Have you heard of the saying, “cluttered house, cluttered mind?” It’s a metaphor that tends to ring true. The next time you walk into your bedroom, take notice of how it makes you feel. Does your heart start beating a little faster as you look at the disheveled bed and dusty dresser? Free your mind by taking control of your bedroom and you will be on the road to a better mood and quality sleep. The key is to clean as you go. Do a major weekly clean - launder sheets, vacuum or sweep the floor and dust your bedroom furniture. Then, each day, give yourself five extra minutes to tidy up your room before you leave. Five minutes to freedom. Here are some tips:
Clean Your Sheets
Once a week. Your skin sheds every day and as gravity would have it, tends to collect in your bed sheets and on your mattress. Then, in turn, little microscopic mites come and eat it up. It’s a bit of a dichotomy because the little guys are helping clean up, but then they reside in your place of slumber. The best way to keep your skin and the mites that love it off of your bed is to wash your sheets. Once a week. The Wall Street Journal recommends using the hot-water cycle on the wash machine and a hot setting on the dryer. Proper sanitation practices include using soap and hot water to kill germs. If you want to take it one step further and disinfect, try bleach.
Use Quality Linens
When was the last time you bought yourself something special? Invest in a new pair of sheets. You can find Egyptian cotton 300 or 400 thread count, which is the choice of top hotels according to goop.com, at Macys.com. If you buy some new bedding, it might be more important to you to keep smooth and tidy.
Make Your Bed
Whether you have the ultimate in bed layers or not, it can’t feel good to walk into a room with sheets strewn about. Let alone climb into an unmade bed. It’s like you never really got up. Make each day new by straightening your sheets. Say goodnight to each day and it’s contents by climbing into a smooth bed. Then do it all over again the next day. So, what does it take to make a good bed? Goop.com offers a video from The Connaught hotel in London highlighting a properly made bed. In your case, since you aren’t housekeeping at a fancy hotel, pull your fitted sheets taut at the corners and re-tuck. Pull the top sheet up to the head of the bed and fold the ends at the foot of the bed under. Take the hanging corners, raise them, fold the end corner into themselves and tuck tightly under corner of mattress. Shake duvet and flip sheet at head of bed over top of duvet. Fluff pillows and lay in front of each other at the head of the bed.
Keep your room quiet and dark when you sleep and try to get 6 to 8 hours a night. Mixing all of these elements will assist in uncluttering your life and your mind.
One Comment
My one firm die-hard rule in my house is my bedroom must be clean and my bed made. An unmade bed makes the entire room look awful.
I only have one chore scheduled in my week and that’s to change and wash the sheets every Monday. The rest of my housekeeping gets done as needed.
My bedroom is my sanctuary and I treat it as such.