A large family, homeschooling, adoption, special needs, whatever strikes my fancy, sort of blog.

A large family, homeschooling, adoption, special needs, whatever strikes my fancy, sort of blog.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Master Bedroom Talk


Remember when I reviewed Total Home Makeover?  I continue to be inspired by the concepts in the book, and now that the babies are in their own room, it's time to turn my attention to my bedroom.

If you're anything like me, when cleaning, you pick up the high traffic areas of the house regularly, but your own bedroom tends to suffer during busy times.

It's a work in progress, of course, but I spent some time in there recently.


One of the things I tackled was the top of my dresser.  I'm not going to post a before photo (there isn't one) but I will confess that I found things that I put up there when I unpacked from China.  On June 30.

I feel like I'm starting to come out of the fog.  Oh, I'm still behind in several areas of my life, but it's starting to feel like managed chaos again.  Instead of just total chaos.

In working on my room, I thought about what I wanted to share with you.  The take away point I'd like to leave you with is not "Hey, I'm finally cleaning my room!"  What is really on my heart is the idea of making your room a sanctuary.

Is your room a pleasant place, or is it where all the random junk goes to nest?  Do you smile when you go into your bedroom?  Does your husband?  (Some of you just said, "ouch," right?)  Is it a place where you want to spend time, or is it just where you crash?  Is the atmosphere conducive to romance?

I touched a little on the idea of your sleep environment in my recent insomnia post.  Maybe today would be a good day to declutter a few things from your bedroom.  I tend to have a pile of things that belong somewhere else (school room, downstairs, whatever).  Take that pile to where it goes.

If you've had the same sheets ever since you got married, and you have 3 kids, it's probably time to spring for a new set of sheets.  Now would be a good time to get flannel ones for the winter.  (Confession:  We sleep on flannel sheets year round.  I just love them that much.)

What's on the walls in your room?  I have pictures of the family up, and it makes me happy.  Some people might want inspirational quotes or meaningful artwork.  Maybe you could blow up a photo taken from a special vacation and put that in your bedroom.  Maybe that would be a fun Christmas surprise for your husband.

Hit the hot spots.  My bedside table was about 6" deep in review books, junk mail, kleenexes, and a plate from the kitchen (oops!).  If you clean it up and realize how nice it looks, you're more likely to think twice before putting stuff back on there again.

Think about the atmosphere other than the clutter.  Do you have appropriate lighting?  Not too harsh, but enough to read by.  How does it smell?  Like sleeping man?  Woof!  Keep a window open when you can, and consider a Scentsy burner or an essential oil defuser to add a pleasant, relaxing smell to your room.  Don't go overboard, and do consider your husband's tastes.  If he hates the smell of roses, adding rose potpourri sachets all over is NOT going to be well received.  But if he suffers from headaches, and you have a little peppermint going in the defuser, he may come to associate being in the bedroom as a more relaxing place because his headaches lessen there.


Do you have the option of listening to music in your room?  Could you easily add that?  If you think about how your room sounds, smells, looks and feels, you can create a place of rest for you and for your husband.  You know all this already, but sometimes one needs to be reminded.

Wise-Woman-Builds

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11 comments:

  1. Maintaining our room as a sanctuary is something I started years ago. Our room remains clean unless I am in the midst of folding laundry and all the art and wall decor symbolize my husband's and my relationship. There is a watercolor he made for me, some pallet art representing our bond that I made, a photo from our wedding, a photo of me taken in a formal a couple years back, white love birds, a heart shaped wood bowl that has all of our love letters and cards tied in a red ribbon and sitting in it. My bedroom is one of my favorite rooms in our home.

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    1. I love my room, too. The kids tease that if I had a fridge in there, I'd never come out!

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  2. I JUST moved into a new home. Our master bedroom is about three times as big... or more.. that the tiny room we used to have. It scares me! lol And right now, it's full of EVERYONES clothes. It's a big job to clean it all out (we have 4 kids) and I try to tackle a little every day. I can't wait to have it finished so we can enjoy our sanctuary! :) Thanks for inspiring me to keep going!

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    1. I'm so glad you found my thoughts inspired you! We have a counter in the butler's pantry that I use for all the laundry, so it doesn't end up on the couch (where it used to live, in our old house!). I hope you find a solution that works for your family. :)

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  3. Good for you for visiting this area of your home and making it a place of refuge! WE love our diffuser too!

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    1. I've got lemon-eucalyptus going in there now. :) We've got colds in the house.

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  4. I hear you on the bedroom cleaning. We have been really trying to clean out our house. One room at a time. My room is always full. I usually say to the kids put that in my room to deal with later. Later does eventually come. I store many school books in my room so its more like a library with a bed. lol Not very romantic I guess. What to do about that... Hmmmm. We only have the attic to clean out and then in the spring the yard will get a make over. :) Feels good to clean things up and be organized.

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    1. Room by room through the whole house sounds like a ton of work! Great job!

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  6. I need to get busy and do more work in the bedroom. (Everywhere, but this is where I'm convicted right this minute.) Good tips here, and I'll have to look up that book! And get a diffuser, which I've been wanting to do for a while. Maybe for Christmas. LOL

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    1. I'd never had one before, and this one came in my Young Living kit. Turns out, I love it! Who knew? LOL! As a bonus, I haven't caught the cold the kids have been passing around.

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