Clean up your messy bedroom.
No room in a home should be more important to a couple than their bedroom. Disarray in the master bedroom has more impact on family life, on love and respect and on a relationship than it does in any other room. Your bedroom should be a space that reflects your relationship and fosters calm, warmth and love.

When it comes to your kids' rooms, remember that children learn more from what they see than from what they hear. So if your room is full of clutter, don't be surprised if your kids' rooms are messy. Model the behavior you want from your children!

6 Steps to a Clutter-Free Bedroom
Step 1: Upload your "before" photos

Step 2: Think it through

Step 3: Think F.A.S.T!

Step 4: Create and maintain zones for your bedroom

Step 5: Create and maintain zones for your child's bedroom

Step 6: Upload your "after" photos

Can't get from your bed to the closet without tripping over multiple pairs of shoes? Can't remember what color your child's bedroom carpet is? Then it's time for a change. Take pictures of your room like it is now, and send them in! Peter just might be able to help you out if you have questions—or you could be on the show!
What You'll Need to Get Started
Digital camera
Computer

Upload your photos


Improve Your Chances of Appearing on The Oprah Show!
1. Don't pick up your mess before you take your "before" photos. The messier, the better!
2. Take a photo from each and every corner of the room. Get the widest angle possible—the more we see, the better.
3. Get creative! Take a few photos of specific areas of the room—your table, kids corner, bed, dresser, etc.
4. Make sure the room is well lit. If not, use a flash.
5. Make sure your camera settings are on the highest resolution possible.
6. Turn off the time/date stamp.
7. Don't include anyone in the photos. Rooms only, please!
8. Try not to submit blurry photos. We may not be able to use them.
9. Remember, you can only submit up to three photos, so pick your best ones!
Less truly is more. Having a little more room to move and to think goes a long way. Now, it's time to reimagine your home and make your possessions serve your life, instead of vice versa. Take your vision for your life and make it a reality. Here's how to create a shared vision everyone in your home will love.
What You'll Need to Get Started
Download a room function chart PDF

How to Create a Shared Vision
Gather your family. If it's your bedroom, talk with your partner about what you envision for the room. If it's your child's room, have a discussion about what they envision for the room—but keep in mind not everyone will share the same idea. Be mindful of each other during this process because having to toss treasured possessions can be a highly emotional exercise for most people. This is a tough job, and you are going to engage in tough conversations, so get off on the right foot together.

Establish a basic premise. The best way to enter a tough discussion is to establish where you stand at the start with love and understanding. Before you talk about the clutter, talk about what is important to all of you. Discuss what you want the final outcome of this cleanup to be. Agree on ground rules, and return to this initial conversation when things get difficult or uncomfortable.

Don't make it personal. As you discuss your hopes and goals for the rooms in your house, make sure you don't start blaming your spouse, partner, roommate or children for the mess. Instead of focusing on whose mess it is, think of it as a group problem that you're going to solve together. Don't use words like "yours" and "mine." Talk about the clutter and challenges surrounding it as "ours."

Don't point your finger at others. The goal is to reframe the discussion away from the item itself to its significance in your lives. Here are some questions to help you make decisions about what to keep without starting arguments or passing judgment.

  • Instead of "Why don't you put your shoes away?" ask: "What is it that you want from this space?"
  • Instead of "Why do we have to keep your stuffed animals?" ask: "Why is that important to you? Does it have meaning?"
  • Instead of "There's no room for all of your stuff in there," say: "Let's see how we can share this space so that it works for both of us."
  • Instead of "Why do you have to hold on to these ugly sweaters your dad gave you?" ask: "What do these sweaters make you think of or remind you of?"
  • Instead of "I don't understand how you can live with all of this junk," ask: "How do you feel when you have to spend time in this room?"
Complete a Room Function Chart. Download a copy and give one to each member of your family. Fill them out individually, then meet to compare your results. At this stage, it is best to simply hear what everyone has to say without dismissing any idea. The more comments, feedback, insight and discussion, the better! Welcome surprises and be prepared for some interesting points of view.
With any project, it's important to kick-start the process. Until further notice, do not go out and buy anything new and unnecessary???no retail therapy, no "great deals" and no sales! Instead, purge as much clutter as possible as quickly as you can using the F.A.S.T. method. Here's a step-by-step breakdown on how to clean house and get organized.
What You'll Need to Get Started
Trash bags
Download signs to help keep your piles in order:
F: Fix a time. Schedule a time that suits everyone involved. Cleaning up is a family affair, so get everyone on board by scheduling your kick-start at a time that works for everyone and make attendance mandatory! Set aside a Saturday or a Sunday, or a few hours every day, to start the process.

