Decluttering Bedroom Ideas

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Originally published September 16, 2019 and updated January 9, 2023.

These decluttering bedroom ideas can turn chaos into a sanctuary that you actually enjoy. Knowing how to prioritize and declutter all the items in your bedroom doesn’t have to be intimidating with these tips and the free decluttering clothes printable below.

Your bedroom should be your oasis from the chaos of life. When you escape from the world, you don’t want to retreat to a chaotic bedroom that has become a dumping ground. Let’s examine the decluttering bedroom ideas that will make your peaceful oasis a reality.

How do I declutter my bedroom?

1. Asses your room, goals and decluttering challenges.
2. Gather all loose or misplaced items from bedroom surfaces and the floor of the bedroom.
3. Sort through those items and either declutter them or replace them in the proper location.
4. Remove items from all drawers. Sort all like items together.
5. Try every item on. Critically edit all of items and declutter them.
6. Return items neatly back to drawers.
7. Remove all items from your closet. If you’re limited in space, you can remove one category of items at a time.
8. Try every single item on. Ruthlessly critique every item and only keep those that you love and work for your current lifestyle and size.
9. Return them neatly to the closet.
10. Consider removing all extraneous items from the bedroom and relocating them to other areas of the home.
11. Establish a declutter closet routine to monthly or seasonally work through these decluttering bedroom ideas.

Decluttering Bedroom Ideas

To make your bedroom a serene space to relax at the end of the day and start the day off right, you need to declutter the bedroom to make space to organize and breathe.

Assess Your Goals and Bedroom Ideas

Determine your goals for your bedroom. Do you want to eliminate clutter to create a serene space? Do you want to make space for new furniture?

Keep in mind that a decluttered bedroom is more conducive to a good night’s rest. And that’s something we all deserve.

Pin down your goals to help motivate you when you declutter and help you determine how much space you absolutely need to clear.

Remove Extraneous Items

I’ve lived in more than 20 homes and many times I had an office, or a craft space or a baby nursery in my bedroom. While I understand that sometimes that’s the only answer for your home, whenever possible, remove all items that don’t involve sleeping or getting dressed from your bedroom.

For a tidy space, be sure to keep clear surfaces and remove visible clutter and loose items.

Declutter Clothes Tips

• You deserve clothes that fit you, fit your lifestyle and that you love.
• Always gather all clothing items and sort them by category.
  • This allows you to accurately assess how many items you have of each type of clothing or shoes.
  • Seeing all the items together in once place allows you to critically determine how many you really need of each type of clothing.
• Always try every single item on.
• Be critical when examining clothing. You are worth items you love. It’s much better to have 10 items that you love than 60 items that are just okay.
• Remove torn, stained or damaged clothing.
  • Don’t save items because “I’ll get it repaired someday.” If you are not going to have a damaged item repaired in the next two weeks, it has to go.
• Remove clothing that doesn’t fit you well.
  • Unless you’re pregnant, don’t keep a wardrobe of clothing in smaller or larger sizes.
    • If you do lose or gain weight, there’s no guarantee that those clothes you’re holding onto will fit your new shape well.
    • It’s likely that those clothing items will be out of style.

• Remove items that are uncomfortable.
• Remove items that don’t fit your current lifestyle.
• Remove items that don’t coordinate with other items you have.
  • Don’t keep items that you can’t wear because you don’t have pants or a shirt that go with them.
    • Either commit to purchasing the coordinating item required to make the outfit or let the item go.
  • Use the principles of creating a capsule wardrobe to help you decide what to keep and what to declutter.

Declutter Your Closet

Take all items out of your closet by category, including on upper shelves and on the floor. Sort into categories such as:

This free declutter bedroom checklist will provide simple tips and specific things to consider.

Declutter Your Drawers

Remove all items from drawers and sort into categories to edit and declutter.

Relocate items that don’t belong in the bedroom to the bathroom, linen closet, office and so on. Remember that you are creating your oasis with these bedroom ideas, so be dedicated to relocating items immediately that don’t belong in the bedroom.

