All these things are true and helpful, but the best way to a tidy bedroom is a dressing room.

My first dressing room was HUGE, and I learned to dress and undress there. My bedroom became amazingly neat. My next home didn't have a dressing room, so I combined three closets from two bedrooms into a TINY dressing room. My contractor called it window with shelves. But I loved it just as much as my giant one. As long as I had a place to dress and undress and pile my stuff, my bedroom stayed tidy.

Now, I don't have a dressing room, and my bench at the end of my bed in over flowing with stuff that should be in my imaginary dressing room.

I might suggest not letting the dog sleep in your bed in the first place. Then you wouldn't have to feel like you needed to vacuum your sheets every other day?

I shudder every time I hear someone mention that they don't change their sheets often enough.

This is one thing I'll certainly have to do after I move. Right now, my bedroom has to be my bedroom primarily, but also part-time storage and office area for my Etsy shop. Unfortunately, there's not enough storage options in my apartment or my building to allow me to have a clutter-free bedroom. And I cannot wait for that to change.

Our major source of bedroom clutter relates to what to do with clothes that aren't done being worn. While it's fine to put jeans and sweaters back in the closest in between washings/cleanings (although we're not so good at doing that), we also wear a lot of wool base layers for bicycle commuting in colder weather. It doesn't seem right to put them away after wearing them but it doesn't make sense to wash them every time they get worn.

Every time I see this blanket my heart melts.

This is all well and good, but what do you do if you share a bedroom with someone who doesn't see the point in neatness? My boyfriend would change the sheets every six months if left to his own devices, and he refuses to pare down his (massive, needlessly redundant) wardrobe.

I'm embarrassed that it came to this (my husband's idea)...we initiated a no-closed door rule. But it kinda works. It's amazing how tidier the room stays when we know we aren't allowed to just shut it off (it's in plain view of the dining/living rooms).

How often do ya'll wash your sheets? i try to once every ten days or so... is that too much? not often enough? my cat sleeps with us and he goes outside.

I'm a tidy person in general but here are the things that help keep my room neat and tidy always:

2 laundry hampers. One for darks, one for lights. Helps me keep an eye on how much is piling up versus one big overflowing hamper.I'm more inclined to throw a load of darks in mid-week when I se it getting full

2 sets of sheets. I change mine weekly. I too am grossed out by the thought that someone would forget and go longer but it happens, so always have a clean set on back up so that you aren't deterred by having to do a load of laundry

No dog in the bed. I love my dog more than most people I know but my bed is white and she is not. She has her own bed in the living room. Occasionally, if I know that I'm washing the sheets the next day, I'll let her up for a cuddle. I also wash her bed weekly. I bought a beautiful one from Etsy (pipsqueek and pitunia) and the cover comes off. If her bed smells good, she smells good

No tv. If my bedroom is only for sleeping and dressing, it limits the mess I am capable of making in there. If I hang out and watch tv in there, I'm likely to bring in snacks or the mail or whatever.

Clothes, clothes...and...clothes. I have a walk-in closet, but that's for clothes that are hung-up and folded. There isn't space in it to put clothes that are "in limbo." I don't like putting away clothes that have just been washed (but I do), and I really don't like putting away clothes that I've worn, but aren't dirty enough for the laundry yet (like a jacket).

The obvious answer is to put clothes away upon dressing/changing/undressing, but I don't do it. I lay clothes on my trunk, hang them on a coat tree, hooks, etc., until I feel like putting them away at - maybe - the end of the week.

I work full time, attend 6 hours of class, and have at least 6 hours of homework a week - still, I probably have time to do this, but no motivation to do more of what seems like work. Any advice...?

"Often pieces in your closet will be a little short, a little funky, a little tight, a little baggy — a little "something" that makes you not 100% in love with them"

Guilty as charged.

Also, I am not fortunate enough to have a dressing room or otherwise large closet, so the end of my bed usually collects clothes "airing out." I try to put them away when I get home...but inevitably I fail. Hence I tell myself they're airing out.

I usually change my sheets every 10-14 days depending on how often I'm home to sleep on them.

@ listen missy - I had the same problen for years. I'd lay three, four pairs of jeans on the back of my desk chair because they weren't done being worn, but I didn't like putting them back in drawers when they've been worn once or twice. It always drove me batty. Well, I just recently got an over the door hook thing (it hangs on the door and has 5 hooks with balls on the ends) and I hung it so the hooks are inside my closet. Now, I just hand up the pants by their belt loops, the bras by their straps, etc. Then, I just close the door and voila! No droopy, messy pile of clothes sitting around in my bedroom :)

As a NYer with one, count it ONE CLOSET, I have tried to abide by a rule of not buying any more hangers. If I find myself reaching for dry cleaning wire, then it's time for something to go! Loosely based on one-in one-out rule.

