Clear Out the Clutter Challenge: Master Bedroom

Clutter removal continues!  I'm taking part in the Clear Out the Clutter Challenge, hosted by Crystal over at Money Saving Mom. 

Check here for my clutter-clearing goals.  Previously I took on my kids' toys and my front hallway, and the pantry.  Next up, the master bedroom!

I'd love to tell you about how I was able to remove lots of clutter from my bedroom, donate or sell the unwanted items, and turn the master bedroom into a cozy, romantic sanctuary for my husband and me.

Unfortunately... that's not the case.  The place is cleaner, but still fairly cluttered.  I was able to recycle lots of paper and old magazines.  Toys that had found their way into our room were put back in their place.  And there was the usual junk that got thrown out.

Here's one problem: my house doesn't have enough general storage!  It's big enough for us and our three kids, but there is no area dedicated for storage.  No basement, no storage room, no hallway closets.  Just small closets in each bedroom.

So things end up getting stored, even temporarily, in the bedroom, which is fairly large, I will admit.  And once they're in there, it's hard to get them out.

One of the problems in the bedroom is books.  We like books.  I've already donated or sold pretty much all the books I don't want to keep, but that still leaves a sizable number.  We have some cheap bookcases from early marriage holding them, but they don't look great and are starting to fall apart.

Another is electronics.  When something electronic gets replaced, it usually ends up sitting in the bedroom instead of getting recycled somewhere.

And the third big problem is kid stuff.  Mostly, papers and artwork they've brought home from school.  I went through them last year, threw out a lot, photographed some of the things that wouldn't store well, and kept the best stuff, storing them in large art storage folders.  But this year there's more than ever!  It's a big project that I have to tackle.

I hope you're having more success in your clutter control than I am.  I will get the bedroom decluttered... someday!

Check out Friday Fails and Friday Frustrations for more projects gone awry.