Ninety Minutes. That’s it. Just 90 minutes.
After that much time (an hour and twenty-five minutes and eleven-point-seven seconds), my master bedroom looked like this:
Maybe that seems like a lot of time considering the fact that the dresser is still piled with stuff.
Just wait. I’ll show you the before picture(s) here in a minute.
But first, my disclaimer speech:
I didn’t want to write this post. I’m only writing it because I had the bright idea back in January to team up with some blogger friends and create a monthly Room-by-Room thing where we’d go through the house and share organizing, decorating, or cleaning tips for a different room each month. Then, during my crazy e-book launch last month, those awesome, more-organized-than-I’ll-ever-be ladies put together a schedule of rooms . . . and decided to start with the bedroom.
Seriously. The bedroom. My arch-nemesis. The bane of my existence.
The thing that I was so excited to have completely(ish) done after Normal Friend helped me clean it last fall. The thing that had fallen into just-as-bad-as-it-ever-was disrepair in the last two months or so.
The thing which (thank-you-very-much), I never gave any-advice-whatsoever about in my e-book.
The fact is, there is hope for your home even if your master bedroom is a disaster. I’m proof.
Anyway, I thought and thought about what advice or inspiration I could possibly give regarding the bedroom.
Since I’m rather anti-pretending-to-be-something-I’m-not, I was stumped.
So I just started cleaning. I used the handy-dandy timer on my iPhone, and just let it run. I had no goal. I took some overall before pictures, and then started taking before/after pictures of small areas and timing how long each area took to finish.
I didn’t rush. Just followed my sorting rule so I could be sure that any progress I made was real progress. I’ll share a few pics (not all 46) with their corresponding times.
From this:
To this:
Took all of eleven minutes:
Then I moved to the next section of floor:
Which took a little over two minutes.
TWO MINUTES!!!
Seriously.
And on and on in short small-area-projects until (after about 30 minutes on Sunday night and another less-than-an-hour session on Monday . . . ), the floors were cleared. Surfaces still need work and there are boxes in a corner that hubby brought home from decluttering his parents’ house, but I’d say the overall difference is remarkable.
What do you think?
From this –
To this –
And this –
To this-
This –
To this –
Here’s the thing. I didn’t want to work on (and I especially didn’t want to blog about) this room because I was so ashamed it had returned to its former horror.
I’ve made huge progress in the main areas of the house, but my master bedroom continues to experience the Clean Today Disaster Tomorrow phenomenon.
I know what happens. It’s Wonder Bra Avalanches. It’s putting away last season’s clothes but not putting away the suitcase I use to store them. It’s shoving things in and locking the door when I get a fifteen-minute-doorbell-warning.
It’s thinking I’ve cleaned “the house” but never considering that “the house” should include the master bedroom.
So what’s my inspiration to share with you?
Less than 90 minutes.
LESS than 90 minutes to a walk-across-able floor. Less than 90 minutes to an imperfect but welcoming, relaxing, and livable master bedroom.
I know I’m impressed and amazed and inspired by that.
Check out some Master-Bedroom-Themed posts by the other participating bloggers:
Taylor from Stain Removal 101 is sharing a bedroom cleaning checklist you can use for yourself or your kids, when you tell them to “go clean your room” so they know what is expected, and can do it with less supervision and with better results, the first time.
Christine from I Dream of Clean is talking about spring cleaning your bedroom. (That post will be up first thing Wednesday morning, but go check out her FABulous Spring Cleaning Challenge (with amazing prizes) that’s her top post through tonight!)
Lauren from Mama’s Laundry Talk is giving advice on tackling the issue that can make maintaining order in the bedroom almost impossible – Get Rid of Clothing Clutter in the Master Bedroom.
Jami from An Oregon Cottage will inspire you with her frugal decorating expertise in a post titled: Shop The House To Refresh A Bedroom.
I’m also linking this up to Simple Mom’s Project Simplify this week. The decluttering in here last week has most definitely made life so much better this week!
This post came at the perfect time! My master bedroom looks very similar to your before pictures and I decided earlier today that it was going to be my project for tomorrow. Now I’m feeling much more inspired and motivated! THANK YOU!!!
Great job! Thank you for all the before and afters. I need the inspiration! 🙂
The picture of the 3 children in the first photo? My late MIL had that exact picture hanging on her living room wall! May I ask where you got it?
Oops, make that the 3rd photo – the 1st “before” photo.
It’s my mother’s. I’ll ask where she got it!
