13 Best Ways To Downsize & Organize Bedrooms (Practical Tips)

Living a downsized life starts with where you live.  There are plenty of areas in your home to start when it comes to decluttering and organization.  One of the best rooms to start organizing is your bedroom.

This is because our bedrooms tend to be the one place that collects the most stuff. From boxes of memories to out-dating clothing, the bedroom is the first place to show signs of clutter.

But, how can you downsize a bedroom while still making it feel like home? There are plenty of ways to organize your bedroom without losing your personality.

Here are some of the best tips and tricks to downsize and organize your bedroom properly.

The Great Clothes Purge

One of the biggest things that can clutter up any bedroom is clothing.  We all have the quick instinct to stay on top of trends while forgetting about the tsunami of clothes we already have.

This is a cycle that seemingly has no end until you are ready to break it!

The best way to break the cycle is to start a new one.

Monthly closet check-ins are a must when it comes to downsizing your bedroom.  This can be done in a few simple steps.  While this may seem like an extra chore on your plate, it takes little time to get used to it.  Here is what you need to do:

• Step 1: Gather Your Clothes

Pull all of your clothes out of closets, hampers, and dressers and make a pile on your floor.  This is one of the best ways to see how much you actually have.

This step may come with a breakdown, but don’t worry, you will be happy with the results!

• Step 2: Make Piles

Once you have your mountain of clothes assembled it is time to start organizing.  The best way to do this is to make three sections dedicated to “keep”, “donate” and “toss”.  This is the easiest way to separate your clothes to actually see what you have and what you don’t need.

• Step 3: Do You Really Need It?

Once you have the clothes separated, take another look at your keep pile.  This is where some tough choices need to be made.  Do you really need that blazer from 1999 or can someone else get some use out of it?  If you are left with a small pile of clothes, you have done it right!

• Step 4: Get Organized!

Once you have your small pile of clothes, you can start organizing them.  Think about your specific clothing needs and what will be easiest for you.  Keep clothes you wear often within reach.  Clothing that is for special occasions can be put in clothing safe bags and stored away.  The fewer clothes you have cluttering up your closet – the better!

Do You Have To Donate Your Clothes?

Saying goodbye to old clothes is an emotional thing.  We often attach memories and feelings to what we were wearing.  While getting rid of clothes can be hard, it is an important part of the downsizing process.  But, do you have to donate clothes?  No, you don’t have to.

Some people choose to look at their old clothes as a way to squirrel away some extra cash.  There are plenty of online places to get resale value off of old clothes.  Who knew that decluttering could be so profitable?

Here are our BEST tips on how to downsize your wardrobe.

No Closet?  No Problem!

Sometimes you have to do the best with what you have.  While older apartments offer charm, they don’t have much in the way of storage space.  This is where a little bit of creativity comes in handy.  Remember, closets in the bedroom are not always meant for just clothing.  These tend to be where we store things out of sight.  So, what do you do without a closet?  Here are some tricks to try!

• Wardrobes and Dressers

Tall wardrobes are a great place to keep clothes that need to be hung as well as odds and ends that need to be stored out of sight.  The number one thing to remember when buying a wardrobe is that size matters.  You should know the exact size of your room so that you can find the right wardrobe.

You can find our 33-3 challenge here, where Maria lived with only 33 items of clothes for 3 months.

Ones that are too bulky or wide can actually take space away from a small room.  Dressers are a great option for folded clothes as well.  Because they have a flat top, dressers can easily double up as bookshelves or even working desktops.

• Under The Bed

Downsizing gives you a chance to look for unique ways to hide your stuff.  this is especially true if you don’t have a single closet in sight.  One place that is sometimes forgotten about is under the bed.  This becomes an area where dust collects.  But, did you know that this is totally usable space?

You can buy organization units as well as drawers that can easily fit under your bed.  This is a great place to store out-of-season clothes as well as sunglasses. For extra measure, label each organization unit so you can quickly find what you need.

Here are our best tips for a minimal wardrobe for men.

 

Multi-Purpose Furniture

Multi-purpose furniture is a great way to help to keep your bedroom free of clutter.  It is important to find pieces that have many different functions.

Check our the VERY best transforming furniture in our article here.

