The next step in our series is to find ways to create daily living habits that keep our bedrooms clean. When it comes to the bedroom, some of the maintenance task is a matter of habit; but some of it is set-up, too.

My husband laughs at my method of making the bed. If I'm the last of us to leave the bed, I lay in the middle of it, pull all the covers up over my head, kick the sides out so they hang over the side of the bed, and even everything out. Then I lift one corner to get out of the bed and put it back in place once I'm out of the bed. The bed is now at least half-made and it's a matter of straightening things out and adding the pillows. This takes no more than 2 minutes. You can time it.

If I am not the last person out, the next time I enter the bedroom I take the two minutes to make the bed (although at this point my husband has grown so accustomed to seeing it made that he will make the bed). The last person to get dressed is responsible for raising the shades and letting sunlight into the room.

We have implemented a "horizontal surface rule": all horizontal surfaces must be bare before getting into bed for the night. Anything that is on a dresser that isn't decorative is being stored temporarily. We simply make sure that it is short-term temporary instead of long-term. Over time, we realized when we were about to put something down that it had to get moved sooner or later--and often, we move it the next time we leave the room.

Clothing is a big issue. Most people don't wear clothes once and toss them in the laundry. So where do they go? Well, if they're too dirty to be put with your clean clothing, perhaps you can do a little rearranging to provide a place for "in between" clothing. This prevents them from being hung over a chair or on the bed. But others would contend that if it's not clean enough to be in with your clean clothing, you might reconsider re-wearing it.

For clothing that belongs in the laundry, be sure to have a container available. Make sure to choose your container wisely: it needs to be small or large enough to only contain the amount of laundry that you can easily do in a load or two. I keep our master bedroom laundry in a single laundry basket. That is equal to one load of laundry. When it's full--I take it downstairs with me (when I go down for the day) and throw the laundry in. I make good use of Shout Color Catcher so that I don't have to worry about separating colors. I do this because I have at least one other child's laundry (sometimes 2 or 3 depending on foster placements) plus towels, cloth napkins, tablecloths. It becomes a lot of laundry. Limiting the size of my laundry container makes it such that the overall laundry of the household doesn't build up to a full day's worth of work.

Clean laundry is best folded outside of the room. This way, when it comes into the room--it is easy to quickly put it away and it doesn't sit in the room.

Shoes are a matter of assigning them a proper storage place that is easy to get at. Boxes are nice, but realistically they are difficult to get shoes in and out of quickly and easily. We have these boxes in the closet for shoes that aren't worn daily. The daily shoes and slippers go under our bed. Granted, each of us only has one or two pairs of "daily" shoes and one pair of slippers--so this doesn't take over the underside of our bed. If you change shoes regularly, you might consider a shoe rack on the back of the door or a standing shoe rack for your closet or hidden spot in your bedroom.

If your bed is made, horizontal surfaces cleared and clothing not laying about--then your bedroom should be presentable. Dusting and vacuuming become less of an ordeal when the space is clear. These things can be done as you feel they are needed. And dusting can be done bits at a time if you keep a dust rag handy. A minute or two each morning or evening could have the whole room dusted (including baseboard mouldings) over the course of a week.

We tend to change half the bed linens one week and the other half the following week. This way, they are changed every 2 weeks without fail. It's a family affair that includes vacuuming and dusting the kids rooms (which they do--including the 4-year-old). Once each month, we add cleaning the dresser mirrors and ceiling fan blades (and the windows if needed).

This should keep your own bedroom relatively clean and a place you like to return to. Your bedroom should be your retreat. Keep that thought in mind while you are there to help you maintain it's appearance!