Between the Sheets
Do you ever feel your life is messy and cluttered and lacks tranquility? I know I do. I can’t always change the circumstances in my life to create a sense of calm, but there are things I can do with my home to lessen the appearance of stress. De-cluttering is one of them.
Now, before you turn a deaf ear … hear me out. I’m not saying to get rid of all your stuff or create rooms that border on pristine. And I’m not saying to do your WHOLE house all at once. But if you can start in one room, it helps provide a relaxing area for you to rest at the end of a long day. I know it can be a challenge as I speak from experience. My house used to be cluttered with lots of stuff and some things seldom were put away … simply because I didn’t bother … I thought I was too busy.
I decided to start with my bedroom. The kids aren’t in there to mess it up, so it’s“me” who either creates calm or chaos. I got rid of clothes that didn’t fit or that I hadn’t worn in the past year (this included shoes). Then I found places to put things away (out of sight). Now, I don’t have a large space (my whole apartment is about 1000 square feet and it has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms in addition to kitchen/dining and living areas) and I share it with 2 adult children and my granddaughter … so I had to get creative with storage. I made use of under-bed storage solutions to use all the space available to me – I found shelves and cubbies for the closet and my vanity too. Next, I set about redecorating.
I love sales, discount stores (Ross, TJ Maxx, etc), yard sales, and re-use shops (Goodwill, etc). I decided on my theme/colors and started putting the pieces together. I didn’t get in a hurry but found things here and there. I think my most expensive item was the king-size bedspread – $20 on sale at JC Penney. I actually bought two as I used one in a complementary color for the dust ruffle when I couldn’t find what I wanted. I think I’ve spent a total of about $200 on the bedroom and bathroom combined (it included new towels) and it took me about a year to pull it all together.
In the meantime, I continued to keep things put away in THIS area. I don’t “make” the bed every day, but I do pull up the bedding when I get dressed. The rest of the house might be cluttered or messy when I get home at night, but when I open the bedroom door, I am invited to enter a peaceful haven. I have candles and linen spray (lavender and vanilla are my personal favorites) that I use to enhance the sense of tranquility.
I didn’t use to think it mattered but have discovered that it does. There is the rare occasion that the bed is left messy when I leave. When I return and open the door, I “feel” the messy-ness even before I turn on the light. I have grown to delight in the peacefulness that exists in my room and appreciate the safe harbor that it’s become. And it’s not that the rest of my life is complete chaos because it really isn’t. It’s just a calm, reassurance of peacefulness that flows forth from the uncluttered atmosphere and invites me to rest “between the sheets” and be revived for another day.
I don’t consider myself a great decorator but was especially pleased with my results when my niece said it felt like a room at a resort … and my sister copied my colors and theme 🙂
