How to clean the impossible bedroom.

It’s dark, you’re tired, and you’re dressed for bed. You creep through your bedroom doorway yearning for sweet warm covers. There’s only one problem. An obstacle course of clothes, hard books and tapes, sharp pens, and crinkled trash stands between you and the bed. The disadvantages of having a messy room have snuck up on you again. Do you want make your room more comfortable for yourself and guests? Does it sound good to turn that junk on the floor into useful, organized tools and money? If you answered yes to these two questions, than it’s time to clean up. However, if you’ve ever tried this for yourself, you know it’s not as easy as it sounds. Where can you start? You might try to come up with your own system of organization, like I did. It took me four years to develop a fine method of cleaning the clutter. If you don’t want to wait that long, try my "keep-it, trash-it, or clos-et" method.

The first and most important step in cleaning that messy bedroom is forming your attitude. Remember your options: "keep-it, trash-it, or clos-et." Only the items you’re sure you will use fall under the "keep-it" category. Sometimes, however, it’s not easy to decide. How about a necklace your grandmother gave you or that stuffed animal that’s been on the TV for years? Also, you’ll find things you can’t use, but someone else you know could. If this is the case, put the item in the closet or any other area you can make available to be your "clos-et". You will decide later what category the closet items will fall into: sell it, keep it, or donate it. If you can’t use it, and no one else can, than it’s a "trash-it". Parting with junk the most valuable skill in organizing, so don’t fear choosing "clo-et" or "trash-it." Once your options are firmly in your mind and you have a closet available, you’ll almost be ready to start cleaning.

The next step is gathering a few simple materials. First, you need enough trash bags to throw things away. Take more than you think you will need, since the level of junk in a room is almost always surprising. Also, you may opt to bring a wash rag and surface cleaner with you if you wish to use them. Now you’re ready to begin the cleaning process.

Tackle the room from big to small. The first thing that you want to take care of is the big things in the room that you can grab easily. Those clothes on the floor, that dusty TV, or those books in the corner are fine places to start. Handle each item individually, and decide "keep-it, trash-it, or clos-et". You may choose to place the loose "keep-it" items in one area of the room or organize them into their places as you’re going along. Work one section at a time so job won’t seem overwhelming. When you get tired, take breaks since more will get done when you’re working well rested. Don’t worry about the little things until the big ones are taken care of, because organizing everything at once can be very frustrating. Once you have all of the large items moved out of the way, it’s time to move on to the little things. Sweep what you can into a pile. Then, take a look at what is there. The majority is most likely trash. Therefore, you can pick out what’s worth keeping or putting in the closet and do away with the rest. Since your surfaces then become exposed, this is an excellent time to clean them. Believe it or not, at this point, the hardest part is done.

The most fun part is next: organizing what you chose to keep. Use the same rules as before: work one section at a time and take a break if you get tired. Try to keep items that are alike together, such as books, tapes, computer things, or entertainment equipment. The organizing part is mostly decided by who you are, so be creative, and enjoy putting things where YOU want them to go. At this stage of the game, almost everything is complete.

Now that the room is clean, it’s important to keep it that way. "Keep-it, trash-it, or clos-et", therefore, can be used for every item you come across. It’s a good idea to do this with whatever you’re using before you go anywhere. Also, if you see something out of place as you walk by, weather it’s someone else’s your own, pick it up and put it where it belongs as you go. If you start doing this, it shouldn’t take long to become a good habit; it has for me. Then, you won’t have a big mess beckoning to be cleaned again. This leaves you with one final step.

Something has to be done about your closet. You should organize it right away and go through it again later. This will help when it’s time to act with your items, and open closet space for other things. To proceed, designate an area for each of three categories: sale, gift, and donation. The sale category can include CDs, jewelry, old comic books, stereos, or anything you feel you can pawn or sell. You will benefit here by making money off your room. The gift category is for those items you think those you know would find valuable. This way you will have benefited more people. Finally, what remains is the donation group. Organizations like the Purple Heart, Council for the Blind, and Salvation Army are happy to accept any goods they can sell or give to those in need. This way, even more people benefit and you won’t be contributing to more waste on the earth. Before you actually act with your items, I recommend taking from a week to a month to live in your new, organized room. You may notice that something from that closet was needed after all, and this way, you’ll have a chance to retrieve it. Once the closet is clear, you’re all finished.

That messy room can be cleaned up after all, and benefit a lot of people in the process. So, walk to your bed with ease on your fresh clear floor, and wake up tomorrow to a creative reflection of your personality.

Version 9
Brandon Layne 2000

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