Bedroom Archives | De-clutter Me!

Bedroom Vanity Clutter Cleared!

Posted on February 23, 2020February 23, 2020 by Ellen Gurwitz

Sarah was a bit nervous before our first session together. When I arrived on a cold, though clear day, we looked around at the projects we could take on to make the house more welcoming and comfortable for her family and guests.

Where to start? Sarah chose her vanity. Before we did anything else, I took down the charger cord dangling from a shelf above the vanity, and the triangular bag suspended from a shelf peg. Visual noise gone! We tossed old makeup, and set aside other cosmetics for a friend who might enjoy them. Sarah said that she actually would like to remove the vanity and replace it with a slim black table from another room. It would be easier to get near the closet in her wheelchair. Her smiling son Josh was a tremendous help, moving furniture with great energy. What a guy!

The vanity and bedroom floor around it before we cleared their clutter — Before

The vanity removed and replaced by a slim table; clutter gone! — After

Where will we focus next? The closet? Another room? That’s to be determined. Her nervousness gone, Sarah was smiling. Success!

About De-clutter Me!
De-clutter Me! offers non-judgmental, competitively-priced and confidential assistance to help clear clutter in your home and/or business. We’ve been changing chaos to calm since 2013.

Bedroom, Success Stories

Making a Second Bedroom Livable

Posted on September 5, 2019 by Ellen Gurwitz

Once we finished in Margaux’s first bedroom, and after a break, she, her mother Etienne and I walked across the hall to transform the second one into a welcoming guest room. It had become a dumping ground for all kinds of stuff. There were three clear bins holding a variety of items. We set some aside for the trash, others for donation, and we put still others in the closet, for later continued, careful consideration – without turning it into another dumping ground. We set aside games and puzzles, heaped on the dresser, to be stored with others elsewhere in the house. The tall, skinny bookcase? In a collective flash of inspiration, we put it behind the door, where it fit perfectly!

We cleared the middle of the floor, revealing an old chest that had been hidden by accumulated stuff. We tucked rolls of holiday gift wrap into the corner of the closet, where it will be easily seen when needed.

Next, the bookcase. On its top – a trophy from a tractor pull. Really! We added others.

Next, we rearranged books.

Margaux and Etienne were delighted! Where might Etienne and I work next? We soon would turn our attention to a few other places in the house.

Bedroom, Success Stories

Making a Bedroom Truly Livable

Posted on September 4, 2019September 4, 2019 by Ellen Gurwitz

Margaux is a college student. When she returns home, it can be challenging to keep her two bedrooms neat. Two? Yes! Our goal – to clear one for her, and for the other to be a guest room. It would take two sessions. In the first room, I suggested working our way around it.

First, with her mother Etienne, we started on the floor in front of a dresser, then moved to the dresser itself. We put some things away, set others aside to discard, for bathroom storage, or for the other bedroom.

Next, the bed. I encouraged her to make it, every morning. While running the risk of sounding like my mother, and placing my own “twist” on the topic, I suggested that making the bed can be a strongly affirmative way to start the day, and also is a sign of self-respect. Mom never said any of that. It may have been more like “Because I said so,” though lovingly, but I couldn’t justify pulling that “rank.” Besides, doesn’t it feel nicer to get into a made bed, rather than one that’s been left all day?

Moving around the room, we next turned our attention to a set of shelves. It held art supplies, souvenirs from other countries, magazines. We cleared it, moving some things to the other bedroom, with others for the bathroom, and other items to be discarded or recycled.

The desk was next. We cleared it, too, just as we did the dresser and the shelves.

On to the closet, with an empty shelf! It felt like a blank canvas. We hung a small art piece on the wall. Why not? The space was practically begging to be used partly for decoration! We put some other art “stuff” on the shelf. Decorating the closet may have been a first in the six years of operating this business. What fun!

Margaux seemed a bit stunned when we finished. Since her mother Etienne and I had already worked together before, she wasn’t surprised, but was equally pleased. Next – the other bedroom, to make it a welcoming guest room.

