Clutter Challenge 6: Auxiliary Bedrooms

The main takeaway today is making your home work for YOU! Extra bedrooms are a luxury. Most of us don't have them when/if we're raising children. We're going to take a while here as I know we all have different things to address in these areas because we are going to look at every bedroom except the Master Bedroom.

If some or all of your extra bedrooms are a kid's room, I'd suggest doing this with your child, if possible. Get them in the habit of clearing their unused goodies before their birthdays and Christmas. Children learn directly from you. This is a great habit to instill. They'll feel good about themselves when they donate their gently used toys to others. Our church was thrilled to get ours! If your child(ren) are in college, I know they need a place to stay and their own space but you can still declutter in their rooms and make way for an upcoming dream! I remember when our son graduated and found his own apartment for good, I turned his room into a studio and never looked back! I was sad to become a true empty nester but I was excited about the changes that would also bring.

Speaking of empty nesters..... We have four bedrooms. I use one as my office/art studio. That left us with two guest rooms. We don't need two guest rooms. Once my husband retired, we turned one of these into his office. Now we have one guest room. The guest room's walk-in closet has a small space for hanging clothes but my husband built the rest to store grandkids' toys and games. We now have maximum use of that bedroom. My husband doesn't need the closet in his office so that stores all my creative art supplies. I use the closet in my office for spiritual tools, class materials, etc. We have made every bedroom in our house work for us! It doesn't have to work for anyone else. See where I'm going here? We each have our own space and we use our home, all of it. Very few people do. Most people have entire rooms for junk rooms and catch-alls. Wouldn't you enjoy your home more if your home was usable, every inch of it?

We all need to think outside the box to utilize our homes. I once did a Feng Shui Consultation for a client that had a great deal of exercise mats stored in her office area. She frequently teaches so I understood the need for the mats; however, I asked her why she kept them in the open like that. She didn't have a space for them downstairs but she had an almost-empty walk-in closet upstairs. I asked if she could store them there. She just hadn't thought of it.

I would ask you, as you go through these areas, to look at them with new eyes.

What do you want this room to do? Is it doing it?
Have you needed a place to create or study? Carve out a spot! Sometimes opened closets or stairway closets can house more than you'd ever dream!
Is any closet holding things you never use? Could it be utilized better?
Have you been holding on to too much furniture in these rooms??? Resell or give away and take a tax deduction.
Are you holding onto memorabilia for someone else in these rooms? Ask them if they want it, chances are, they don't. If they do, they need to find a way to keep it themselves. Think of what you could use the extra space for or, perhaps, you'd relish the open space it would create!
While we're here, are your linens tired in these areas? Do these rooms reflect you and/or your family? If not, replace them! I would encourage parents to allow their kids to decorate their own rooms, within reason. We all need spaces that reflect us!

Questions? I would love to brainstorm with you! Need a home/land Feng Shui Consultation? You can change your life when you change your environment! I can also help with organizational problems for an hourly or daily fee.

Until next time...