I was reading an article on how to declutter your bedroom the other day, and almost every tip required some plastic organizer you're supposed to buy. You don't need more space-takers and overpriced pieces of plastic to clear a room.

You can transform your bedroom by strategically removing what's in it, and the order you do it in actually matters. That's what these 10 steps are for. As one reader put it:

"This helps so much so u don't just go in your room and be like "NOPE"!😂"

We like to feel like we're doing something by buying a shiny new thing to shove things into, but usually that just feeds the fire.

Why Declutter The Bedroom First

Your bedroom is the most powerful room in your home, and not because anyone else sees it. Most guests never set foot in it, which makes it a judgment-free zone you can build entirely around yourself.

You spend about a third of your life in here. It's the first thing you see when you open your eyes and the last before you close them.

That gives it an outsized say in how your day goes. Wake up tripping over piles and hunting for a shirt without a stain, and the day starts in friction before you're even awake.

Wake up to a room you love, and you walk out with a head start.

There's a feedback loop between your space and your mind. A chaotic room feeds a chaotic head, and a calm one feeds a calm head, so starting where that loop is strongest carries the most momentum into the rest of the house.

Most people do it backward. They start with the living room or the entryway, the rooms guests see, then push whatever they can't decide on into the bedroom, where no one's looking.

Your own room becomes the dumping ground, which sends the message that everyone else's comfort comes before yours. Starting here flips that.

One thing to hold onto through all ten steps: keep the feeling you want from the room in mind, calming, inspiring, whatever good looks like for you. The steps clear the clutter, but that feeling is the actual goal.

1. Make Your Bed

I know this isn't mind-shattering, but it's always step one in taking care of your room. Whether you're decluttering, cleaning, or setting the mood, it all starts with the bed.

A made bed gives you a starting point and sets the tone for the rest of the mission. It also gives you an easy flat surface to place things on while you sort.

You may have to re-straighten it when you're done. Necessary evil.

2. Clear Out Under the Bed

I once looked under a person's bed and saw about a hundred giant spider eggs spanning the whole king-sized frame. 😳

There are worse things than a few socks lost to the darkness under your bed.

Clearing under there is second on the list because it's going to be messy. Potentially disgusting, even.

This area doesn't get much love, unless you have a robovac, as I do, that handles it regularly. You don't want to wait until the room looks good to start dragging out the dusty randomness underneath.

If you live in small quarters, under-the-bed storage can be valuable. If it's truly necessary to keep containers or the pop-up Christmas tree there, put them back intentionally once you've cleared the cobwebs.

But really consider it. What are you storing under there that actually earns the space, and when did you last use that shoulder massager or those vacuum-sealed linens?

I haven't kept a thing under my bed in years, and I love it. No bending over to shove things in and out, no dust piling up out of reach.

It feels really good, and my robot vacuum can clean under there without beeping for help.

3. Pull Everything Out of the Closets and Make Your Piles

The closet is a whole detailed article on its own, and I'll do more on it in the future because it's a special kind of challenge. We love to shove things into a dark hole and avoid dealing with them.

Your room is only as decluttered as its closet. If you're using the closet as a holding area, it's only a matter of time before that stuff seeps back into the room.

So pull everything out of the closet early, right alongside clearing under the bed. You don't want to send yourself back to scratch right after cleaning the rest of the room.

That made bed gives you a flat surface for sorting. Be ruthless here, because those dusty shoes, purses, belts, and clothes hold less value than you think, even the expensive ones.

It helps to run every piece through the same filter. Here are 10 questions to run each piece through.

4. Follow Up With the Dresser Drawers

It makes sense to hit the dressers right after the closet, if not right alongside it. You're already in clothing mode, and what's in the closet is fresh in your mind.

I've shared the value of working in modes in other articles, and it's particularly helpful with clothes.

Running the closet and dressers together helps you spot duplicates and build a truly cohesive wardrobe.

Once you've sorted it all (donate, keep, trash, burn), get the piles out of the room. Around here, you'll feel really productive.

Keep the ruthless hard hat on. Underwear does not have the life expectancy we wish it had.

It has one job. Consider what that job is.

It's ok to splurge on some fresh replacements now and then. There's nothing quite like bringing home brand-new socks that both match and are hole-free.

Both criteria have to be met: matching and hole-free.

Does anyone still wear pantyhose? You do you, just be honest in your assessments.

5. Empty and Arrange Bedside Tables

Keep one thing front and center while you clear the bedside drawers: everything should be visible, or at least its container should be. We're not layering here, and digging is the enemy.

Make sure what's stored there actually belongs at the bedside. Are you really going to need this while you're in bed?

Truly, there shouldn't be that many things you need in the late night or early morning hours when you're awake and lying in bed.

Things that work: a book and book light, meds, chapstick, earbuds. Things that don't: bills, cameras, tools, hot sauce.

6. Open a Window and Dust Everything

Once you're this far, you're in the fast lane. You've cleared the most cluttered areas, so it's time to pause and let some freshness in.

The areas you've decluttered so far tend to carry a lot of dust.

Open a window and dust. Wipe down the surfaces, bed frame, window sill, blinds, and ceiling fan, because indoor dust, mold, and bacteria come with some gnarly impacts on your health.

7. Clear the Surfaces and Select What Stays

Clear the surfaces completely. Take down every trinket, jewelry holder, candle, and random object sitting out, and set them all aside.

Then, instead of hunting for things to remove, select what earns a spot back. Selecting is one of the biggest power moves for a room, because you're choosing what belongs rather than digging through what doesn't.

A keeper has to pass three tests, the three P's.

Personality. It reflects the authentic you or the theme you're building for the room.

Purpose. It has a real job to do, one that requires it to live in that spot.

Place. It fits within the spatial limits you set, allowing for a small bookshelf, a pen holder, or a paper tray.

Anything that doesn't pass all three finds a new home or a donation box, and nothing goes on the windowsill.

8. Do a Floor Check

Now for the real test: a floor check, straight from my 10-point clutter checklist.

Assess everything touching the floor. That includes lamps, furniture, chairs, and any bedroom accessories, like hampers.

Do you need it, like it, and have room for it? Maybe you do.

But this is the moment to decide. The donations haven't left yet.

Floor space is one of the most valuable attributes of any room or home. That square footage is what you paid for.

Often, when it feels like you don't have enough space, it's really unnecessary space hogs absorbing the floor.

9. Straighten the Bed and Remaining Furniture

Now re-straighten the bed, as I mentioned back in step one. If you're like me, you used it as a makeshift sorting table, so hopefully nothing you piled on was dirty enough to need a wash.

If any furniture or a hamper got moved out of place, put the final touches back so the room reads as finished.

10. Vacuum and Light a Candle

Vacuuming is the last step in making the room look and feel finished.

Then I like to top it off with a great smell. Light the candle you've been saving or burn some incense, and make it a moment, because you earned it after the real work it takes to declutter your bedroom.

When you're ready to take this same approach through the rest of the house, getting started with decluttering picks up where this leaves off.