Bedroom, Success Stories

Honoring an Old House’s Bedroom Corner

Posted on July 31, 2019 by Ellen Gurwitz

Jae and Armand live in a wonderful house that dates from the early 1800s. To suggest that it has “good bones” would be a pathetic understatement. Walking in definitely feels like entering an earlier century, a true pleasure for a professional organizer who enjoys American history.

A corner of their bedroom “called out” for attention. Jae had been traveling, and working out since returning home. Busy-ness led her to drop clothes in a corner. We began by separating laundry and strategizing where some other things might go. She planned a “fashion show” for herself and a friend who would soon visit. They would go through her closet, deciding what to keep and what to discard or give away.

As I admired the elegant Oriental china piece on the low window sill, Jae told me that they use it to collect spare change!

We cleared the corner area. Jae brought up from the basement a low set of shelves, where we would place items from her dresser. To contain them, she also magically produced a high-gloss tray in excellent condition, rescued from the town dump. Superb recycling!

Next, the dresser itself. Its top held some food supplements and pills, a salt lamp and an elegant Oriental box. We discarded items past their usefulness dates, and placed others on the low bookcase that Jae had brought up from the basement.

Would it have been possible for her smile to be any wider? Doubtful! What would we do next? That was to be determined but, for the moment, Jae was thrilled and predicted that Armand would be, too.

Bedroom, Closet, Success Stories

Next Stop – Sue’s Closet!

Posted on July 23, 2019August 2, 2019 by Ellen Gurwitz

As Sue prepares to leave her current home (or not!), we next tackled the bedroom closet. It was packed full. Its top shelves held clear bins with varied clothes, including winter and summer tops. The bins were labelled, though their contents didn’t always match the labels. Some bins were cracked or otherwise broken, which we would toss. Using my professional organizer’s tried-and-true method, we worked top-to-bottom.

Standing on her step stool, I started pulling out the top shelves’ bins. Using her trusty label maker, Sue typed new label names, then printed them. I folded and folded, and rolled and rolled, placing “like-with-like.” We strategized about the bottom of the closet, where we would place bins that were salvageable, plus some new ones, which she bought some time ago. (Handy!) Winter clothes would go on the sides, with the middle reserved for items to wear now. We also set aside things she would wear on an upcoming seaside vacation.

We put some things on the lower of the top shelves, leaving the top one completely empty. No visual noise! Better for showing the house to potential buyers!

Next, we worked on the bottom of the closet. As with the top shelves’ contents, we set aside some to donate or discard. Beyond better organizing it, I wanted to leave the floor clear. If the house were to be shown, it would look better. Plus, it might encourage Sue to keep it that way.

As with the top shelves’ contents, we set aside some to donate or discard.

Now, Sue could easily find things to wear. If she decides to stay in the house, it will be a snap to move summer clothes to the sides, and winter’s to the middle. If she does decide to move, the already-labelled bins will be easy to pack. Bonus points – since they’re mostly the same size and shape, that will make it even easier.

When we were done, the only item on the floor was the step stool. Another Success Story! Next? The downstairs bookshelves? Okay!

Bedroom, Success Stories

Before Moving – Or Not! Clearing a Bedroom Vanity

Posted on July 23, 2019July 23, 2019 by Ellen Gurwitz

Sue may move – or not. She no longer needs the size house she owns in (mostly) land-locked Vermont. A smaller space and the beach are pulling her. Maybe. She loves Vermont, so it’s a tough decision. Even if she stays, she has the opportunity to clear her home of some excess.

One focus area has been the vanity in her bedroom. Using my professional organizer’s reliable method of working from one side to the other, we cleared its surface. We removed a piece that held mail and other papers, setting it aside for a scheduled yard sale. Good! That way, it no longer would attract clutter!

Next, we opened a drawer, full of cosmetics. We tossed lots of them, as they looked old and past their usefulness. We used two little plastic containers, found in the kitchen, which fit well enough, and tucked other items between and around them.

Relieved when we were done with her bedroom vanity, Sue smiled. What might be our next focus there? It could be the closet. We’ll see!

