apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Yeah, it may have been stress that interrupted your sleep, worries about your job, the economy or wondering how your favorite did on American Idol but, more likely? It's your bedroom that's the culprit. As goes the bedroom, and your sleep, so goes the rest of your home...and your life. Here's one secret I've learned about bedrooms: like kitchens, they work best when they stick to a single purpose. If kitchens nourish your body and soul, bedrooms rest your body and soul.

• Keep the room simple: A bed. A chest of drawers if all of your clothes don't fit into the closet. A chair to lay out your clothes for the next day and to put on your shoes. A lamp on either side of the bed. Another lamp on the dresser. A rug so your feet have someplace soft to land. And that's it. Keeping it simple makes it easier to clean.
• Keep it clean: And clean is what you need in here. Dust mite covers, daily dry mopping, a good vacuuming, clearing off the nighttables in the morning keep the dust at bay. And you'll sleep more soundly.
• Banish the tv and the desk: If you can't live without them, at least hide them and put your tv on a timer so that if you do fall asleep with it on, it shuts off. But if you can, try your bedroom without tv for a month. I've found I sleep a lot sounder than I did when I'd fall asleep to late night tv.
• Learn to make the bed: I balked at first but now that I do it daily (it's why I don't use a top sheet, just a duvet cover that I clean weekly along with my sheets and pillowcases), I find that it really makes a difference. It instantly makes the room feel like a hotel, it inspires me to clean off the nightstand and when I walk back in at night, a feeling of peace settles over me. Try it for a month.

• Indulge your senses: The best sheets you can afford (I only have two sets - one for the bed; one for the laundry); new pillows every two or three years; music; an air purifier and/or a humidifier; a white noise machine if your neighbors are particularly active, candles (if that's your thing), something beautiful to see first thing in the morning. Make this room a treat for all your senses.
• Treat yourself well: A bedroom's a great place for an indulgence. For example, I love ironed bed linens but I hate ironing. Solution: I send out my sheets, pillowcases and duvet cover to be cleaned once a week. Inexpensive but it makes me feel good. Same with an orchid from Trader Joe's because I love waking up to fresh flowers.

[images: Maxwell & Sara-Kate's 'small really is cool'; kcmo; girfriendtd; Laure's Constant Change]

- POST INDEX SPRING 2009
• Week 7 - Intro
• Week 6 - Show & Tell
• Week 6 - Tips & Tricks
• Week 6 - Intro
• Week 5 - Show & Tell
• Week 5 - Tips & Tricks
• Week 5 - Intro
• Week 4 - Tips & Tricks
• Week 4 - Intro
• Week 3 - Show and Tell
• Week 3 - Tips & Tricks
• Week 3 - Intro
• Week 2 - Show and Tell
• Week 2 - Tips & Tricks
• Week 2 - Intro
• Week 1 - Show and Tell
• Week 1 - Tips & Tricks
• Week 1 - Intro

- CURE INFO

>> Main Cure Page - Spring 2009
>> About The Book
>> Excerpt from Chapter I

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