"Make Your Bed: The Foundation for a Clutter-Free Life!

“Most people have no idea of the giant capacity we can immediately command when we focus all of our resources on mastering a single area of our lives.” –Tony Robbins

As the owner of a residential cleaning business and organizing coach, I have a unique lens into the homes of many different types of people. I walk through someone else’s front door roughly 800 times a year, and each time I do, a different set of emotions and observations presents itself to me.

I can tell by the homes of my clients when life is flowing freely and I can tell when life is stressful. I can sense the joy in their homes and I can sense the depression. I can sense the calm days and I can since the busy and overwhelming mornings. I watch the moods of my employees as we move from one house to the next, and how each house effects their energy levels and productivity. I know before they ever step into a new house whether they will love it or dread it. And as I observe my clients’ lives from the perspective of where they rest their heads and my employees behavior and attitudes in each, I can draw a direct correlation between the homes that are clutter free and orderly to feelings of calm and motivation. And one thing I’ve noticed in the homes that are neat and tidy, where everything has its place, is that the beds or at least the master bed is made!
I see making the bed as the first and most foundational habit to transform your life from clutter to simplicity. Before you ever start asking if things spark joy, making trips with a car full of stuff to Goodwill, learning special methods of folding your clothes, creating a capsule wardrobe or redoing your pantry with neatly organized clear bins, you must learn to make your bed!
Why?
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1. Starts Your Day With A Feeling of Accomplishment!  Chances are if you’re a seeking ways to declutter your life, it’s likely because you are surrounded by stuff and stressed out in some way by it. When we get to that state we become over-whelmed, and decluttering, purging, and organizing our lives becomes an overwhelming and daunting task. When we look at the whole picture or even just our closet, we get anxiety just thinking about where to begin, and often we fail at simplifying our lives. But if we can somehow tackle one small task with tangible results we foster a tiny sense of accomplishment.                              Accomplishing things makes us feel good, and when such a small task like making your bed brings you a little bit of joy, it reminds you that it’s the little things in life that matter.                                                                                                  On the days that you wake up and don’t feel like you have the motivation or the reason to do it, if you force yourself, making your bed becomes a simple exercise in mindfulness. Since you didn’t feel like doing it, you must stay more present in the act to accomplish it. Accomplishing something, being reminded that the little things are what bring joy in life, and practicing being present in the now sets the intention or the tone for you to face the rest of your day with ease and productivity.​
2. Making Your Bed Leads To Increased Productivity.                                      When you practice a little bit of mindfulness, you are forcing yourself to be present and put the past behind you. Putting yesterday's worries and stresses out of our mind clears a path for creativity in our minds, and creativity brings us new opportunities for growth, whether it's in our home, our work, or  our mental sphere. That feeling of accomplishment creates a domino effect that makes us want to bring more of the feelings it produced to our day. Creating a new habit like making your bed facilitates the growth of mental discipline. Discipline is the #1 ingredient to productivity and ultimately success. 
3. It Looks Nice.                                                                                                                        Even if the rest of your room looks like a tornado hit it,  your made bed will become the focal point. This is even more true in rooms like mine where the bed takes up most of the room. Because the bed takes up most of the space, most of the space will look tidy which will bring you instant gratification and calm.​
4. Making the bed helps to build healthy habits.                                                Being in spaces that feel calm can be quite addictive. I challenge you to make your bed every morning before you do anything else, and I promise it will inspire you to create healthier habits in your bedroom and eventually your entire home.                                                                                                                When I began my own personal decluttering journey, after just two days of leaving my house and coming home to a clean bed, I decided I wanted to know what it would feel like to see the top of my dresser again. So, on night two I cleaned the top of my dresser off. Then when I came home the next day to a clear dresser, I realized my mirror was covered in dust and spots, so I cleaned it. All the light it reflected literally shed light the next morning on how much clutter was still stacked up on my floors. So I took a few minutes to walk the pile of stuff I was saving for a yard sale in the spring to my shed and picked up the random shoes, clothes and bags that were hiding between my dresser and my wall. When I came home that day my “catch all” chair, (you know you have one or some storage ottoman) stood out like a sore thumb among my cleared bed, dresser and floors, so I went through the pile of clothes, random handbags and papers that were sitting on and hanging from it. I have a small house so my workspace is in the corner of my room, and serves not only as my desk, but my nightstand, so when I woke up the next morning I tidied the top of it before I left. When I came home from work, to the sun shining in on my now pretty organized and tidy room, I could see all the dust on everything, so I knocked that out. By day seven of making my bed, I had developed a habit of coming home and hanging my purse and jacket on their hooks with my keys in my purse, of putting my clean clothes directly in my dresser, of tidying my desk before bed and before I left for work, of hanging worn clothes that didn’t need to be laundered back in my closet, and putting my shoes in my shoe organizer. I even started sweeping my floors every night because I have pets and I don’t like feeling of their hair and dirt stuck to my feet when I first wake up or coming to bed with me at night. All of this started with: make your bed!​​                                                                                                                           ​It Reduces Allergies.                                                                                              This is especially true and important if you're like me and live with animals. My dog loves to sleep with me and there is just no keeping the cats off of it. With dogs and cats (and kids) comes dirt, dust, and pet dander. Leaving your bed open to catch those things leads to allergies.
5. Making your bed saves you money.                                                                            What, how? When you make your bed, your sheets are less wrinkled and your pillows get fluffed which preserves the fibers of your linens and adds to their longevity. As mentioned in #5, it protects your sheets from your pets, preventing them from snagging or tearing them with their nails, as well as staining them. It prevents stains from the grimy hands of a two year old and discourages the three year old who just learned to use scissors. Protecting your sheets from your little ones and pets, keeps your linens clean longer which decreases the need for washing and saves you money on the water, power and detergent too. And get this! Studies have shown the habit of making your bed is associated with good budgeting skills. In a world of American consumerism, we could all use some good budgeting habits.
6. Making your bed reduces stress and improves your mood!                              When we go to bed or come home to disorder and clutter, our minds cannot rest because every where we look there is stuff, and that stuff does nothing but remind of us of all the things we have to do, all the bad days and bad habits of the past, and all the areas where we are falling behind and failing at life. Being constantly reminded and surrounded by our shortcomings causes anxiety and stress. It causes us to feel overwhelmed and go to bed with worries and to-dos racing through our heads. When we’ve had a rough day and we want to come home and relax and shake off negativity, and we walk into a messy room we are again reminded of our inadequacies and the negativity of a rough day becomes even more apparent. When you make your bed, you are telling yourself that you matter, that you are good enough to create a retreat for yourself to unwind. Not only is the made bed aesthetically pleasing, but it is also a neat and orderly focal point that draws your eye and your mind to the things that are right about you, your day, and your life. When we focus on the positive and what we can and have accomplished instead of all the things we can’t and haven’t, we can rest. When we can rest our minds, our sleep improves. When get quality sleep and wake up with a clear mind our stress is reduced, and our mood can be lifted.                                                                                                                                                                          How could you not make your bed tomorrow morning? I challenge you to make your bed every morning before you do anything else for the next five days! Make note of how it make you feel, and observe any other tidying behaviors you start to exhibit. Beginning the journey to neat starts with setting small, realistic and attainable goals! Check out the ripple effect making my bed has made in my bedroom & let's start spring with new healthy habits. 

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