If you’ve been here before, you know that I have “Master Bedroom Issues.” It’s my catch-all place for the many things that don’t have a proper home. It’s the door I can justify closing when company comes over (and it locks).
I’ve had many a post about it, and slowly but surely, it is getting better.
Slowly.
But surely.
I’m working in small areas at a time, and have been amazed at what a difference each new decluttered area makes in the overall feel of the room, even when there are still several disaster areas left.
For over a week, I’ve been meaning to write a post about clearing off the end of the bed and the trunk-that-catches-everything-I-don’t-hang-up-right-away. But somehow it hasn’t happened. Money Saving Mom started a clutter challenge, and that took over some planned posts last week. But today, she’s encouraging people to work in their master bedrooms, so here goes.
Are you ready?
That, folks, is the site of the Wonderbra Avalanche. I know . . . it’s bad. Really bad. But to try to defend my self a teeny-tiny bit, I will say that prior to the aforementioned avalanche, it was at least precariously perched upon the not-visible-in-this-picture trunk, not spilling onto the recently cleared rug.
But here’s what it looked like after about 30 minutes of work.
Much better, right? The real irony here is that my mother bought me that gorgeous trunk specifically because it was camel-backed. She said I didn’t need another flat surface to pile things on. Guess I showed her, huh?
Blankets that were no longer needed as the weather warms up went to their new home. Many things went into the garage sale pile, some to the laundry, and some to storage for next winter.
So everything has been hunky-dorey since then, right?
Weeellll, not exactly. It’s my goal with this blog to figure out why I am the way I am and what I can do to change it. A big part of that is accepting reality. I’m not a neat-freak. My brain works differently from that of a neat-freak, meaning that I don’t see the little bits of clutter until they’re a big pile of clutter.
I want my master bedroom to be done. I want it to be decluttered and beautiful for the rest of my life. But the reality is that things end up in there. Things that don’t yet have a home. Even though I’m working to find homes for everything this year, there will always be new things coming in. When it’s 4:30 and we have our home group coming over in an hour, and I see a pile of stuff that hubby brought home from a conference sitting on the dining room table, I don’t necessarily have the time to analyze what to do with it. It can go in the master bedroom until it’s time to urge him to take it to his office. It just can’t stay in the master bedroom.
My master bedroom will always be a place that I have to work on. And consistently removing the small amounts of clutter is what will keep it from getting back to its state of disaster.
This morning, I decided to stop the spiral and work on the master bedroom again. I wasn’t clearing out any additional disaster areas, just maintaining the ones that I’ve already done.
Here’s the before:
And here it is 45 minutes later. 45 minutes which included several doll re-dressings, and a frantic search for the one and only doll who could wear a certain dress. Oh, and it also included several minutes spent reading through my wedding planning spiral (from almost 11 years ago), which was in hubby’s “little pile” from last weekend’s decluttering sessions.
Not perfect, and I still have very far to go, but as I keep re-learning in this “coming clean” process, decluttering doesn’t work if you don’t also maintain, and it’s impossible to maintain until you’ve decluttered.
Every single thing cluttering up the before picture had an explanation. The suitcase was there because I was filling it with winter clothes as I folded laundry yesterday. The “little piles” were the result of some pretty solid decluttering done over the weekend. The humongous white comforter came out of the suitcase yesterday after having served its purpose of giving the suitcase some weight while being used as a prop recently.
But even though there are explanations, I’m working to stop letting my explanations turn into excuses. It’s only an explanation for a day. After the suitcase sits there for a week, it’s an excuse.
Make sense?
Oh, and the free deodorant mentioned in the title? I’ll give you a little glimpse into my slob-brain. With couponing, I’m often able to get free or almost free deodorant. Since I usually have 4 or 5 at a time, it’s way too easy to go get a new one when my current one gets lost in the chaos of the room. And then, when I’m “using” all 4 or 5 and lose the very last one, one of the others generally pops out from under the bed or behind the dresser, and I start the rounds again. Sooo, does that mean that having 4 or 5 free deodorants is a good thing for a slob, or a bad thing? Hmmm . . . .
Check out more master bedroom clutter-clearing posts at Money Saving Mom.
Lenetta @ Nettacow says
Hee hee hee – take THAT, Mom! :>) (it IS gorgeous, by the way!)