My master bedroom is definitely the messiest room of our house, the room I depise cleaning the most and the room which always gets shut and locked when company is coming over. It’s so cluttered that I can’t even dust in there so the dust is probably an inch thick. My main problem? CLOTHES CLUTTER!! My mother passed away 5 years ago and I inherited her cedar chest. It was a cedar chest that I have very fond memories of as a child because my mother stored our halloween costumes in it every year. When it came time to divide her things and part with some of her furniture, I had a sentimental attachement to this cedar chest, so guess who brought it home? Neither of my 2 sisters wanted it but they didn’t particularly want to see it leave the family, so it was unanimous that I take it home with me. The only space I had for it was, yeah, you guessed it– the master bedroom. I didn’t want it in there because I knew it would be a catch-all for clothes clutter and yep, it is! It has so many clothes piled on top that you can’t tell there is a cedar chest there! Any suggestions?
Thanks for this post. It was great in inspiring me to get in my bedroom this next week and declutter and find some solutions to my problems. Great job Nony!
My suggestion for clutter-trap areas: Decorate them. Even better if you decorate them with candles that really need as much room as you can give them to not be a fire hazard ;). That way you’re motivated to keep it looking nice AND in the meantime you can tell yourself, “Nope, that spot is full.”
I’m inspired. Wow! Cause all of this….
It’s putting away last season’s clothes but not putting away the suitcase I use to store them. It’s shoving things in and locking the door when I get a fifteen-minute-doorbell-warning.
GUILTY! I’M SO GUILTY OF ALL OF THAT!
Thanks for being real.
OK, OK, OK. I’ll spend at least 30 minutes in my master bedroom today. 🙂
That’s the room that has been bothering my husband, so he’ll be shocked. I’ve wanted to get it cleaned up, but other areas are a bigger priority to me. Now I am thinking that if I can get mine in shape in less than 90 minutes, maybe I’ll be motivated to fix the other few areas that have been driving me nuts, too. Plus, I can finally dust the ceiling fan in there (since I’ll be able to get to it without that pile of clothes at the foot of the bed), which is awful and needs to be used with our 80 degree March weather here in Michigan this week. Thanks you!! And I’m positive my husband thanks you, too.
Thanks for sharing! You’re not alone. I think often the master bedroom falls to the wayside because typically no one sees it but us. Mine is getting pretty sad right now too. We’re compiling some items to contribute to a friend’s adoption fund raiser yard sale and guess where our pile is? yep, my bedroom. Hoping to take a load of stuff to my friend’s house soon and free up some floor space!
Oh Honey, If you could see my master bedroom, you would NEVER think yours was bad.
The rest of my house is fairly liveable and I do my best to keep it that way every day.
But, the master bedroom? It is the dumping ground. We have a very small house (862 sq ft)and our bedroom is the only thing upstairs. Our basement is dirt floor and humid so very little can be stored down there. So, our bedroom holds everything that we need to keep but needs to be kept safe and dry. There are 4, yes 4!! dressers in the room plus a small closet with drawer units on the floor. We also have the computer desk and an old vanity used as a TV stand. So many other things I could list but our main problem is the peaked ceiling so things can’t “go up”.
Great progress you’ve made in your room, enjoy it:-)
~C
As much as it scares me to say this…. This would be the room that I need to do… And I would love to participate in this blog”feet” of room by room just to have something keep me on top of this!
I love your fireplace! You truly are wonderful inspiration for the slobs in the rest of us! Thank you for doing this even when you didn’t want to!
I wish I could send you a picture of my master bedroom. It is not any bigger than the other 2 rooms in our ranch house. It holds a queen size waterbed, 2 dressers and a card table that is covered in “stuff”. It has one tiny closet. I feel like I can’t get organized because I do not have anywhere to put the stuff. However, I’m saving this post of yours and I’m going to commit to working on it on my next day off work (Friday). My room is a disaster and almost always is because everyday I try to keep the main areas of the house up (not successfully) and this room goes uncared for. I am learning a lot from your blog. Thank you very much.
I was impressed with your first Before photo — your bed was made even though the room wasn’t picked up. Good for you!
As always, your tips are timely and inspiring. Thank you!
BTW, I love the trunk at the foot of your bed, it really should be seen, always – great focal point as you enter the room!
It should definitely always be seen! I get so frustrated when I realize it’s been covered up for so long!
As much as it scares me to say this…. This would be the room that I need to do… And I would love to participate in this blog”feet” of room by room just to have something keep me on top of this!
