mop and water.
Supplies:
A. Three large boxes labeled
1. KEEP
2. THROW AWAY
3. DONATE/SELL
B. A range of containers ranging from small to large.
Remove all furniture from the room. Yes, I know it isn’t easy, but it works. This is also the time to consider repainting the room if the walls are beginning to show too much wear. You have a clean open space to work within. (Don’t bother with the closet right now.) Look at the space now available in the bedroom. Could you replace a large, long dresser with a highboy? Same amount of storage space, but one goes up while the other goes out. Do you have more than one dresser? If so do you really need both? Now decide the best place to set these pieces. Remember, a piece of furniture setting at an angle in the corner looks odd and loses all of the space behind it. Place these pieces back into the room firmly set against a wall.
Turn your attention to the bed. Exactly how much “stuff” did you have hiding under it? This is one of the reasons why you purchased containers. “Stuff” does not belong under a bed unless it is organized in containers and the contents are labeled. Monsters in the form of disorganization are not allowed under the bed! Now select the best spot for the bed to set. Check out the nightstands. Do they fit appropriately in the room? Do they match the décor? It is best to do without them if they are ill-matched or too large for the bedroom.
Computers do not belong in the bedroom. Buyers will wonder why one is in the bedroom. Are you trying to hide something? Computers are a necessary part of our lives today, but there is a correct place for them. It is better for them to be in the living area or the kitchen then for one to be placed in the bedroom. Remember that a bedroom is for relaxing and resting – not for work which creates worry and stress. Keep the bedroom for its original use. Computers are small but there attachments – electric cords, speakers, printers, fax machines, etc. – are not. They create an enormous amount of clutter that is hard to cover.
The furniture is back in the room. Things are looking good. Now deal with all the lamps, keepsakes, and knick knacks that are left. Assign them to one of the three large boxes that you created. Keep them, throw them away, or sell them. Determine which is which in these three categories.
Move to the most difficult area of decluttering the bedroom ----the closet! The door won’t close. Why? You have created a closet creature that is now invading your home and your potential for selling your home.
Take everything out of the closet. EVERYTHING! Lay it in the chairs. Stack it on the bed. Hang it from the curtain rods. But get it out there where you can see it! Have the boxes accessible. Pick up one garment. When was the last time you wore that shirt? When will you wear it again? If you answer, “I’ll wear it next week.” Keep it. If you say, probably never will again, toss it in either the donate/sell box or the throw away box. If you want to keep it, fine. Put it in the keep box. Continue until you have personally checked each garment. Now you are ready to sort the ‘keep’ clothes. Sort them first into “his” and “hers” piles. Sub sort them into fall, winter, spring, and summer sections. Now further sort them into groups of dress shirts, work shirts, slacks, jeans, etc. Do the same for the woman’s clothes. At this point, you may even want to sort them into color groups. Time to place garments back into the closet. Do use hangers that are all the same. Mismatched hangers will cause tangles and loss of space.
Shoes are next. Go through the same process as for garments. Placing shoes in boxes take up less space and are more manageable in boxes than they are in a shoe hanger. Belts, hats, ties, gloves/mittens, hair accessories, and scarves are also more manageable in boxes than when placed on hangers. Place bulky clothing in containers where they will take up less space.
When these items are appropriately stored, you are ready to place them back in the closet. Take time to admire all of the space that you now have in your closet. You have created dramatic changes in this room. Changes that will be helpful when your house is featured to promising buyers. They will see that your home has ample storage space as well as a well appointed bedroom for relaxing and resting.
You have succeeded in creating an atmosphere of tranquility – a room where one can truly relax and rest. Now you must maintain that atmosphere. Begin a daily routine of putting items back in the proper place – not throwing them somewhere saying “I’ll put those up later.” Make the bed each morning, Before you leave the room, look around and be satisfied that everything has a place and everything is in its place. If buyers were to knock on your door today, you have a room that you know would impress them.
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