Day 3 - The Master Bedroom Part 2 #cgsc2015

The Master Bedroom Part 2, or Skeletons in Our Closet

Yup, I'm afraid so me pretties. It really is that time, best to get this out of the way sooner than later.

For many of us clothing can be one of the hardest to cull, particularly if we have some good quality stuff that we paid hard earned money on. But honey, if it don't fit (whether too small or too big) chances are by the time it does the style will be so out of fashion you'll look like you're dressed for a retro party.

You'll need a garbage bag and three boxes, one labeled "Donate", one "For Sale" and one for "Spring/Summer". (Or Fall/Winter for our southern friends). Start with the easy items, those oh so comfy sneakers that have only half a sole left, time to toss them. That really cute white peasant top which has an equally cute heart-shaped gravy stain over the left breast, yeah, gonzo. If there is no way the stain is coming out, if it's been in the repair basket with the crotch out for more than 6 months or it's so ratty body parts are showing that maybe shouldn't be (can we say, wardrobe malfunction?) then it's garbage. And the pile of unmatched socks that keeps growing, go through it one more time and then just let it go, the rest are in the Twilight Zone. These items are not for donation by the way, don't even keep them for rags (but but, I'll cut it up and sew into....something, yeah honey, no, just no). File them under G. Speaking of socks, how many pairs do you really need? How about the local homeless shelter that never seem to have enough for clients? How many pairs do you think they could use? I think you get the idea there. Jackets, sweaters, hats, gloves, shoes. If you didn't spend a fortune on them and you have more than you can wear in a normal season, donate them; someone else needs them more than you.

Now to go through the "it might fit, one day" piles and the back of the drawers in your dresser, determine what can be sent for donation and what you can maybe make a few dollars selling, this could go towards something new and bodacious (yup, I said bodacious). Be brutal, if it don't fit, it's out of here. One thing I do recommend here though is one drawer, one cupboard, one wardrobe or one closet at a time. Pull it all out from the one location and ask yourself a few questions:

• Does it fit?
• Have I worn it in the last 12 months?
• Will I ever wear it again? really, will I?
• Is it in style or fit in with my style?
• How many t-shirts/socks/jeans do I really need?
• If it is damaged in some way will I take the time in the next few days to repair it?
• Would I buy this right now if I was shopping today?
• Do I feel like a million bucks when I wear this?

If you answer no to any of these it's time to bid them farewell. Sell, donate, swap or toss it.

Anything you decide to make a few dollars on, take the picture NOW. Set it out nicely on a white sheet, hang it on a hanger or whatever makes it look best and pull out your camera or smart phone. As soon as you are able, preferably today, upload, price, label, and post. Cross post and double post. The box for donations, again that goes straight out to your vehicle (or call a local charity for pick up) to be taken care of right away.

The last box is the seasonal box and the best kind for this would probably be an under bed tote. Your summer duds are now a little light for winter and by November even layering with them doesn't really work. You will have some favourites that fit perfectly, look awesome and are uber comfy, by all means store them for next year, just be choosy, if you don't love it you likely won't wear it next year. Pack the best of them up, tuck it under the bed or somewhere else out of the way and we'll take some time to go through the box again in the spring. 

Now you may have set away some clothes from last winter, those cozy sweaters and long pants for the cooler weather, do a culling before you return them to general population. The homeless are cold too, share what you can, throw out what is damaged and one other thing darling, you don't need six pairs of winter boots - One casual, one dressy (I recommend ditching the winter boots with heels, some sadist decided that would be a good idea! But then again, I do live where walking down the block in January is considered an extreme sport). And that's it, you did it! Let's see those gorgeous closets friends!

I want you to stand back and admire the amazing bedroom you have after just a couple of rounds of cleaning and releasing. Maybe do a quick smudge as well for a cleansing of energies. This is now where you can come at the end of the day to relax, unwind, and count your daily blessings. You did good! Each day remember to thank whomever you pray to for the abundance you have, always keep the attitude of gratitude with you through this entire process. Until tomorrow me pretties, brightest blessings xx.

Love & light,

~Síonaínn **  ƸӜƷ  **

Ps. This challenge is of course mostly about releasing but I just bet, somewhere in those drawers and closets, you found a treasure or two. An old favourite, that still fits and you look freakin' hot in! Sexy jeans that show off your booty, an LBD, the cardy that makes you look oh so dapper. Put it on, take a selfie and give us a fashion show me pretties! Let's see how sexy we all are, and I know you are baby xx.

Day 2 - The Master Bedroom #cgsc2015

Wouldn't this be freakin' amazing?! Let's see what we can do to achieve our own version of a bedroom paradise.

I actually had another room chosen for Day 2 as the master bedroom can be a big job but a comment on a previous post by the lovely Caitlin Grace got me to thinking, the kitchen is the hearth of the home, the living room is family time, the bathroom houses the throne, but our bedroom is our oasis. When all else is said and done we retire to our room and this should be with a sigh of relief, a feeling of pure ahhhhhhh as we sink into our bed. Where better to start our challenge than where we end our day. 

Stand at the entry to your bedroom right now, what do you see? What would you like to see? We are not planning a full out redecorating, that is something you can certainly do after but if the room is currently a catch all for "stuff" then even basic decorating is not going to change that.  For now we are working for better, not perfect (you will see that phrase a lot through this challenge).

I'll tell you what I see when I walk in our bedroom, in fact, as embarrassing as it is I am going to bare it all because this is about being honest with ourselves so I may as well just let everyone in on my secret. I am a first class slob! Seriously. I can organise with the best of them, containers, labels, colour coded, the whole nine yards, but I am truly horrific when it comes to follow through. That will be my biggest challenge, keeping things in order after it's all been redone.

