Clean Your Room in Seven Steps

If quarantine life has taught me anything, it’s that the state of your room influences the state of your mind. A clean room is just relaxing and makes a world of a difference.

I’m not exactly the most organized person, and my room reflected that until I decided I needed a change. Last year, I finally took it upon myself to clean up and clean out my room, rearranging and redesigning until it felt like me. In the end, my room was clean and tidy--for real--and I felt like I could finally breathe.

But cleaning a room is one thing; keeping it clean is another. And that involves cleaning on a regular basis, which can be hard to do with a busy schedule and lacking motivation. If I wanted my room to remain a tidy, relaxing space, I needed to find a quick and easy way to clean it.

After hours spent aimlessly cleaning and struggling to stay motivated, I figured out a series of steps to make the job simpler to do and easier to finish. I learned how to tidy my room in five steps and how to clean it in seven; this article will teach you how to do the same.

Before we begin, tidying and cleaning are two different things, so this article covers two topics:

1. Tidy Your Room in Five Steps: how to tidy your room without stuffing everything into random drawers and closets (because we’ve all done that before). This part focuses just on making the room look better (read: less chaotic).

2. Clean Your Room in Seven Steps: how to actually clean your room. This part covers how to tidy your room while actually cleaning it (like get-out-the-Lysol and where’s-the-vacuum cleaning it).

Disclaimer: this is not a definitive, expert guide to cleaning. This is just advice from an average person who likes to keep her room tidy (and agrees that cleaning is a chore).

One more thing: MOTIVATION. We all know that cleaning (or tidying) your room can be super boring. Here are some ways to stay motivated:

- Have some music (maybe your favorite playlist?), a podcast, an audio book, or even a movie play in the background. With something entertaining to listen to, the experience will be less dull.

- Talk with a friend over phone or video call while you clean. You can put your phone on speaker or start a Zoom call on your computer. Having someone to keep you company (and keep you focused) can make the job much easier.

- Set a timer. Take it from a serial procrastinator: the last minute is when the most stuff gets done, so time crunches make great motivation.

- Find someone to help you do it. If you can.

Let’s begin!

Tidy Your Room in Five Steps

1. Make Your Bed (In Three Steps)

- The quickest (and easiest) way to make your room look better is to make your bed--after all, the bed takes up a lot of your room. It only takes a couple minutes and three steps: (1) make sure your sheets are pulled taut, (2) place the pillows at the head of the bed in a fairly organized fashion, and (3) arrange your blankets or comforter so they lie flat, covering your bed.

2. Put Your Clothes Away

- Put the clean (or the can-be-worn-again) clothes away in the closet or drawers. Put the need-to-be-washed clothes in a hamper, basket, or some container (or better yet, in the laundry). This will give you a headstart on the next step, which is…

3. Clear the Floor

- Take any remaining random items on the floor (e.g. books, shoes, bags, etc.) and put them where they belong. To make this easier, sort them in piles corresponding to where they belong and then put them away.

4. Take Out the Trash

- Grab a trash bag and use it to (1) empty any waste baskets in your room and (2) pick up any trash that might just be sitting around your room.

5. Organize Surfaces

- Now we’re looking at the surfaces in your room (e.g. your desk, the top of your dresser, your bedside table, etc.)

- Clear what you can. Take the items that don’t belong in your room and put them away. Then put away items that do belong in your room but shouldn’t be sitting out.

- An easy way to clear the surfaces is to gather up the items and sort them into piles based on where they should go, and then put them away.

- Do your best to put everything away so you have as few items as possible sitting out. Afterwards, arrange the items that remain in an organized, neat way.

...

Clean Your Room in Seven Steps:

1. Start with the Bed

- Wash Your Sheets and Pillowcases

- If you haven’t washed your sheets and pillowcases in a while, you probably should (especially the pillowcases--pillowcases that aren’t washed regularly can host bacteria and contribute to acne).

- Strip your bed of its sheets and blankets, remove the cover from your comforter if you have one, and take the pillowcases off the pillows.

- Use the “bedding” or “heavy duty” cycle on your washing machine and do the same for when you move everything to the dryer.

- While waiting for everything to wash and then dry, move on to Step #2 and beyond.

- After your bedding is washed and dried, make your bed. Once that’s done, your room will look much more put together and you’ll have a very clean place to sleep.

2. Put Your Clothes Away

- Put the clean (or the can-be-worn-again) clothes away in the closet or drawers.

- Put the need-to-be-washed clothes in a hamper, basket, or some container and do your laundry (starting after you’ve moved your bedding from the washing machine to the dryer).

- Life hack: you don’t have to separate lights and darks if you wash everything on cold.

- While waiting for your laundry to be done, move on to the next steps.

3. Clear the Floor

- Take any remaining random items on the floor (e.g. books, shoes, bags, etc.) and put them where they belong. To make this easier, sort them in piles corresponding to where they belong and then put them away.

4. Take Out the Trash

- Grab a trash bag and use it to (1) empty any waste baskets in your room and (2) pick up any trash that might just be sitting around your room.

- Don’t get rid of the trash bag just yet--you’ll need it for later.

5. Organize Surfaces

- Now we’re looking at the surfaces in your room (e.g. your desk, the top of your dresser, your bedside table, etc.)

- Clear what you can. Take the items that don’t belong in your room and put them away. Then put away items that do belong in your room but shouldn’t be sitting out.

- An easy way to clear the surfaces is to gather up the items and sort them into piles based on where they should go, and then put them away.

- Do your best to put everything away so you have as few items as possible sitting out. Afterwards, arrange the items that remain in an organized, neat way.

6. Vacuum (or Sweep)

- Now that your room is more manageable, you can more easily clean it.

- If you have a vacuum, start vacuuming. Otherwise, a broom and dustpan work just as well. In that case, the trash bag you used earlier will come in handy.

7. Wipe Down Surfaces

- Grab a cleaning spray (think all-purpose cleaner or surface cleaner) and paper towels. Spray the cleaning spray on surfaces in your room and wipe them down with the paper towels. Dispose of the paper towels in the trash bag you used earlier. Once finished, dispose of the trash bag and put away the cleaning products.

...

You now know how to tidy your room in five steps and clean your room seven. Here’s a brief summary of what we covered:

Tidy Your Room in Five Steps:

1. Make Your Bed (In Three Steps)

2. Put Your Clothes Away

3. Clear the Floor

4. Take Out the Trash

5. Organize Surfaces

Objective: make your room look better and more organized.

Clean Your Room in Seven Steps:

1. Start with the Bed

2. Put Your Clothes Away

3. Clear the Floor

4. Take Out the Trash

5. Organize Surfaces

6. Vacuum (or Sweep)

7. Wipe Down Surfaces

Objective: make your room look better and more organized while actually cleaning it.

Thanks for reading!