When an Organized Space Clears the Mind

Growing up my cousins would pick on me by rearranging things in my room. Let me explain. I used to keep my collection of Precious Moments in my room on the dresser, nightstands, and on shelves. They were all arranged in a particular way, and so, my cousins—knowing how much it bothered me—would come into my room and move them around.

Okay, some of that can be attributed to OCD, but the rest comes from a real part inside all of us. It’s a need to feel peace within ourselves and within the spaces that surround us. This is why I’ve spent quite some time this year reevaluating what I allow in my space. Just like we take time to work out our souls and bodies, it is also important to make time to organize our space.

Cleaning Out My Closet

Before working on the cosmetic changes, I wanted to start within the innermost workings of my bedroom: the Closet. It can easily become the space where we dump things to hide them from plain site. Or it can be the space where we keep the things we use regularly at reach.

The first thing I do is to remove everything from inside and sort it by use. Clothes go in one pile, shoes in another, hats and accessories, bags, and other smaller things are also grouped together. This is a great time to notice things you haven’t touched in a while. Here is when you decide if it goes or stays. Ask yourself: have you used it in the last six months, and would someone else benefit more from having it?

Once I have sorted through keep, toss, and donate, then I start putting things back. I start with the larger items like plastic shoe boxes. My clothes are arranged by color and then by type. For example, I’ll have crop tops before tanks and blouses. I use plastic hangers from Target to save space. To take advantage of the space under clothes hanging in the closet, I use a plastic drawer organizer to keep shorts and gym tops in one place.

Make Your Space Efficient

For years I used the same furniture set. It was time for a change so I went to IKEA. Since I wanted to make the most of my space, I purchased a storage bed. It has large drawers under the bed, and a headboard with shelves. Since so much of my things were going to fit nicely in these drawers, I bought one small nightstand (where I had two before). This one change opened up the room so much.

The next item I changed was my dresser. I used to have a long dresser with five rectangular drawers and two smaller drawers. At IKEA I found a tall dresser with four drawers for clothes and two small drawers to keep accessories or knickknacks. This was the best purchase because I could consolidate a lot of things here. The tall dresser takes up less space, yet can hold so much more.

Set the Tone with Color

Now that all the clutter was cleared, I started working on redecorating my space. The walls were a lilac (almost gray), but I wanted to go even lighter. So I went to Wal-Mart and picked up a can of Origami (light gray tone) in semi-gloss. I also bought a can of a white semi-gloss to touch up the baseboards and doors in the room. The lighter colors opened up the space immediately.

Next I headed to Marshall’s to find an affordable comforter and sheets. Keeping with the lighter tones, I found the perfect comforter from Kate Spade. Having this piece paved the way for inspiration. It is all white with splashes of salmon-colored roses, dark and light grays (that go with the wall). Luckily I found striped sheets in the same salmon color. The mix of patterns looks classy without clashing.

Keep the Details Simple

With the furniture being white as well as the comforter, I wanted to bring in subtle hints of color. The frame I found at Marshall’s was perfect because the quote had one word bold in that same salmon. Adding a few other pieces with white flowers added texture to the room, but still kept things looking clean.

I really believe that less is more. Now I walk into my room and feel a sense of tranquility. There is less furniture so I am able to move around more easily. There is also less to clean (silver lining). Also keeping things in odd numbers creates a balance. For instance, I have a lamp, rectangular vase with flowers and a candle on my nightstand. Then on the dresser I set up the perfume tray, a necklace holder, and a small pot with tall white orchids.

If you want to know more tips on how I organize my space, please leave a comment below.