9 Free Ways to Instantly Improve Your Bedroom This Weekend
Most good things in life do take time, but every now and then you can cut some corners, spend zero dollars and take a few minutes to improve a room in your home without a significant time (or money) investment. This weekend, make your bedroom a slightly better place with these nine easy changes you can tackle.
1. Move your phone charger across the room from your bed
Actually, if you have a separate alarm clock then take your phone and charger out of your bedroom all together. But if you need it for an alarm, stick it across the room. Scrolling before bed and right as you wake up just isn’t the best way to start and end your day. Not quite convinced yet? Kim tried it for a month: Banishing My Phone from The Bedside: The Results, One Month Later.
2. Dust high and low
Start at your nightstand (the closest place to your nose while you sleep) and then go from there. Consider your headboard and the tops of any art in your room. Clean the baseboards. Run a swipe of the vacuum on the rugs or carpet. Dust the top of your dresser. This is especially good for folks who suffer from allergies.
3. Grab a box and take out 10 things from your closet you haven’t worn in months
I feel like 90% of the mess in my room is me taking clothes out that I never want to wear to try on to see if maybe I want to wear it that day, obviously not wearing it, and throwing it on the ground until I create a clothes mountain. Cut down on that possibility by keeping only what you love.
4. Organize your dresser
Make your Monday mornings (and every morning) better by being able to find both socks and whatever else you need.
5. Maximize your nightstand
Is your nightstand doing everything you need it to do? Or have you let it get bogged down with stacks of books and bobby pins? Really evaluate what you need from a nightstand and try to bend the current one you have to your bidding without spending a dime. Pare the “currently reading” book stack to one or two. Create or borrow a small tray to turn into a catch-all. Place a magnetic paperclip block on top for bobby pin corralling. Eliminate the nightly ritual of getting out of bed 20 times by making sure you have everything you need to sleep right near by. Find a cute DIY project to try in here: 8 DIY Decor Projects That Will Make Your Life a Little Easier.
6. Clean all your bedding
If you don’t have a washer and dryer this might cost money to do, but it’s worth it. Clean your sheets. Freshen your mattress (maybe even flip it). Clean your pillows.
7. Make your bed
Put the good sheets on. And the good pillow cases, too. Artfully lay out that blanket you love so much. Tuck in the sheets tight. Give yourself the gift of slipping into a well-made bed later this evening.
→ How To: Make the Bed
8. Add art or lighting from another room
Go shopping in the rest of your house to makeover your bedroom a bit — the part of the home that doesn’t always get a lot of decorating attention since we tend to favor those spaces guests see more often first. But you might have some art you can steal from a room or even hiding in a closet somewhere. You might have a lamp you’re not using in another room that could be put to use better in here. Accessorize with unexpected items to give your bedroom a boost of personality.
9. Adjust your window coverings
Are they too heavy? Too dark? Not dark enough? Did you hang your curtain rods so that your curtains don’t extend far enough past the window edges to block enough light at night? You’d be surprise what a big difference small tweaks to this design detail can make.
What would you add to this list?
Re-edited from a post originally published on 8.24.2014 – cm