This way you can cut down on oversized and bulky furniture and focus on keeping your space clean.  Here are some examples of multi-use furniture and how it can help you stay organized:

• Start With The Bed

The bed is the one thing in your room that you don’t want to sacrifice.  This is not only where you rest your head at night, but it is also where you recharge your body.  But, downsizing doesn’t mean that you can’t get an amazing bed!

Try finding a bed that has multiple uses.  Beds that have built-in shelving units, as well as underdrawers, are a great place to start.  This way you can not only display personal items, but you can also store away extra stuff out of sight.

Here are 32 CLEVER bed solutions for small spaces.

• Working Space

One thing that smaller homes lack is space to work.  Whether you work from home or need a designated workspace, having limited room can be frustrating.  One type of multi-purpose furniture that is great for saving space is desktop dressers.

Having a chest of drawers that also doubles as a working desk is a huge space saver.  But, it doesn’t have to only be limited to work either!  Desks like these also are great as makeup desks, TV stands as well as bookshelves.  The more stuff you can get off the floor and organized the better.

• Moving Upwards

Another style of bed that is perfect for single occupants living in a cramped space is loft-style beds.  Loft beds have come along way from the metal frames you see in kid’s rooms.  By picking the furniture off the floor, you have more room for other things in the room.

Best of all, there are plenty of adult loft beds that double up as workspaces as well as wardrobes.  This is because there is empty space under the bed that makes the perfect cubby for a bookshelf.

This also allows for your bedroom to be more organized with tons of useable space.

 

3 Unique Ways To Organize Your Bedroom

Once you have the clutter removed from your bedroom, the real fun begins.  This is a chance to not only get some organization but also showcase some personality.  Your bedroom should be a retreat.  You want to be surrounded by things that bring your joy and allow you to unwind. 

A cluttered room can lead to a chaotic mind.  So, how do you organize a bedroom after the clutter is gone?  There are some pretty creative ways to keep your organization in check.  Here are some neat tips that others have tried:

• Jewelry As Decoration

We all have special jewelry pieces that we don’t want rattling around in drawers.  A great way to showcase your jewelry without having to buy more storage is to put it on display.  These items don’t have to be expensive or even fancy to be used as decoration.

All you need is an old frame that you can find at any second-hand store.  Paint the frame whatever color you want to match your design aesthetic and then attach some contact paper and hooks to the front.  You can handle necklaces, bracelets, watches and whatever you have.  This way you will not only have an efficient way to store your stuff, but you also will have a conversation piece as well.

• Wicker Baskets

No matter how much decluttering you do, there will always be stuff that doesn’t have a place.  This is where a good old fashion wicker basket comes in handy.  These baskets are on trend right now and are a great place to store bulky items like blankets and coats.

Best of all, these baskets can actually lend themselves to the overall design of your room. You can even double us the baskets as furniture.  Baskets with a sturdy lid make a great bench seat while shorts baskets can double up as a bedside table.

• Shelving Is Your Best Friend

What do you do when your bedroom just can’t handle any more stuff?  Look to the walls!  Shelving is a quick and easy fix for storage and organization problems.  Shelving can be much more than a place to put your books or display pictures.  With the right amount of imagination, you can put a shelf in for just about anything.

One great place to utilize shelves is in the closet.  This can help solve the problem of too many shoes and not enough space.  Also, shelves can double up as working desks. 

Need a place to get ready in the morning?  Place a shelf at desk height and secure a mirror above it.  You can use one of your wicker baskets as a stool and you have a built-in vanity.

 

Final Thoughts

One common misconception about decluttering is that you are simply getting rid of your stuff.  However, it is much more than a spring cleaning exercise.  It is a great way to help you get centered and not feel like you are tied down to material things.

One important thing to remember is that decluttering is a chance to really take stock in the things that are important to you.  We all have things that we simply cannot let go of.  Decluttering isn’t forcing you to throw things away, it is encouraging you to look at your things with a fresh eye.

This is also why the organization is so important to the downsizing process.  Your things can be better appreciated when you can see and feel them.  They do you – and your home – no good by sitting in a box collecting dust.  So, be brave and be bold.  Find the hidden value in your stuff and learn when it is time to let go.  Take care.