^^^ good idea with the hooks on the back of the door. You could also probably put them in a nice decorative basket at the foot of the bed or even in the bathroom.

In addition to regular tidying up, I think the key to keeping your bedroom from becoming a clothes pile is to not have pieces of furniture in the bedroom that invite piling on clothes. i.e., no chairs/benches in the bedroom. They seem to just invite throwing that shirt that needs to "air out" before being put back in the cramped closet over the back. Without such furniture, I have to hang my "airing out" clothes in the bathroom, where I will be confronted with them again the next morning before I can shower.

I fold clothes that aren't ready to be washed but I don't want to put in drawers with clean clothes, and put them on top of my hamper. The key is to keeping the folded pile neat! I also try to make my bed everyday - it's easy to just leave the extra pillows on the chair which creates an instant mess but I try to be diligent and put them back on the bed- makes a big difference! Also, if you have bedding you really like (like my new LL Bean purple duvet) it makes you happy to see it in all its glory on a prettily made bed! :)

"There's just something about a freshly made bed that reminds me of my mother."

Um, ew?

"Change the sheets." Simple yet brilliant.

"Airing out," I love it! I'm airing out, um, LOTS of things in my house... and not just clothes! Ya can't have too much air, I always say.

No mention of investing in furniture that meets your storage needs?

So many times we see folks who have a tiny dresser, open shelves, or no storage at all - and their clothing & bedside items are in piles.

Rather than spending money on more new outfits, a big TV or partying - Invest in some furniture, like a nice big dresser and a pair of nightstands with drawers. Even some used/mismatched furniture from the Goodwill or Craigslist, once cleaned up and/or painted, will be far better for organization and the care of your clothing than a stack of plastic milk crates or clothing piled on a random chair or on the floor.

Watching tv while cleaning has always helped. Unfortunately, I try to keep the tv out of the bedroom. To make cleaning go faster, I'll watch a movie or shows on my laptop as I clean. It goes so much faster and helps me from getting distracted when I go into another room to put something away.

I also found it kind of motivating to take before and after pics with my cell phone. I know it sounds stupid, but it's really so satisfying to see how much my hard work paid off! :)

Ok, SHEET CONTROVERSY....... I shower at night BEFORE I go to bed ...... (I know some folks do not shower at night, and shower mornings) I am a night showererr. ((:
Ok that being said, when I get into my bed, my body is CLEAN, I will not say how often I change my sheets, but my point is, I AM CLEAN when I get into my sheets, so why would I want to CHANGE my sheets every week?
just saying....
aso I am a clean fanatic. so to answer your questions, my house is spotless((: just hate it when ppl go nuts about sheets. YOU ARE CLEAN why would the sheets be dirty? (accidents DO happen) and in that case, we change accordingly.

@ginnai, when you put on your clothes, "you are clean", but you wouldn't put on the same clothes every day for a week or longer without washing them. It is not only the outside world that makes us dirty, but we perspire and shed skin, etc. that needs regular removal from sheets and clothing. In my opinion there is no excuse for not changing sheets regularly if you truly care about your surroundings.

The thing that has worked for us and the bedroom (and every room) is routines. So we make sure the kitchen sink is empty every morning before we leave and each night before we go to bed. We make sure the litter is scooped every night. We make sure the clothes are put on hooks (if wearable again) or in the hamper (if not) every time we change. In the bedroom, the room is dusted at least once a week and the sheets are changed (once a week in winter, twice a week or more in summer--clean fresh sheets are a cheap liuxury), the bed is made daily before we leave, and stuff is either hung up on hooks (we each have a set for our night clothes and other stuff) or put on the shelves of the nightstands every morning. It all takes a couple of minutes but makes a huge difference to our quality of life. And once is it routine (give it a few months) you don't even think about it.

Routines make life manageable. And a clean, peaceful bedroom is so worth it!

yeah you might be "clean" but you've got lots of oils in your skin that muck up your sheets. my fiance is a clean but oily guy, and changing the sheets frequently is a must.

also, you might be "clean," but the air in your home isn't. for people with allergies (both my fiance and i have pretty bad allergies), changing the sheets often cuts down on the indoor allergens that settle in your sheets.

I'm not getting into the sheets debate, but making the bed is a brilliant way to start keeping your room clean. Someone once told me that making the bed every day makes you an adult. It also makes me not want crap laying around on the floors or the top of the dresser.

We just moved into a great apartment that has more space in total, but as part of an older house, the bedrooms are tiny. We have one closet in the whole place - it's a narrow walk-in between the bedroom and office. The first thing I did was adjust the shelves and organize it to fit nearly all of my and my husband's clothes, accessories and shoes. A lack of space makes it nearly impossible to let things get too messy. I kind of like that I can't just toss it on the closet floor and close the door. There's no floor space!

