Many of us have that one room known as the spare bedroom, guest bedroom, or bonus room. Often this room has multiple purposes. Some are used for storage. Some are turned into offices, craft rooms, playrooms, exercise rooms, libraries, game rooms, or even as dedicated guest rooms. My personal spare bedroom is used as a storage area (in the closet) for business supplies, a space where memorabilia is kept, a place to keep some seasonal clothing, and as the occasional guest bedroom.
Because for me this room holds office items, it is the room I tackle in February. In January I worked in my office zone and some items from the office have been moved into the spare room and now need to find a home.
When working in any zone, the first step in to get a clear vision of how you want to use this area. What is its purpose or purposes?
Once you are clear on your vision, take stock of how the zone is being used now. Note how the reality of now is not matching up to your vision.
Make a list of all that needs to happen to make the vision a reality.
My spare room always has the door open, so it is important to me that there is no clutter. Everything that is not decorative or attractive needs to have a place to be put away out of sight.
I only work on this zone for one month and it is a short month. This means I need to take that list of things that need to be worked on and put the dates on my calendar for doing the tasks.
The floor is already clear so that is not a problem. Since I have four weeks and four walls, I plan on working on one wall each week.
The first week I will work on the wall that holds the closet. I will take everything out of the closet and cull any items that I no longer want or need. I will inventory what is left and put the items back. All boxes will have labels.
Another week I will work on the wall that holds the dresser. This dresser holds some supplies, memorabilia, and clothing. I will take everything out of the drawers and release anything that I no longer love or need.
Still another week I will work on the wall that holds the bed. There is no organizing here but there is the stripping of the bed down to the frame and cleaning all the linens and decorative pillows as well as cleaning the end tables and accessories. By doing this once a year I feel ready for a guest even on a short notice.
The last week I will do the window wall. This involves washing the inside of the window and the blinds as well as cleaning any artwork. I will also do the vents and overhead fan.
By the end of the month, I will have this room matching my vision for the upcoming year and all it will need is maintenance cleaning. I will celebrate by putting some fresh flowers on the dresser.
If you want help or just some accountability in working your plan join Diane Quintana and me on our Clear Space For You clutter support group.
Jonda S. Beattie, Professional Organizer owner of Time Space Organization, and co-owner of Release, Repurpose, Reorganize. She is based in the Metro-Atlanta area. As presenter, author of four books as well as a retired special education teacher she uses her listening skills, problem solving skills, knowledge of different learning techniques, ADHD specialty, and paper management skills to help clients tackle the toughest organizational issues. Jonda does hands on organizing, virtual organizing. For more of Jonda’s tips connect with her on Facebook.
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