MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE WALL: WHAT THE HECK DO I NEED HERE AFTER ALL?
Let’s look at some common solutions to the organizing challenges I presented above:
A bookcase.
Do you have a virtual library next to your bed? Does it spill from the
nightstand onto the floor? You need a bookcase. There are folding,
portable ones; fancy ones that match the wood in your bedroom set; or
inexpensive ones from the home store. Corral those books!
A nightstand.
Your nightstand should be something of a mini-command post. But that
doesn’t mean that it’s going to hold everything except the kitchen
sink. Here are some key items you might need: medications, glasses, pen
or pencil and paper, tissues, and the book you are currently reading.
You might fancy a framed photo and certainly a good reading lamp. One
of you will have the remote should a TV be in the room. What have you
crowded onto and into your nightstand?
It’s
wonderful to line these drawers with the thick liner I suggested for
the kitchen. And do make use of drawer containers; in this room you
might want wood containers and a liner with a design rather than plain.
You’ll find the former in any kitchen department and the latter at The
Container Store. Don’t worry if these drawers go from crowded to
relatively empty. Baby items will soon fill the void. Here are some
examples of the items you may want to have close at hand: pacifiers
(they are always getting lost, and it’s nice to have a spare tucked
away in the bedroom), a burp cloth for those messy little emergencies,
and maybe even a diaper and a small container of wipes in case you’ve
just gotten comfy in bed when Baby decides to mess her diaper. Keep a
bottle of water here. You never know when you might get stuck in bed
under a sleeping or nursing baby and suddenly realize you are
desperately thirsty! Meagan tucked stationery and pens into her bedside
drawer so that when she found herself stuck, she could keep her hands
and mind busy writing thank-you notes.
A chair.
If you are lucky enough to have a chair in your room, I invite you to
enjoy it! You will really want it available to you after Baby comes so
you can sit here and breastfeed. If you have continued to toss clothes
here even after you organized your closet, ask yourself why. Perhaps
you need to make the action of hanging up your clothes the new habit
you cultivate?
If you have a glider/rocker
already in your home, your room is now probably the ideal place for it.
Perhaps the comfy chair you currently have in your room could be
re-covered with some baby- or child-friendly motif and go into the
baby’s room. Getting ready can be more a matter of moving furniture
than buying new pieces.
Don’t think of your furniture as set in stone
wherever it is currently placed. Consider giving some pieces a new life
in a different location.
A dresser.
Pity the poor dresser whose contents are so crammed it’s a treasure
hunt every time you open a drawer. You’ll need to attack these drawers
one at a time. Toss the junk. Donate what you can. Are there items you
could hang in your closet? Many of my clients fold their jeans and put
them in a dresser. Items like this are bulky and take up too much room.
It’s best to hang them. When it comes to the surface of your dresser,
do you have too many knickknacks and photos out? Let’s keep all the
surfaces in this room as clear as possible for now. You want to make
way for items like a baby monitor. You don’t want to add them to the
clutter.
Storage. If
you have CDs and DVDs in this room, consider putting them into albums.
Divide your collection by type. When you want to see the latest James
Bond release or listen to the Rolling Stones you’ll know just where to
go.
If you have a young child at home
already, why not have one or two special items (including books) in
your bedroom for him to enjoy when he shares the space with you. Keep
toys and stuffed animals in a basket. Make a special section on your
bookcase for his books. It won’t keep the romance alive in your
relationship if you and your husband feel like you’re living at F. A.
O. Schwarz! Nor will it do much to teach your child about boundaries
and how special a bedroom can be.
You’ll
want to corral your pets’ toys as well. When you get to the point when
you can’t see your feet, you will be grateful there are no bones or
fake mice to trip over on this floor.
WHAT YOU DON’T NEED IN THE BEDROOM
Miscellaneous items.
I’m not a fan of under-the-bed storage; however, sometimes I understand
it’s necessary. Please don’t store memorabilia, photos, seasonal
decorations, or other miscellaneous items here. There are under-bed
storage containers meant for this spot. They become in essence
extensions of your dresser (or a replacement for the one you don’t
have) and can hold seasonal items like heavy sweaters and long johns
when it’s summer.
Electronics.
If the computer has to live in this room, we’ve previously discussed
marking off the territory dedicated to work with an area rug or
decorative screen. Power down at night so you won’t be tempted to check
e-mail at 3:00 a.m.
Does your TV hold a
position of honor in your bedroom? Different strokes for different
folks, as they say. I am a purist who prefers to have no modern
technology in my bedroom. If you can, place items like the TV, DVD
player, and others, inside a cabinet. During the day and when you are
ready to sleep at least you can literally close the door on these
activities.
COMMUNICATE
You and your spouse will be busy this month
getting your home ready for the arrival of your son or daughter. During
this time, I have no doubt you’ll be entertaining fantasies of one day
doing things with your child that your parents did with you. Dads play
catch on the lawn with their sons while moms introduce their daughters
to makeup. Many families also have traditions. But I can’t stress the
idea of communication often enough. How does it tie in this month? Let
me tell you the story of Tony and Brooke.
Tony comes from a big New York Italian family.
His parents kept an open-door policy when it came to their bedroom.
Everyone piled in at will to talk, share, and comfort each other. They
watched movies in their pj’s on Friday nights. They left toys strewn on
the floor. If you had a problem to discuss or a joy to share, you piled
on Mom and Dad’s bed and all was made right.
Brooke, on the other hand, was raised in a prim
and proper Midwestern home by parents who kept their bedroom off limits
to their children. You see where this is headed, right? Tony wanted to
replicate his parents’ open-door policy and Brooke was horrified by the
very idea. It took some time and a lot of communicating but I’m happy
to report a compromise was reached. Now they have their own family
tradition and it’s a nice blend of the two extremes.
What assumptions do you have about the master bedroom?
Heavy wall hangings. If you live in
an earthquake-prone area, don’t hang heavy items above your bed. You’d
be amazed by what I have seen. In the event of a big quake, you don’t
want a heavy mirror to fall on you while you sleep, or worse, have Baby
hit when she’s sleeping with both of you.
If
the room itself is overflowing with “stuff,” it’s time to get real and
make some decisions. What is this stuff? Do you have too much
furniture? Are suitcases from your last trip still open and littering
the landscape? Has it been forever since you got on the treadmill?
You’ll have to go item by item and be brutally honest about the
usefulness of each thing in your room, especially the big-ticket space
hogs.
EMBRACE THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE
You
are about to start a new phase in your life. Let the relics of the past
move on to new homes and new adventures. It’s not uncommon to look
around this room and realize you have outgrown it. It no longer
reflects who you are. Set the old free and create something new in its
place. Just remember that it’s your room as a loving couple; it’s not
an extension of the baby’s room. Everyone deserves a space of their own
in the home.
