Master Bedroom Priorities for Each of the Four Types

By now, we’ve all probably heard the term ‘sleep hygiene’ — and it doesn’t involve cleaning your bed. The term refers to healthy behavior that is conducive to good quality sleep.

Sleep Hygiene

Nowadays, people are using their bed for things they simply shouldn’t be. Let us count the ways: Texting, working, cuddling with a pet (on THAT thread count!? Uh-uh), watching TV, eating, and repeatedly hitting the snooze button, among other things. But what should the bedroom be used for? Just three things: clothing storage, sleeping, and sex. That is the whole list and we know that a calm and relaxed environment encourages each of those items. Good sleep hygiene thrives in a neat and orderly space. But how does one get there, and what will the results look like? That all depends on your personality type.

In this article, we’ll go through some universal rules about how to keep your bedroom clean and serene, and then go into detail on how each of the four personality types can work within their psychological and behavioral structure to create the perfect space for sleeping, dressing, and doing one other thing (ahem). Those are, after all, the only things a bedroom should be used for.

Bedroom Organization for Every Personality Type

Here are some universal rules for keeping your bedroom area organized that every personality type can benefit from:

1. Purge your wardrobe- this step could take some time, particularly if purging does not come naturally to you. If you have difficulty letting go of things you never wear or wear only rarely, enlist help from a ruthless friend or pay to have a stylist come to your house and help you. Take every single piece of clothing out of drawers and off hangers and separate them into piles. Keep the things you wear often and are still in good shape. Donate or sell what you no longer wear, but is still wearable. Store those sentimental pieces that you just can’t bear to part with. Do the same with shoes (shoes can be donated, too!) and accessories.
2. Buy matching hangers- this is important, because it keeps the clothing the primary focus. Classic personality types can afford to buy the hangers in advance, as they are usually prepared for the process ahead of time, but for most types, buying the hangers after purging is best. Make sure you buy non-slip regular hangers, hangers with a double hang capacity, and hangers with clips to keep skirts unwrinkled and tidy.
3. Install hooks on the backs of closet doors- This will make things easier for those who are used to draping clothes on the backs of chairs or across the bed after wearing them. It’s easy to tell yourself you’ll ‘hang it up later’ but for those who tend to procrastinate or need a one step solution, hooks are a great start.
4. Store your shoes on shelves and not on the floor of the closet, where they will likely become disorganized.
5. Buy two bedside tables and two lamps- these serve an important purpose that you might not be aware of until you actually have these items. The tables are perfect for books, or that glass of water you might need in the middle of the night.
   
6. Get two different hampers- use one for dry cleaning and delicate items and the other for regular laundry. This will save a lot of trouble once you’re in the laundry process, and will make separating (besides colors) obsolete.
7. If space is very limited, use storage underneath the bed, but make sure they are easily accessible and either roll or slide out from beneath, as under bed storage can be just like filing cabinets for Organic types- a place where items go to be forever forgotten.

Bedroom Organization Tips for Classics

1. Make a purge To Do list- break up the list into smaller items, such as buying hangers, pruning your wardrobe, installing shelving for shoes, buying a traditional jewelry box, etc.
2. Store jewelry in a large, conventional jewelry box with predictable categorical compartments. This type of storage is perfect for Classic types, as they will adhere exactly to where different kinds of jewelry are supposed to go.
3. Shoe shelving- any kind will work for you, for the same reason a conventional jewelry box will — you’re perfect at adhering to the rules of where things go, and you always put things back where they are supposed to be.
4. If you must and absolutely have to have a desk in the room, make sure it’s one that can be closed completely, like a roll top or secretary desk, and keep it in a corner of the room. You do NOT want your bedroom, a place of peace and sanctuary, to turn into any type of home office.
5. For men who are Classics, it is especially difficult to purge old clothing that might be perfectly wearable but no longer in style and rarely worn. These pieces should be donated, not thrown out. As much as the impulse might be to just toss everything that has become irrelevant, it is important to note that although the clothing might not be useful to you any longer, that it could be very useful to another person in need.

Bedroom Organization Tips for Funs

1. Purge when you are inspired, you’ll get the most done that way. Invite a particularly discerning friend over and have them help you make the necessary ‘keep’, ‘donate’, ‘store’, and ‘toss’ piles.
   
2. Color code whenever possible! This means shirts go on purple hangers, pants on white, etc. Or you could organize your clothing by color. This will prove extremely helpful when you’re looking for a specific item.
3. Use ‘later boxes’ for everything that is sentimental but never worn. For example, your wedding dress/shoes, etc. Put the later boxes in the attic and revisit them at a ‘later’ date (pun intended).

Bedroom Organization Tips for Organics

1. Hang everything on hangers- this includes everything except socks and underwear, which can go in drawers. It may sound extreme, but Organics really need to see everything out, or else they forget they have it, and it loses its usefulness.
2. Purge only as you are re-hanging clothing on new and matching hangers- Organic types do things in the moment. This solves the problem of putting things off and stopping midway through a certain task.
3. Use ‘later boxes’ for all sentimental things you wish to keep for posterity.
4. Unlike Classic types, you cannot, under any circumstances, have a home office in your bedroom.

Bedroom Tips for Smarts

1. Use donation bins- Put the items you wish to donate into a bin immediately, and when you’re finished filling that bin, put the bin in your car. This will save you from the situation of having said bin hanging out in your bedroom or foyer for a month, just taking up space.
   
2. Put the shoes you don’t wear often on shelves, and the ones you usually wear on the closet floor. If you choose to, keep transparent shoe bins that you can look down and see right into. This will keep the shoes organized.
3. Use as many hooks as you can- This will save you from having to pick up random items of clothing from chairs and any other surface (the floor, for example) at the end of every day (or week… or month). Hanging something on a hook is as easy as draping it over a chair or throwing it on a shelf. It takes one smooth motion to do this, so why not choose the neater and more aesthetically pleasing option?
4. Get a bulletin board or pegboard for your jewelry- No closed boxes for you! You’ll forget you even own jewelry unless you can see it right there in front of you.

For more information on how to keep your bedroom organized, and how to stay organized in general depending on your personality type, check out our book on Amazon. It’s filled with tips and tricks on everything from attics to entryways!