I have a confession. I am a slob. Not just messy, not just unorganized, but a bona fide slob. One of my New Year’s Resolutions was to finally tidy up my life, so with warm weather just around the corner, I’m doing just that with a little Spring Cleaning! Normally Spring Cleaning involves a bottle of Windex, some heavy duty scrubbing, and hopefully, a nice spring breeze. Being in the dorms, however, means I could use this opportunity to declutter and reorganize my room. You will be SHOCKED at the transformation, I know I was.
Problem Area #1: My bed
I love my bed. It’s got, like, three blankets, four pillows, and is conveniently located next to my roommate’s desk, which I often use as a nightstand (bless her). Unfortunately, my bed often ends up as one of the messiest areas of my space, complete with balled up clothes, slept-in blankets, my laptop, and occasionally a sock or two…or five. Under the bed isn’t much prettier. I decided to tackle this area first, to get the ball rolling on my cleaning expedition. I stripped my bed, took off every pillow, cleaned out under my bed, and put it all back together neatly with fresh sheets and folded blankets. Instantly, my living space looked ten times cleaner. I think I could enjoy this Spring Cleaning.
Problem Area #2: My Drawers and Closet
I never intended for my drawers to get this messy. Ususally, I try to keep them somewhat organized so I can find things. By now, it had gotten to the point where I couldn’t find shirts or pants, and if I did, they were most likely so wrinkled that they were unwearable. I took every article of clothing out of my drawers and closet. Every. Single. One. After much deliberation, I managed to get rid of a garbage bag’s worth of clothing, which, coming from a person who saves almsot everything, is a pretty big deal. The next step was organization: I folded everything, seperated it by season, and put it neatly away. I had to find a way so that I could see all of my shirts and pants, to keep the above from happening again. Everyone has their own method of organizing their closet and clothes, so it was important that I find something that works with my life (ex. didn’t require a lot of organization and worked with my limited space).
Problem Area #3 My Desk
On a good day, my desk looks like the above photo. At points, it’s gotten so bad that you can’t even see the wood. Again, I cleaned out every last drawer and went through another agonizing round of “Do Really Need This?” Most of the time, the answer was no. Another garbage bag later, my drawers had been cleaned out and reorganized. I also made a pact with myself not to let there be more than two piles on my desk at any time, to keep the clutter in check. I knew I could never keep my desk spotless because, let’s face it, life happens. I’m not going to want to clean my desk every day because that just isn’t me. But by giving myself some restrictions, I’m more willing to stay organized and keep crap off my desk.
If you’re looking to stay neat and clean, in the end, it’s all about finding a system that works for you. I’m enjoying actually being able to use my desk and see all my clothes, so I have motivation to keep the Spring Cleaning momentum going. And if not, there’s always next year!
Here are some of the “After” photos of my room. My mind is blown.
Photo Credits: http://www.andpop.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/early-spring-cleaning.png