I love your fireplace! You truly are wonderful inspiration for the slobs in the rest of us! Thank you for doing this even when you didn’t want to!
That fear. I totally get that fear!
My room looks just like this! I didn’t know anyone else’s room looked like mine! I love your room thought, and I also have the picture of the three girls. I’m going to work on my master bedroom soon!
I would say you were me except for the fact that your room is bigger than mine and (pouting here, lol) did I see a fireplace in your bedroom? But mine pretty much looks like your before shots, down to some wrapping paper in the corner. Oh man I have a lot of cleaning (and purging!) to do in that room. But if you can do it, I can too. I’ve been reading your blog from the beginning to see the journey just as you suggested, and you keep me motivated.
Yes, I have a fireplace in my bedroom. Which only adds to the guilt over not being able to EVER show it off!
you go girl! 🙂
I managed to get some height on my junk mountain by wedging one of those big cardboard houses that kids draw on onto the top of my biggest pile. Just 3 feet to the ceiling! I also like to have at least two vacuums with the cords tangled up all over the walkway, just for fun potty breaks in the night!! Wrapping paper from Christmas-I’m there. Clothes piles and baskets stuffed with wierdo items from decluttering other areas, check.
I was just thinking about MBedroom and thought of maybe trying one whole day of spending any spare minute even doing one little thing. After a whole day Something would have to be accomplished, right?
Your “after” pics look so great! One thing I noticed in your pictures that you probably have too is that the big mirror over your bed adds to the clutter of your room. I learned that the hard way when I wanted to hang a big mirror above my family room fireplace mantle – sure it visually doubles the space of your room, but it visually doubles everything else too. In your case, two headboards, two lamps, two fireplaces/mantles/pictures, two chairs and two televisions, two piles of clothes, two sets of hubby’s boxes, etc. I wonder if you took the mirror down if you wouldn’t feel so overwhelmed by your master bedroom? In my family room, the big mirror visually doubled the space, sure, but it reflected my not-always-tidy kitchen/dining room that’s on the other end of this Open Floor Plan style house. The mirror came right back down. I couldn’t handle always having to see the messy kitchen no matter where I looked!
That’s a fascinating observation.
Hmmm.
I time myself, too ! Except instead of timing how long I’ve cleaned for, I set the timer to give myself a limit. It’s amazing how much I can get done when racing against the clock. 🙂 Love your blog, btw !! 😀
A woman who speaks my language! I love reading your blog because, although I’m on the journey to a more simplified life, I’m still so far from where I want our house to be I’m sometimes tempted to just give up. What a great reminder that HUGE improvement is worth just as much as the perfect ideal I’ve set up in my mind : )
Nony, your words are making a big difference in my house. Thank you so much. I love your book. I am a perfectionist and just this week realised that my housework habits (bad ones) are because I don’t feel like I could ever keep my house as clean as I think I should… so I don’t make enough effort. I have three small children and often I have urgent stuff to deal with (explosive nappies) which leaves a lot of stuff (clutter) undone. Now, I think “Well I better just do the dishes…” rather than “I’ll do this tomorrow…” and “am I putting this task off because I really don’t have time to do it or because I am being a slob?” Speaking of which… must go do the dishes…
Thank you so much for your encouragement, Bec!
While I was browsing pictures for Project Simplify week 4, you had me read your entire post. You did great, and I am sure your honest story was a liberation to many, myself included. Keep it up!
I’ve been reading your blog for a few months now and this is the first time I’ve commented. Just wanted to say THANK YOU!!! Thank you for this blog!!! I feel like I could have written the same things, but would have been too embarassed! And I wanted to say thank you for the daily tasks and weekly tasks lists. They are so helpful and I’ve been doing my best to follow those, so my house is looking much better! You are a lifesaver (or should I say house saver?) Thanks Nony!!!
Thanks for commenting, Andrea! I’m always so amazed at how many people can relate to the things I truly thought were just MY issues!
Thanks for being “anti-pretending-to-be-something-you’re-not.” It lends so much hope to those of us who would measure our failing selves next to your imaginary perfection. I could learn a lot from you aside from just organization. God bless~ Jesus loves you! 🙂
your posts make me feel human. I have three small kids, 6 and under…and our bedroom is the dumping ground when ‘cleaning’
Wow! The transformation is remarkable! It never ceases to amaze me what a DIFFERENCE cleared floors/surfaces make on the sort of “psychological” space of a room. You know? Like, you can just BREATHE easier in the after pictures. . . Even though you never really NOTICED that breathing was even a problem in the “before” pictures.
I love this!!!