So come with me on a tour of my master bedroom (that sounds a little kinky, doesn't it? lol). Right at the entrance is what was long ago meant to be A) a hidden bar of sorts and B) a small altar. The bar is not terribly hidden because I'm too lazy to put bottles back in the cabinet so they sit on top quietly mocking me. The mirror has NEVER been dusted, I can't find the cute antique mailbox that I set there because it's buried in crap that needs to be taken to other rooms, and lighting a candle or incense? Oh hell no, that would be down right scary if not a complete disaster, and we've had our share of disasters this year, thank you very much! Moving further in, but not much, clean laundry piled on top the chest at the end of our bed that hasn't been put away since laundry day last week, dirty laundry is in one place, but on the floor because the hamper I bought is not assembled (in fact it is buried, under the dirty laundry of course). I use a tower fan to hang my pants on that still have a day's wear left in them, I have THREE night stands with some very cute bobbles on them, somewhere, I think. The dressers? They're for piling our clothing on top aren't they? Aren't they??? And let's not forget the nearly empty suitcase from visiting my mom in BC over a week ago, yup, still tripping on that sucker too. And that there me pretties, that is my shame, here for all to see. Please don't judge me too harshly.

Well then, let's get moving. In this post I am assuming any noticable recycles and garbage have been picked up from Day 1. You need boxes labeled for items (not clothing) you would like to donate and one for more valuable ones you would like to try to sell. If you are selling something, take the picture NOW, before it goes in the box. Use as neutral a background as you can find, set up and snap. Done.  As briefly described in yesterday's post and mentioned by Heather in our Facebook event,  working through each area in a counter-clockwise/widdershins manner is very good for releasing and banishing. Disclaimer inserted here: I am not an expert! In absolutely no way nor at any time do I expect anyone to follow me to the letter, or even to the sentence. I'm basically sharing with you my journey, what I'm doing works for me but tweak it up to make it work for you; these are guidelines and ideas to get you going. A good example is me with a recipe, I read the recipe, I like the idea but by the time I'm done it only vaguely resembles the original, I make it my own. Make this journey your own, make it about you, besides sheeple tend to smell I find ;).

Back to our regular programming. To start with we are going to pick up all the clean clothing and put that shit away!  Match and fold the socks, yes, I said match them, and for crying out loud, please throw out the ones with holes! Shirts on hangers (or folded neatly away), trousers folded, whereever it goes, put 'er there. While picking up the clean clothing you certainly may do a basic culling of those items, but if you're anything like me, they're laying around BECAUSE they are the clothes you wear the most, not the opposite. I do say basic though as we'll be attacking the closets and drawers in our rooms tomorrow in part two of the master bedroom. Now gather all the dirty laundry and get it out of your room, if you have a hamper it can go back in there after the tidying is done, if the pile is big enough, wash it already, it stinks! Seriously! Ewww. (Oh wait, that's our laundry, cat pee'd on it.... dammitalltohell.)

If your sheets need a change now is the time. Seasonal cleaning is also a good time to clean the bedding and flip/rotate your matress if it needs that as well. Mattresses and pillows house all sorts of nasty buggies, for the mattress use either baking soda or diatomaceous earth (add your favourite essential oil for a little somethin' somethin'), sprinkle it on, leave it while you tidy then vacuum it up before putting fresh sheets on, that should kill those icky critters good and dead. Pillows, cushions and shams can be thrown in the dryer on the highest heat the materials can handle; buggies like warm, they're not so fond of being baked.

Laundry and the bed are done, so now we will go through the room (widdershins again) and remove everything that does not belong to the hallway. Make piles of items by location if you like, living room, kitchen, bathroom, etc., use your give away and sell boxes here too (remember, take the photos of the items you want to sell immediately!). We'll redistribute these things after the room is done so we don't get distracted wandering about the house. Put away the out of place items from dresser tops, tidy up the side tables, and do a very quick dusting. Whatever is left on the dressers and tables I am assuming you want there for decorative and practical purposes (better if it serves both) so go ahead and make it look pretty, classy, simplistic or purely practical, whatever floats your boat. If there are any added touches you'd like to make such as candles, plants, flowers, changing out any art work, seasonal decorating or even some sort of canopy over your bed, this is a great time to do that. Oh and ps. your leopard print bra or joe boxers with happy faces are not decor ;). Just sayin'.

A quick vacuum (please no major cleaning yet, we'll get to that in a few days), replace any lightbulbs as needed, batteries in remotes, and ta da, you are done. Stand back and admire your lovely oasis, gorgeous isn't it?

If you have a box of bits and baubles for donation, get that asap to the Goodwill bin or the charity shop. The photos you took for selling, decide on a price, upload, label and post.

Please share with here or on Facebook what you did for this challenge and how you felt when crawled into bed at the end of the day. Brightest blessings me pretties!

Love & light,

~Síonaínn **  ƸӜƷ  **

Ps. When you put fresh bedding and sheets on your bed go ahead and make it all up as pretty and tidy as a showhome. But recent research suggests that when you get up in the morning it is healthier to NOT make your bed as that nice warm spot you just left behind is pure heaven for them icky critters, so pull back the bedding (this can still be done neatly) and expose those shitheads to the bright lights and chilly morning air. Here's a link with a bit of information on that if you want to learn more: Don't make your bed! 

Here's another heavenly outdoor bedroom to drool over.