Make Your Room Work For You
.Your bedroom is the center of your life. If you're like most teens,
you organize your social life, hang out with friends, play music on your
iPod, surf the Web, have quiet time and still find time to study... All
within the confines of those four walls. But organizing your bedroom
sometimes falls by the wayside.
The fact that your room serves many purposes makes it all the more
important that you pay attention to how its structured and organized.
The ideal layout should reflect your personality and feature a smart
layout that will help you juggle every part of your life.
The first step to organizing your bedroom is to designate different
areas for various tasks. Think of areas you will need, such as space to
entertain and relax, study, store personal items and get dressed. Once
this has been decided, it will be easier for you to organize your school
supplies, CDs, DVDs, clothes, accessories and everything else you need.
Take the time to add personal touches to your room, after all, this is
your room and it should say something about who you are!
Organizing Your Bedroom: Fun and Function - Creating Your Living Space
Entertainment AreaHaving a fun living area in your room is a great way
to relax, this is where your entertainment system (including TV, DVD
player, stereo, etc.) should go. If you don't have enough room for a
beanbag chair, make sure you can see your TV from the bed (this will
make it much easier to relax!).
When setting up your gadgets, keep in mind the different restrictions
that you might have - not just space and outlets, but time management as
well! That TV or video game system may not be such a great idea during
finals! And, don't forget about chargers for cell phones, MP3 players
and any other electronics you have.. You'll need to keep those ready to
go.
Remember, if you have a lot of gadgets, make it a point to stay safe!
A surge-protected power strip is perfect for your computer (and all of
its various parts, including printer and speakers), but
be careful
not to blow a fuse by plugging every electronic you own into the same
outlet. The idea is to out spread all of your gadgets. In other words,
keep your stereo and TV plugged into a different outlet than your
computer.
Study AreaA designated study area is a must in every room.
A desk is a great place to do school work or even surf the Internet. Its
a good idea to position your desk (where you'll study and store all your
school supplies) away from your bed, the place you go to relax. This
might also help reduce the temptation to take that unplanned study
break.
When deciding where to set up your desk, make sure that you have access
to an electrical outlet. Youll also need plenty of room for power
cords and connections to operate your computer and other equipment.
If you have a computer, whether it is a PC or laptop, you'll need to
make room for it on your desk. If you have a laptop, ask your parents
for a raised docking station this will give you room to store notepads,
pens, calculators and anything else you need to tackle your homework.
PCs are bulkier, but won't take up all of your desk space if you
properly arrange your items. Put your printer and base unit on the
floor, or even on a sturdy bookcase. This will clear plenty of space,
and you'll still have easy access!
.Don't forget about organizing your bedroom for all your school
supplies. If you're like most students, you most likely have a large
collection of supplies, such as highlighters, paper or binder clips,
pens, pencils, paper, a stapler and a three-hole punch. If you can't
fit all your supplies in your desk drawers, look for colorful and fun,
small baskets, penholders and other desktop storage to help keep these
small items in place and reduce clutter.
See our organized to learn article for more helpful tips on organizing
your bedroom.
Shelves and Storage SolutionsShelves, colorful crates,
stackable bins, caddies, totes, hat boxes and pull-out organizers are
just a few of the many items you can use to store and transport stuff.
Use storing solutions, rather than wasting valuable desktop space or
piling your stuff on tables or the floor. Stash away:
• Framed pictures, drawings and mementos
• Books and textbooks
• Notebooks, notepads and loose-leaf paper
• School supplies
• Small storage containers
• CDs and DVDs
• Toiletries
The great part about using storage products is you can place them
exactly where you need them, and mix and match items to create a storage
system that works for you.
Organizing Your Bedroom: Containing Clothing Chaos As most
teens have quite a bit of clothing (not to mention shoes and
accessories), youll need a dressing area, as well as a way to organize
your closet and dresser.
Dressing AreaThe easiest way to set up your own personal
dressing area is to position your dresser by your closet! A must-have
for every bedroom is a mirror, hang it over your dresser or lean it up
against a wall. Having a mirror in your room lessens your morning time
crunch by letting you accomplish many tasks at once, such as styling
your hair, applying makeup and accessorizing.
Dresser
Try to make the most out of all the drawer
space in your dresser which means neatly folding clothing and using
dividers or small baskets to keep items (like socks) in their own area.
Many space-savvy teens store makeup and hair accessories in their
dresser. Store these items in trays, which will keep these small pieces
from getting lost.
ClosetsBulky items, like jeans or sweatshirts, take up a lot
of space, if you can, store them in the closet or under your bed. This
will leave plenty of room for shirts, pants, underwear and other
essentials.
Stackable shelving is great way to use the empty space at the bottom of
the closet and is perfect for storing sweaters, jeans or even books.
Another great idea for organizing your bedroom is an over-the-door shoe
organizer. This inexpensive option is a great way to clear up floor
space plus, you can store accessories or hairbrushes in unused pockets!
If you don't have a closet door (or don't want to use an over-the-door
organizer), shoe shelves are a great solution. These free-standing
shelves easily store and organize virtually any type of shoe.
If you don't have enough closet space, try raising your bed (with the
help of your parents and some sturdy supports). You'll hardly notice
your bed being six inches to a foot higher, but you'll immediately have
a place for out-of-season clothes or even a rolling cabinet.
Organizing Your Bedroom: Personal Touches
The best part of your bedroom is that it's yours. This is your space,
and the way you want to decorate it should be uniquely your own. If you
don't already know what personal touches to add, try experimenting with
these popular design elements (don't forget to get your parents
permission first):
• Framed photos of your and your friends
• Posters
• Colorful tapestries
• Different colors of paint (try painting the walls one shade and the
trim another)
• Pictures from magazines
Wow, we've covered a lot! From basics of room layout to organizing your
bedroom, we hope you've picked up some useful tips for making your room
work for you. The bottom line is that learning how to best manage your
space and time is a skill that will last a lifetime!
