New Layout for Deanna

I rearranged Deanna's room on Monday. We're on a Quest for neatness in our house. Dane keeps his room neat as a pin. Daelyn works regularly on the Toy Room. Deanna invests the time in her room, but never quite seems to accomplish much.

There are several problems. The first is that Deanna is a packrat. She keeps everything from ticket stubs to candy wrappers. Then the clutter overwhelms her and she can't seem to get through it to keep her room clean. Several weeks ago, I offered her a Keepsake Box for all her treasures. I explained that she could put everything she didn't use regularly in the Box and keep it in her closet. Then she'd always have those things, but they wouldn't be cluttering her dresser and headboard (which has a bookshelf built into it).

Another problem was her bed. In order to best utilize the space in her room, her bed was against a wall with the headboard in the corner. We put her bookshelf at the foot of her bed, turned like a footboard, so her bed was surrounded on 3 sides. It was almost impossible to make, stayed incredibly messy, and she used the foot of it for a storage area. Anything she didn't want to take the time to put away would get thrown on the foot of her bed, her "catch-all".

I began pondering what to do about this situation several days previous. I decided she definately needed more order and to get rid of her "cache", so moving the bed was in order. I got out my tape measure Monday morning and went to work.

Nothing is where it used to be. The bed is centered on the wall across from where it used to be tucked away, with the headboard against the wall and the bed poking out into the room (which significantly minimizes floor space, but I decided Deanna seldom uses the floor space, anyway, so it doesn't much matter). Her dresser, desk, and bookshelf have all been moved. Her room is now cozier and MUCH neater. Her bed is easy to make and is the focal point of the room, which is appropriate since the theme for the room (horses) is carried out in her comforter and dust ruffle.

I filled up her Keepsake Box and deposited it in her closet. Then I thoroughly dusted all the furniture (which you can now see) and threw out TONS of stuff (being careful to save anything "important"). Her desk and bookcase still need work, but her desk is going to take several hours of concerted effort. I figured she could reorganize the bookshelf herself by the end of the week in her 10-minute daily room clean-up time.

She's thrilled with the new lay-out and how easy it is to make her bed. I dangled in front of her nose the carrot of "if you get your desk cleaned off, you can do your homework in here everyday at your desk while you listen to your music". Homerun. She can't wait for this weekend to get her desk cleaned off.

She's happier, I'm very pleased, and we're finally getting some order into her room, which has been one of the challenges in my life.

Now if I can just come up with a plan for my room-length sewing center catch-all that clutters up my bedroom. One thing at a time, I guess.