Cleaning & Organizing Organizing Decluttering

6 Smart Ways to Declutter Your Bedroom

How to Get Rid of Clutter for Good

neat, organized bedroom

The Spruce / Letícia Almeida

Imagine waking up every day to a clean, clutter-free bedroom. Your sleep hygiene can greatly benefit from a peaceful environment—part of that includes a bedroom that's organized and clutter-free.

To achieve a decluttered bedroom, it takes commitment to tackle a couple of small daily habits in addition to great storage that holds large and small items. Stay on top of your clothing accumulations and have a place for everything, including your dirty clothes, small pieces of jewelry, and other extras.

Learn specifics on how to declutter your room with these six tricks that are essential to maintaining a streamlined space.

  • 01 of 06

    Do a Regular Decluttering Sweep

    four container method

    The Spruce / Margot Cavin

    The more often you do a declutter sweep, the less time it will take. Take 30 minutes each week to focus on decluttering your bedroom—you can do it all in one sweep or break it up into three 10-minute sessions over the week. Before you start, grab a recycling bin, a laundry hamper, and a "catch-all" bin.

    1. Start with your nightstands—remove any items that need to be trashed or recycled. Do the same for the tops of your dressers and other surfaces.
    2. Put any items that are out of place in the catch-all bin and then bring them to their proper rooms.
    3. Place dirty clothes and linens in the hamper, and return any clean clothes to the closet.
    4. Go through the drawers in your nightstand and dressers—sort appropriate items into the recycling and catch-all bins.
    5. Go through the catch-all bin to return items to their proper places.
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  • 02 of 06

    Keep the Floors Clean

    Bedroom hardwood floor

    The Spruce / Margot Cavin

    Throwing clothing, shoes, books, and other items on the floor creates a sea of visual clutter in your bedroom. To avoid stepping into a minefield of bedroom clutter, make sure you have a place for everything—just not the floor. That could mean adding hooks on your doors and in your closet to toss clothes, bringing in a small bookshelf for books that are usually piled up on the floor, or a deep basket to toss shoes or your pet's toys that you continually trip over.

    Keeping your floor clutter-free also helps you easily move around the space. Take a few seconds every night to pick things up that have landed on the floor and put them into their rightful spot.

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  • 03 of 06

    Weed Out Your Clothes Closet Regularly

    organized closet

    The Spruce / Letícia Almeida

    Sorting excess clothing into boxes marked for tossing, donating, selling, gifting, or seasonal storage will go a long way toward decluttering your closet and bedroom. Make it an annual event and be brutally honest with yourself when sorting. For example, it's okay to admit you'll never repair or clean that pricy garment because you don't like the way it looks on you, it's out of style, or it's too uncomfortable to wear—so into the donation, sell, or gifting box it goes. For seasonal storage on items you do love, choose clear, stackable bins or under-bed storage boxes to help you identify the contents.

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  • 04 of 06

    Use Trays, Bowls, and Baskets to Contain Clutter

    dish to collect jewelry

    The Spruce / Letícia Almeida

    Bedrooms tend to collect a lot of one-off items like watches, earrings, books, and knickknacks. Sort, organize, and store these items out of sight by using trays, bowls, and baskets to hold jewelry, glasses, and other necessary items.

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  • 05 of 06

    Invest in Furniture With Storage

    bench with storage

    The Spruce / Letícia Almeida

    If you've simply run out of storage in closets and cabinets, turn to alternative solutions, such as furniture with built-in storage. For example, an upholstered bench with a lid that lifts placed at the end of the bed not only provides a place to sit when putting on your shoes, but can also hold those shoes—or extra linens, towels, or anything else that you need a place for. A wicker chest can become a bedside table with storage and surface space for books.

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  • 06 of 06

    Reorganize Your Space

    Neutral bedroom with queen size bed and area rug underneath

    The Spruce / Jason Donnelly

    Rearrange or reorganize the furniture in your bedroom to make it more functional and decluttered. For example:

    • Mount your TV on the wall instead of placing it on a console or surface.
    • Move your bed away from a corner wall and into the middle of the wall so you can have space on both sides for nightstands.
    • Put a small dresser inside of your closet (if there's room) for better organization and free up space in the room.

How to Prevent Bedroom Clutter

To help you prevent future clutter build-up, consider these tips:

  • Take the minimalist approach and buy less to keep your clothing clutter from growing out of control again.
  • Make it a daily habit to take an extra few seconds to hang up or fold the clothes that do not need to go in the laundry hamper and put the dirty ones into the hamper.
  • Motivate yourself to use your hamper by choosing something that aligns with your bedroom decor, such as a beautiful basket or a sleek bin.
  • Make your bed every morning because it will immediately give your bedroom a sense of order and calm and it will encourage you to keep the space neat.