Keep your bedroom tidy in mere minutes a day

If you follow a basic daily bedroom routine, you can keep clutter to a minimum, with very little work.

Make a rule: Nothing non-bedroom related in the bedroom. Once something non-bedroom related enters the room, you only have to take it out again, or it sits and clutters up your space. Your bedroom should be a peaceful place, not a space overloaded with clutter.

Make the bed: First thing in the morning. Barring emergency bathroom trips, you should get into the habit of making your bed right away each day. I actually didn’t used to make my bed because studies show that dust mites love a made bed – they get lost and freak out in a messy bed. However, now I just make the bed in a rumpled manner.

Have a bedroom box: Choose a nice bedroom box that you can set near your bed. Use it for pajamas you’ll wear again and nighttime reading. This keeps you from tossing stuff on the dresser or bed.

Stay one step ahead of clutter: Take a minute each morning to scan your bedroom for stuff that doesn’t belong – a child’s toy that made it in there, a dropped shoe (not in the closet), or a work folder, and pick it up. Then you get to come home to a clean bedroom at night.

Keep it fresh: Have something nicely scented like a reed diffuser on your dresser – if your space smells nice, you’ll be more inclined to want it to look nice, and it creates a more peaceful nest, with no work involved.

What quick things do you do to keep your bedroom space clutter-free?