How I did it: As soon as it was set up for my old mattress to be taken away, I took apart my bedframe, went through all of the containers under my bed and threw away or got rid of things that I really didn't want or need. I'm very sentimental and it was really hard at first. But then it got to the point "do I remember why this was sentimental?" or "what am I going to end up doing with this?" or even, finally to the point of "do I really need this taking up space????"

I emptied the containers, dusted them out, chose TWO of the maybe five or six that were under my original bed to fill (my new bed was going to be smaller anyway) and was satisfied. Then came to cleaning out the random whatsists of my armoire and drawers of my nightstand, as well as the extra things I had laying about. So I asked my questions, threw away what needed to be thrown out, and got a bag and a half of clothes/stuffed animals/books to give away to Good Will. I kept

1. Things I think I could need in the future
2. Things that were made for me/ by me (excluding bought hallmark type cards) and
3. Anything of creative value that was mine.

I decided to keep some of the little things that I really couldn't out of the sentimentality of my heart throw out, like the passes to my first ski trip, certain movie ticket stubs, etc. and have made a promise to myself to either scrapbook these kinds of items, stick them to my wall (bulletin board type of arrangement) or just toss them in the next month. If they aren't important enough to make something out of them in that time frame, their not as important to me as I think they are.

My brother helped me take apart and then re 'build' the smaller bed that went into my room. It looks so pretty. I had a full size bed with a huge armoire and a desk by my window but moved it all around. Now my bed is at my window, my huge armoire isn't that much of a nuisance in the opposite corner, I have a nice space for my desk, and I EVEN HAVE FLOOR SPACE! That also includes under my current twin size bed.

My room was built poorly by the contractor who was in charge of putting walls on the once living room to make a decent sized bedroom for me before I moved here with my mom and stepdad. I have this small, awkward area when the door first opens, a sort of triangular space that didn't seem usable. Now I store my keyboard there, which I intend on learning how to play now that I have room to set it up.

This was a really fun, hard, time consuming experience. But WORTH IT every step of the way!

Lessons & tips: DON'T BE AFRAID TO THROW IT AWAY!
You don't need it, I promise. You've just have to take a practical approach when deciding what to keep, what to toss. That math book from Kindergarten? Toss it. Your AP American History notes from your sophomore year of high school? Are you going to look at them in the future?

Just remember, that if you forgot you had it in your room when you found it, you probably won't forget it's missing when you lose it.

Resources: Family! Lysol Surface Cleaner!

Anddddddd........ a touch of confidence ;)

Jan 05, 2009, 07:18PM PST | 1 comment | 6 cheers