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The next two months are filled with holiday preparations and shopping. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, you have two of the busiest travel weeks of the entire year! If some of those guests are traveling to your home for the winter holidays, now is a great time to check out a few tips for cleaning a messy bedroom for your guests.

Whether you need to organize a new space or clean out a rarely used space, you should take time to make sure the room is in perfect condition so your guests feel comfortable in your room. Before tackling your messy room, take a few minutes to look at the space and assess how much time it will take you to clean. For a major cleanup, plan to set aside at least two to four hours.

Prepare to Organize a Messy Room

Before you head into the disorganized space, grab all of the supplies you will need to clean the room so you do not have to waste time looking for the items later. Some supplies you should plan to have on hand include:

Garbage Bags
Boxes (for donation items)
Dust rags
Green Cleaning Products
Vacuum
Labels/Markers
Organizing bins
Laundry basket
Fresh Linens

Once you have collected all of your supplies, you will want to tackle the space in an organized fashion. Many people make the mistake of trying to organize a messy room willy-nilly. An organized approach will save you time and energy over time and you will see progress faster.

Hit the Messy Room with a Plan

Pick a place to start. There are a few different ways to decide what you want to clean first. You may opt for the “type” method, which involves picking one category of items and tackling those. For example, you may walk into the room and clear out all of the garbage, then tackle the clothing, then the toys, and so on. This works well for messy bedrooms that you use often and are that already somewhat organized.

The “Type” Method:

First things first, clear out all of the garbage. Pick up papers off of the floor, clear out old photos, tools, toys, or other items that are no longer of use and cannot be donated. Look under beds, between drawers, and behind the dresser.

Second, clear off the beds. If needed, toss linens into the laundry basket so you can wash them later. Once you have cleared off the bed, pick up all of the clothing on the floor or hanging out of drawers and toss them onto the bed. Put toys, books, and other items into piles on the floor. During your sorting process, go through the closets and drawers as well.

Take anything that does not belong in this space and put it into a laundry basket for later. (This may include dishes, library books, backpacks, etc.) Now go through each pile. Donate any clothing or toys that your family does not need or is not using, toss dirty clothes into laundry baskets and put toys or other items into their proper places. Fold or hang up any remaining laundry.

You may need to put items in storage, toss items into boxes and label them, so you can move them to storage right away.

Now that the clutter is gone, dust the bedframe, bedside tables, dresser tops, and windowsills. Wash the window and blinds and wash off any dirty spots on the doors, walls, and other furniture. Dust any picture frames or other décor.

Finally, run the vacuum. Take your dirty linens to the laundry and put away anything you removed from the room earlier.

If you are clearing out a storage space or tackling major clutter issues, you may want to try the “zone” tactic.

The Zone Method:

The zone method of cleaning a messy room is self-explanatory. You target the bedroom by tackling different areas. This method is effective if you are cleaning out a room previously used as storage or for another reason has tons of items to go through. The zone method will help you stay organized so you can properly sort and clean items.

For the zone method, you should start with the beds or the surface area of dressers, so you have more room to work as you complete each task. Save the closets and inside of dressers for last.

Sort items as you go through each area. Toss garbage (including papers, torn clothing, broken toys, and other items you cannot donate) into a sack. Set any papers aside that you need to shred. Toss dirty laundry into a basket and place items you want to donate into a donation box. Create storage containers as you go and place items in labeled boxes for easier access later on.

Completely finish each area (including wiping down the top and outside of dressers) as you go. Once you have gone through each area, make the beds, wipe down the windows, blinds, and doorways, and run the vacuum.

Put away any items that do not belong in the room and take care to shred any papers as quickly as possible.

Do not forget the small details

Once you have properly cleaned, dusted and vacuumed each room, you should go over your guest room and tackle the small details. Items you should double check include:

• Changing lightbulbs
• Dusting lamps and knick-knacks
• Extra blankets and pillows
• Small decorative touches
• Air out the room using a fan or opening windows

You can turn your messy bedroom into a great guest space for your family and friends this holiday season by taking some time and a little hard work. When you tackle a messy room with a plan and a little organization, you will find that the space may not be as overwhelming as you originally thought.

Don’t forget to crank up the radio and wear some comfortable clothes to make the cleaning process a little more pleasant.

What are some ways you make your guest room more comfortable for visitors?