Declutter Shoes

Try on every pair of shoes. Remove any that are:

• Uncomfortable
• Damaged or worn
• Out of style
• Don’t work with your current lifestyle or fashion style

Declutter Accessories

While some accessories are timeless, many are too trendy to last more than a season or two.

Although styles do come back around, they usually have a modern twist.

When you wear a style the second time around, it’s important not to wear the original or you’ll look like you’re wearing your two decade old clothes. You can share the original version with your daughter or granddaughter – they’ll look like they’re wearing cool vintage clothing.

Organize by Assigning a Proper Place for Everything

Identify specific areas to store each category of item.

Place items near where you use them. You may keep a small stack of books on your nightstand if you read in bed, but you wouldn’t keep them in your closet.

Store similar items together, for example, all socks go in a sock drawer.

Storage furniture, products and DIY ideas are listed below for small space storage and for different categories of clothing.

Establish a Bedroom Decluttering Routine

To maintain a clutter-free bedroom, it’s important to spend a little time consistently to declutter and prevent a messy bedroom from developing.

Establish new habits and commit to always putting clean laundry away immediately so it doesn’t end up as a pile of clothes on the floor, on a chair or in the corner of your bedroom.

If you have more clothes than you do storage space, it’s a good idea to store seasonal clothing in a trunk or storage furniture at the end of the bed or in a guest room.

Place sentimental items in a storage bin out of the way on the top shelf in the closet.

You can find more specific decluttering bedroom ideas for specific items:

• Decluttering Clothes – Everything You Need to Know – The ultimate decluttering clothes guide with more than 25 practical tips & all your most common questions answered by a professional organizer.
• Jeans
• Socks
• Scarves, Belts and Accessories
• Workout or Yard Work Clothes
• Shoes
• Sweatshirts and Sweaters

FAQs about Decluttering and Organizing a Bedroom

How do I organize my bedroom with too much stuff?

• Remove all trash, empty boxes and bags
• Relocate items that belong in another room
• Assess the bedroom clutter you have and what you have room to keep.
  • First, sort items and then grouping all items together in categories so you can see what you have and if you have too many of items.
  • Pick one group to start with and find all the items in that group in your room. Place them together and determine how many you have room to keep. Go through all the items in this room. If you still have to much stuff, go through the process again.
• Then organize items efficiently to make the most of the space you have
  • Use vertical space
  • Use under the bed space
  • Pull the bed and chairs away from the wall and store items in tubs behind them.
  • Use the back of the bedroom door and closet door
  • Check out all the tips and products in these small space organizing articles
    • Storage for Small Spaces – Whether you’re down-sizing or just starting out, living in a small home can be cozy & organized with these 56 tips & storage solutions for small spaces.
    • Space Saving Products – More than 55 innovative space saving products and organizing tips for every room and function in your small apartment or home.

How can I declutter my bedroom in one day?

• Start with the easy wins – trash, empty boxes and bags and items that belong in another room.
• Be prepared to make tough decisions quickly. You won’t have time to agonize over decisions.
• Have trash bags and boxes ready and labeled for trash, recycling and donate.
• Place all dirty clothes in the hamper or a laundry basket.
• Start by decluttering the floor.
• Next declutter all flat surfaces – top of the chest of drawers and nightstands, shelves on bookcases and in the closet.
• Then declutter hanging clothes.
• Finally declutter items in drawers, including nightstand drawers.

Where do I start when organizing a bedroom?

Start with the area that bothers you the most or that you use the most. This will motivate you to complete and to enjoy the results of your organizing work. Then move onto horizontal surfaces, such as bedside tables and dressers. Next organize the bedroom closet. Work on the dresser drawers last.

More Bedroom Organizing Ideas

Find all my decluttering tips, printables and challenges in the table below. You can scroll though the table and look for ideas or search for specific ideas with the magnifying glass in the upper right-hand corner (on desktop). Click on the topic and then click through the specific article.