De-compress the stress (1)...your bedroom

So, before you launch yourself into your new bright shiny life...you've got to create it!

There are two areas that will need to get clear....your mind space and your living space, fortunately as you start to make pace de-cluttering one - the other seems to follow along for the ride. If your goal today is to de-clutter a living space but you’re not sure where to start then I would suggest that you start in your bedroom. Everything runs more smoothly after a good night’s rest so start at the very beginning making the foundations definite.

Things you will need (to maximise progress)

An alarm/timer

Rubbish sacks

Hoover, damp cloth

Three good sized boxes for "donate" "non bedroom items" and "might keeps"

A box for treasure, trinkets, precious keepsakes

Commitment. Set your intention, even if you're not yet able to visualise your bedroom as a calm, clean and serene space then take 5 minutes to close your eyes, take some deep breaths and imagine how you will feel when the area is fresh and new, how will you benefit from the flow of new energy in the room?

1, On your marks....decide which area you will start with (I suggest a corner or window)

2, Get set...... switch your phone to silent, set your alarm for 45 mins and make a mental note to have cleared and cleaned the area by the time the alarm sounds.

3, Go...... remove everything from the area that you have decided to clear, move it to outside of the room or at least to the furthest point from the area. Include pictures and curtains if they could do with a wash or wipe. Next, vacuum and clean the empty space, once sparkling stand back and think about what "really" needs to go back in the space and what items could possibly dress it nicely.

By now I expect your alarm has sounded and you've earned yourself a cup of tea ( however tempting, do not open the wine at this point as you'll need a clear head for round two) Leave the room and take a breather.

 Now refreshed, go back to the room and look once again at the space, take some deep breaths in and out from your heart. Now keeping in mind that the more clutter around you the more stressful life can be - make a final decision (from your heart, still imagining how you want to feel and benefit from the new space) on what items will live there . 

Remember as you dress this area that this is your relaxation space, it's where you wind down the day, your sanctuary for sleep and recuperation. DO NOT pack it with information or colour overload, think spa, think calm, think balance, think HMmmmmmmm and put just a few things back.

Next get stuck into the leftovers... everything that's left needs to be placed into either the donations box, the rubbish sack, the non bedroom items box or the might keeps box. "Might keeps" are items that you haven't used in over six months but think that you really might need! write on your calendar  to review the "might keeps" box in 6 month’s time... if you haven't used the items by then, then the rule of cool is... it's time to ditch them. Cards, letters, pebbles and all small sentimental items go into the treasure box. The truth is when these items are laying around our living area we stop “seeing” the memory they hold anyway, they can just add to feeling of clutterstress but the feeling of happiness when you open that box in a year’s time will be like meeting up with old friends.

Repeat the above steps another day for another area of the room, or, if you weren't in too much of a muddle to begin with then perhaps tackle the whole room in one big brave show. If you take this on be sure to know that half way through, the muddle will be worse than when you started so be prepared to push yourself and keep going, remind yourself that this accumulating clutter leads to accumulating stress and you are not going to bed with it tonight.

Do make sure you have set time aside to finish the task and remove the left-overs... Good luck 

useful notes....

neutral colours are best for bedroom walls, for example yellow is a colour to provoke thinking and ideas (not great for inducing sleep) you can always bring in accent colours using cushions, flowers, a bed runner, rug, candles etc

“A place for everything.co.uk” is a great site for storage solutions as is “theholding company.co.uk” even Dunelm mill and Argos can have cheap storage ideas.

Ebay is great for selling unwanted items (be sure you don’t fall into the trap of buying more “stuff”) 
you can also Google companies who will sell your goods for you for an agreed commission fee.

http://www.freshconnectivecoaching.com