A: Anything not used in 12 months. Face it: If you haven't used an item in the last year, it is highly unlikely you really need it or that you are going to ever get enough use out of it to justify it cluttering up your home. Take the plunge and get rid of it! Ask yourself these questions as you encounter each piece of clutter:
  • Do I use this?
  • How long has it been since I've used it?
  • Will I use it again?
  • Is it worth the space it takes up in my house?
Remember: The objective is to get stuff out of your home, not to move it into another room. You will be amazed by the sheer volume of unused and unneeded items in your home. Don't spend time inventing reasons to keep these things.

S: Someone else's stuff. It's bad enough when clutter is your own, but it is totally crazy when the clutter belongs to someone else. Your house should not contain anything that doesn't belong to you. If it's something you've borrowed, give it back. If you've ended a relationship or gotten a divorce, now's the time to let your ex's belongings go. If your kids have established their own households, it's time for them to pick their stuff up.

T: Trash. The trash can is your friend. It is your very hungry friend. Take pride in how much you throw away and make it fun. Compete with your family members to see who tosses the most or award a prize to the best purger. Remember the goal: You only want to keep the amount of stuff that makes sense for your space.
Rooms are used for different purposes—often at the same time. In order to decide what should stay and where, you need to identify the different activities that take place within each room and divide them into zones. Once you begin organizing, these zones become the center for specific items related to the designated activity. Then, it becomes immediately clear where things belong, where to find things and where to return them.
Sample Zones for Master Bedrooms
Sleeping
Relaxation
Clothes
Shoes
Off-season clothes and shoes
Reading

Quick Tips for Your Bedroom
Make it a room for grown-ups. Remember, it's your space. Get rid of the kids' toys and clothing. They have the rest of the house, the master bedroom should be yours alone.

Bring back the romance. Increase those aspects of the master bedroom that add to the romance and get rid of anything that doesn't enhance the idea of an adult retreat and haven. For example, this may mean making the room less of a media center and more of a relaxation zone. Set the tone for your romantic getaway from the cares and hassles of daily life!

Make the bed. The bed is a zone in and of itself—the sleeping zone. A well-made bed encourages order and inspires calm.

Beware of what's under the bed. Don't let the dust mites fester. Drag everything under the bed into the middle of the room. If you need anything to stay there, place them in clear containers with lockable lids. Revisit six months later. If you haven't needed what's under there, get rid of it.

Clean the closet. We wear 20 percent of our clothes 80 percent of the time. To weed out the ones you don't wear, turn all of the hangers in your closet one way. After you wear an item, turn the hanger to face the other way. Get rid of the clothes on the hangers that haven't been turned in the last year.

Quick Tips for Your Child's Bedroom
Establish zones. Zones help kids understand the concept of everything having a proper place. It also makes it easier for them to tidy the room and take responsibility for their own space. Create zones for your children's favorite activities (reading, art projects, etc.). Then, get creative in labeling these areas, and get your child involved. Make sure the shelving and storage units are the right height for your little one.

Sample zones for kids' bedrooms:
Sleeping
Clothes
Shoes
Homework
Toys
Reading
Crafts
Music

Set toy limits. Many homes are completely overrun with toys, stuffed animals, electronics, you name it! Set a limit to how much your child can own. Give them two or three bins for their toys. When the bins are full, no more new toys are allowed until a toy of a similar size is removed and given to charity. This teaches them the joy in giving to others and to value what is important to them.

Set toy routines. Limits help manage clutter, and so do routines. Set a time every day or after every activity for them to put their things away, and make it fun! They will learn about personal responsibility, the fundamentals of organization and how to help with simple chores.

Don't keep every piece of art or schoolwork. How do you pick and choose between what to keep and what to throw away? Make it a ceremony for your child. At the end of the semester, ask your child to pick the best of the best. Pick one to frame and three or four to keep for posterity. File flat artwork or papers away in a file so they have something to look back on later.

How-To Videos
Tackle the Toy Box Watch
The Art of Organizing Your Child's Projects Watch
By now, the bedrooms in your home should be peaceful getaways. Show us how far you've come!
What You'll Need
Digital camera
Computer

Upload your photos


Improve Your Chances of Appearing on The Oprah Show!
1. Take a photo from each and every corner of the room. Get the widest angle possible—the more we see, the better.
2. Take the "after" in the exact same place you took all the "before" photos. That way they will match up perfectly.
3. Get creative! Take a few "before" and "after" photos of specific areas of the room—your table, kids corner, bed, dresser, etc. Just remember to have the same angle for both photos!
4. Make sure the room is well lit. If not, use a flash.
5. Make sure your camera settings are on the highest resolution possible.
6. Turn off the time/date stamp.
7. Don't include anyone in the photos. Rooms only, please!
8. Try not to submit blurry photos. We may not be able to use them.
9. Remember, you can only submit up to three photos, so pick your best ones!

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