Think of your bedroom. Is it a haven for sleeping? Is it a place to go to find respite from the hecticness of life?
Or are you surrounded by work? Clutter? Mess?
Your bedroom should be used primarily for sleeping.
Here are a few tips on how to organize your bedroom for the best night’s sleep:
- Make your bedroom a no-electronics zone. No television. No smartphone. The blue light emitted from your smartphone disrupts the release of the sleep-promoting hormone melatonin. At a minimum, don’t allow the use for the hour prior to going to bed.
- Keep your bedroom cool and dark. Turn your alarm clock to face away from you. Better yet, move it across the room. This may help in eliminating the dreaded snooze button. Consider getting blackout curtains or shades.
- Take the office out of your bedroom. The stack of papers to file, bills to pay, receipts to organize, proposals to read. It all can make you anxious. I find it easiest to keep the outside clutter out by not even bringing it into the room. Ever.
- Have space for a few minutes of relaxing wind down time. I have found that I fall asleep quickly if I take a few minutes to read a book or devotion right before I go to bed. Dim your lights, put down your phone and pick up an old-fashioned book. Make this a part of your bedtime calming ritual.
Get this 10-page eGuide to getting a good night’s sleep Create Your Sleep Sanctuary and discover how making changes to your home and daily routine can help you get restful, restorative sleep! Grab your free guide here.
I found a cool resource on using your 5 senses to create the best sleeping environment.
Aside from an occasional pile of clothing, I keep my bedroom fairly clear of clutter and disorganization. I did find a problem with my nightstand. I don’t want to fall asleep or wake up next to a mess.
If you cannot tackle clearing out your bedroom today, just focus on your bedside. It’s probably the last place you look each night and the first place you see each morning. Here are a few simple steps for clearing out your bedside table:
Clear everything off your nightstand or bedside table.
Evaluate what is necessary to be at your nightstand. I found this to be the following:
- Lamp
- Wake-Up Light – I have been intrigued by Wake-Up lights, but one never found it’s way into our budget. Updated December 2018: I just got a new Wake Up Light Alarm and like it so far.
- My devotional Bible (NIV Mom’s Devotional Bible
) and the current book (Sparkly Green Earrings: Catching the Light at Every Turn
) I’m reading.
- Hand cream – It’s winter and my hands are at their worst. I’m desperate for a recommendation on the best hand lotion…
- A small plant
Consider adding an item or 2 you love. I wouldn’t suggest over-decorating and adding 10 trinkets to your bedside table. If you do have an item or 2 that you love, feel free to place it on your nightstand. Just make sure that it has a purpose in being there. A picture you love. A trip souvenir that puts a peaceful smile on your face. A quote or Bible passage that helps you start your day off. I added a candle.
Maybe this item can be a reminder of your Morning Incentive. Your favorite coffee mug, maybe?
I like to have plants in my bedroom as a way to purify the air and beautify the room. Suggestions? NASA compiled a list of the best air filtering houseplants.
Get this 10-page eGuide to getting a good night’s sleep Create Your Sleep Sanctuary and discover how making changes to your home and daily routine can help you get restful, restorative sleep! Grab your free guide here.
This post (How to Organize Your Bedroom for the Best Night’s Sleep) is from day 12 of my journey to make the most of my mornings by creating an early morning wake-up habit. Read all about it here: How to Enjoy an Early, Joyful, and Productive Morning.
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Jayne says
Great ideas! I must admit I am terrible for making our bedroom the collecting place for paperwork as we have a small house and no other place for it. I am working on sorting out solutions to all these problems. And I so agree about no TV in the bedroom – it so ruins a good night’s sleep as hubby would just leave it on all night!
admin says
Yes, it can be hard when there is no other room for the papers! I’m thankful we have a spare bedroom. Maybe you can just keep it behind closed doors? So it’s still there…but you cannot see it.
Leah says
This is something I have been trying for the last couple years!! It’s nice to have you clarify it in words though. So much more peaceful right as I am drifting off to sleep. I keep my phone, kindle, lamp and my most recent issue of World magazine. I hate it when my magazines pile up and really try to keep just the most recent issue. Now I need to work on the rest of the room being a ‘haven’. I would really like that. Thanks for the post!
admin says
Way to keep the pile down. Sometimes I wonder if I should read the issues that are months or just toss them. (I would probably never know if I missed a month).
Good luck on the rest of the room!
Gentle Joy says
Good things to think about… this is one of those areas we can just live with and not realize how much it can help to actually change. :)
Terri Presser says
This is great, never new that about the light on our phones. Thanks for sharing at Good Morning Mondays. Blessings
Barb @ A Life in Balance says
Thank you for contributing to Motivation Monday!