I'm with ginnai - I'm clean when I go to bed, we wear pajamas, and often (clean) socks (live in Michigan, brrr) so the only skin that touches anything is my face and I do change pillowcases a bit more often than total sheet change. I change my sheets, but not every week. Somewhere in the 2ish week range and I have to change/wash bedding for a household of 4 people so I think we do ok.
And I also LOVE that blanket!

anyone know where the blanket is from? loving it too...

This article reminds me of seeing a motivational speaker - the tips might seem obvious but one needs to be reminded of such things :) I just tripped on something in my bedroom on my way to check emails, so clearly I am one of them.

The sheet debate is very personal. I change my 2-3 times a week, but I have a toddler + a hundred pound dog that always seem to do a sneak snuggle attack through the night. Sheet changing, dog sleeping with...ah, it's a personal thing....after all, what you do in your bedroom is no ones business. ;)

I would change the sheets every day if I could, I am a very tactile person am love that crisp feel.

Just keep pets and food out the bed, take shower before bed and changing sheets once a week is just fine. Too each his own though.

In every place we've stayed, I put up a row of coat pegs for each person in their bedroom, so that we have a place to hang our clothes. Keeps all the clothes out of sight and lets them air out. Even my kids hang their clothes up, and makes dressing in the morning much easier!

For the clothes that are in limbo - not yet done being worn - I love the idea of a coat tree. The clothes are off the floor/chair/bed, they get aired, and coat trees are cool. I've been searching for just the right one for years now.

i also covet that blanket, where can i find it?

the over the door hooks for clothes is absolutely the solution for me! i wear things most things a couple of times (at least) like jeans and bras and most of my tops as long as they don't get dirty or smelly--as long as you let them air out a day they are fine:)

Take your shoes off at the front door and require (almost) everyone else to do so. You will prevent lots of pesticide residue and filth from contaminating your entire home.

If you have rugs, steam clean them 3-4 times per year.

Do not put your purse, luggage or anything you own which has been in a public setting on your bed (or on a dining table). You don't even want to know why so just take my word for it.

Try not to sleep with animals in your bed. If you must,wash all of your linens,comforters and pillows more frequently and in hot water.

Even if you shower before bedtime, you may want to rethink how often you change the sheets. If you sleep nude, have sex frequently and/or share the bed with someone who sweats a lot, err on the side of caution and change your sheets more often.

Make your bed everyday, even if you make it right before you go to bed. (Hint: It really is a luxury to sleep in a neat,clean bed.)

Best tip ever: marry a neat freak...

I know it's not an option for everyone, but I'll second not having clothes in the bedroom. Easiest way to keep the mess out, especially since my husband was not born with the "hang stuff up" gene.

Also, we have a laundry chute that goes into a closed cabinet in the laundry room, so everything that ends up upstairs that shouldn't be can get chucked in there and dealt with later.

"i also covet that blanket, where can i find it?"

It's not a blanket - It's a quilt.

Some of these comments are hilarious. I love the humor going on. Marry a neat freak... my husband screwed up on that one ;)

@T&C Funny enough, our bedroom got cleaner when we instituted a closed-door rule! The obvious reason is that it keeps the cats out, but less obvious (and more important) is that it keeps us from mindlessly wandering into the bedroom with stuff that doesn't belong there, so it stays neat.

Well, I have to change my sheets once a week, I have no choice. If I let it go any longer my stupid sensitive skin breaks out like I'm 16.

@ ginnai

Ditto. The idea of climbing into bed after not showering just seems silly to me (not that I don't do it sometimes), which is partially due to keeping the sheets fresh and partially because I am not a morning person.

another person chiming in to ask: where can I find that quilt? does anyone know where I could find it or something similar?

in addition to making me want to tidy up, the picture in this post made me want to just replicate the whole look in my bedroom. : )

@ginnai I remember reading a while ago that the average person sweats about a lb of fluid a night whilst asleep. I think I may have read this in AT comments, when the pros and cons of making the bed immediately in the morning versus later in the day were being weighed (the consensus there was that you were better off doing it later, as it allowed your bed time to air out/dry).

I imagine that wearing pajamas and such cuts back on how much this contacts with sheets.

Beyond that, honestly, do what makes you happy and what you are comfortable with. Nobody but you is going to be able to ascertain whether or not they're still "clean enough".

I have 2 small kids, a cat who likes to sleep snuggled against me, and a boyfriend who often stays over, but whose house I sleep at several nights a week too. My sheets get changed somewhere around the 1-2 week mark, varying based on whether something precipitates a quicker change and how much they've been slept on.

Like some PPs, I moved a blanket chest and foot-of-the-bed bench out of my bedroom. Instantly neater, as both those just became places to toss clothes when the hamper was full.

I have two hampers, one for darks and one for whites, a small basket for handwashables and another basket for stuff to be mended.