Nony (A Slob Comes Clean) says
Just so you know, my mom does read my blog pretty much daily, and I know she'll get the humor in that!
Julia Writer says
I gave your blog the Sunshine Award today! Please visit my blog to receive it!
pinkorbluewilldo says
Amazing and inspiring again… keep up the good work.
Janna says
Do you hear my thunderous applause! Great job at getting things in order.
Amy says
Hi Nony, I found your blog thru Julia's award links and have been reading through your posts, mesmerized – I can really relate to a lot of your struggles to keep the house in order, I struggle with this too, especially cleaning routines (I do hate cleaning) and being more organized about meal plans. It is very comforting to know I am not the only one out there!
Nony (A Slob Comes Clean) says
Thanks for the encouragement everyone!
Julia, I'm so honored, thank you!
Amy, welcome! I'm glad you found me. (I really wish I could put another exclamation point there, but that would mean that every single sentence in this comment had one.)
JoDi says
Wow, ALL of that was ON TOP of the chest pre-avalanche!?! You've got some mad balancing skills girl LOL! It looks great now. Congrats on maintaining and making progress.
I had to laugh at your explanation about the exclamation point. You have no idea how many times I find myself editing them out of my comments for the same reason!
sunny says
ha! I soooo have master bedroom issues too! *sigh*
And when I declutter, I end up with little piles – for give away, donating, etc. And it's those piles for me that sit there..and I don't do something about them… until this week.
A friend who just finished decluttering her entire cottage (pretty impressive) relied on the use of empty banker boxes (10 for $10 at office depot – I had to really search for them)…
once i had the boxes home and put together (very easy), I wanted to grab a box and find things to donate, and grab another box and put media in there (CDs, DVDs, books I kept borrowed from friends and kept meaning to read). Another box was filled with pretty storage containers like pretty tins, baskets, etc. as a Box O' Pretty – to have on hand when I have little things that need to be contained. All these boxes are in a "holding area" in my office…an area I designated to be a holding area. That's where items go when I know I want to donate them or give them away. or want to keep them but have no homes for the items yet.
sorry this is so long. all this to say – a holding area + banker boxes are helping me dig my way out of my master bedroom avalanche of items.
Anonymous says
I know this is an old post, but I just found your blog a few days ago and am reading from the beginning…
Now, as a disclaimer, my Master is at least as bad as yours, and I by no means am an expert… but if I have a piles on the dining room table that need to disappear before company comes over, I put them on our bed. (Partly because it is a clear, flat surface.) That way, I have to move it THAT night, and if I put it back on the dining room table, it is not so out-of-sight/out-of-mind.
Thanks so much for sharing! It is inspiring to see that there are others out there like me… Now, to put some of that inspiration to work… What's that old saying "10% inspiration and 90% perspiration"? I'll try again tomorrow. 😉
Shanna says
Nony, I think you should give yourself a present and have a new “in limbo” area for odds and ends you need to have “on hold”. The master is YOUR special space-plant a flag there and make it special for you! You are important and should have a pleasing environment to sleep in!
I have a small corner pile in my master since I ran out of “throw rooms” with so many children in the house. Before #4 I always had a spare place to keep the line of defense up against random wierdness piles. Now it has engulfed many rooms and I am working on consolidating to one special area so at least everything that doesn’t belong is together in one designated area. This way the rest of the house feels free and clear and is easier to maintain. Psychologically it helps me too, so I feel a room is “done”, everything I don’t want in that room is GONE.
The excuses-so funny!! I always have a story to tell my husband or whatever relative is over about why it’s a disaster. It always starts with “I was gonna…” and ends with “but then Something Happened!”. I always feel like a lame loser- stuff happens to other people too, right? And they seem fine. As I get older the excuses feel more and more embarassing. My mom knows she will make her own bed when she arrives from another state at my house.
Elizabeth says
So…. I came across this after checking my emails…. while procrastinating about decluttering our bedroom:)
Encouraging to know I’m not the only one and also helpful to do a small pile at a time rather than be overwhelmed by the whole mess.
Julia says
Died laughing at the rotation of deodorants, because I’ve done the same. I’ve never had 4 or 5 started at once, but I have had up to 3 started and laying around random areas of my bedroom/bathroom. Not being able to find your deodorant in your slob piles is stressful when you’re running late, that’s for sure!!