Bedroom, Success Stories

Let’s Get the House Ready to Show!

Posted on June 4, 2019 by Ellen Gurwitz

Kim’s family hopes to move within the next few months. To make their home presentable to show, there’s some clutter to clear. Kim and I started in the master bedroom.

Using my usual method as a professional organizer, we started in one corner. We’re working our way around the room. We placed items for other rooms in a box, to keep us focused where we were, and to use our time well. We put lots of Lego pieces in a bag, and separated other small toys for a non-profit group’s tag sale.

Kim removed a broken air conditioner. We consolidated laundry to be folded. We collected various costume pieces in another box. We dusted the furniture piece holding the television, and placed books in it, using a treasured family clock as a bookend.

Kim’s homework for before our next session – to fold the laundry, including the especially challenging task of matching all of those socks!

The next time we’re together, we will continue working our way around the master bedroom.

Bedroom, Success Stories

A Most Unusual Valentine’s Day Bedroom Gift!

Posted on March 6, 2019March 7, 2019 by Ellen Gurwitz

Josh works full-time and is a student, too. When home, he’s usually too exhausted to help wife Stephanie, including caring for their two young daughters. He got in touch, thinking that a session with De-clutter Me! would be a thoughtful Valentine’s Day gift for Stephanie.

Continue reading “A Most Unusual Valentine’s Day Bedroom Gift!” →

Bedroom, Success Stories

A Cleared Dresser = Visual Noise and Mental Clutter Gone!

Posted on January 10, 2019January 10, 2019 by Ellen Gurwitz

You know how it can happen. Your mother gives you a big, pretty basket tray, which you place on a dresser. It attracts things which, not surprisingly, seem to migrate to it.

Andrea and I discussed placing it on its “bottom,” against the wall, but didn’t like how it looked. Instead, we cleared it, only keeping in it cherished items.

Next, the dresser’s top drawer. Some time ago, friends were coming over. The kitchen island had papers, which had to disappear somewhere. Andrea put them into the drawer, where they remained for longer than she anticipated or wanted. We pulled them, setting some aside for filing in her home office. We tossed old store receipts, and placed some other things into recycling. We found some other things for her children to see, and set them aside, too.

What to place in the dresser drawer, which was now a prime space? After some discussion, Andrea decided to store electronics – a CD player and laptop computer in its case. She would add relaxation CDs.

Next time? Since Christmas was approaching, with much to do and other holiday activities planned, too, Andrea asked for a next session in the New Year. Sure!

Bedroom, Closet, Success Stories

“I Love Having You Here!”

Posted on December 5, 2018December 12, 2018 by Ellen Gurwitz

At the end of our last session together, Andrea said that, next, she would want to work in her bedroom, including in the closet, so she could hide Christmas presents there.

First, though, the dresser and the corner area next to it. There was a bin holding clean clothes, which only needed to be put away. The hooks (actually pretty mounted stones) held pajamas, and a string of Tibetan prayer flags. I suggested that Andrea might enjoy them in her home office. She promptly hung them in one of its windows. They can be seen from the front porch, too. Bonus points!

We then focused on the dresser. On the top – some papers that really belonged in her office, so we placed them there for her to file later on. We cleared other items, and moved to the side a sweet photo of her in her first apartment. We lifted some books from the floor, partially solving the “problem” of too many books in the bedroom. We’ll work on that more at another time.

Next, the closet. We switched some dresses from one rod to another, then turned our attention to the floor. We pulled out some things to be discarded or donated, and an art piece that her daughter made years ago. Will she want it? That’s to be determined. What’s that strange white thing? Andrea told me it’s a back support. Really? I thought it more looks like it belongs in a “Star Wars” movie.

At some point while we worked together, Andrea said, “I love having you here!” As the saying goes, it doesn’t get much better than that!

She was getting tired, so we quit the closet work. In our last little bit of time, we organized the drawers in the living room piece holding stereo equipment.

Next? Perhaps work in her daughter’s bedroom, as she will be home from college for semester break.