Once a week I tidy everything back to where it belongs, dust, vacuum and change the sheets. Once a month I add in dusting baseboards, over doors and windows and window sills. I do basically the same in every room--tidy, dust, vacuum every week, deeper clean once a month--even if I have to skip a week due to work, the place never really gets totally out of hand.

On Sarah 101 she put a coat rack in one of the bedrooms she designed with the purpose of hanging clothes that have been worn but are not yet dirty. I moved one into my room and it is 90% tidier; I never realized that was the reason my dresser was always getting stacked!

As for the idea we sweat a liter every night, it's probably bunk.
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2977/do-i-sweat-a-liter-every-night
Sweating while at rest is minimal below 85 degrees. You do lose a certain amount of moisture in your breath and by evaporation through your skin; the latter process, which doesn't involve the sweat glands, is called insensible perspiration. Total water loss by both routes for an average healthy young male averages about 25 milliliters per hour, or 200 milliliters per eight hours of sleep, and much of that is simply exhaled, not absorbed by the mattress.
I change the sheets every week or two, depending on how vigilant we have been about keeping the dogs from tunneling under the covers.

Keeping a tidy bedroom is essential when you have "sensitive sinuses". We have marble tiled floors, clean sheets everyweek, very little surfaces and they are smooth and easy to dust. And yes to a dressing room/walk in closet! Everything must gave its place or its toast. ;)

Marrying a neat freak is a good idea. I love my husband dearly but he sooo struggles with neatness, decluttering, etc. thank goodness he DOESN"T struggle with hygiene, lol!

Oy. I suspect people who are washing their sheets 1+ times a week are not fighting a building for a washer/dryer and paying $2 a pop.

In high school (many more moons ago than I care to count), my messy bedroom was a thorn in my own side! When I started working, I made my bed before leaving the house and, to my surprise, there's seldom been a day since when my bed's been unmade. For me, it's the first step to a neat, clean bedroom.

As far as the "worn once, wear once again" clothes, I've kept a clear shelf in my armoire for one or two pairs of jeans and a couple of sweaters so that even though they're not fresh from the laundry, they're wearable because they're folded and stacked neatly. Now that I've splurged on a Mitchell Gold chair for the bedroom, it's always available to curl up with a book -- and it will stay that way.

Keeping the dresser neat meant putting away jewelry every night -- which I didn't do -- so now there's a necklace tree and a pretty dish to hold things I wear very often. It keeps me from leaving the house without a watch!

My teenage self would be shocked at the complete turnaround!

The same people that claim they don't have to change their sheets b/c they're clean when they go to bed (ridiculous) are the same ones that don't wash their hands after using the bathroom because their bodies are clean. Gross.

I change sheets twice a week but only because I got so used to clean sheets this often when I hired a woman to come in and clean for me 2x a week. I'm not using a cleaning lady at the moment but I love clean sheets so much that I do it myself 2x a week.

It's really not a big deal to do it this often but I don't have all those dumb "throw pillows" on my bed that everybody piles on. Just two sleeping pillows and if someone spends the night with me I've got a couple more pillows in the closet I can haul out.

Throw pillows are probably one of the reasons people don't want to deal with bed linens more frequently. I never saw the point of them since they just take up space and collect dust.

@ohwoah: I change sheets 2x a week and I send my laundry out. The wash-and-fold lady is 2 blocks away and I walk it up there in the morning and pick it up in the evening. The broad only charges USD 6.5 per large load and has a 5-hour turnaround time. If you provide your own soap and dryer sheet with each load, she knocks USD 1 off the price.

I don't mind washing clothes but the one thing I can't stand is FOLDING clothes. It's worth it to me to pay just to have the stuff folded nicely and saves me time and aggravation in the long run. When I used to do laundry myself, I'd leave the clean stuff in the hamper or in a pile on the dresser without folding it.

And yes my condo building has a washer and dryer on each floor. Right now I'm in a "sending it out" phase though.

I finally just accepted the fact that neither of us is going to put our clothes away on regular basis, so rather than having them all end up on the floor, we each have a laundry basket that we toss our clothes in instead of throwing them on the floor. We have one of those long, shallow closets with sliding doors, so the laundry baskets sit on the floor of the closet, out of sight. This has helped SO MUCH. On the weekend or whenever the baskets get full, we clean them out and start over.

I'm really rethinking letting our cats sleep with us. Both because they shed and because I think I'd sleep better.

@ SweetCommunist: "Broad"? Really? I was unaware that it was the 1930s.

I have a large bedroom (formerly a den), so I have a lot of floor space but no closet. Right now I'm hunting for an alternative to an IKEA wardrobe I love -- but lugging an 8-ft-tall piece three hours down I-95 and then assembling it at home is not for me. In the meantime, I'm using clothing racks and a dresser to store my attire.