The Master Bedroom, The Start and End To Your Day

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Last week, I finished writing about the heart of the home.  However, would you be surprised that some people consider the master bedroom the heart of their home?  After all, it is a place where we should be able to retreat when we need some peace and quiet;  moreover, this is where we rest our heads at night, so our bodies can repair and be ready for the morrow.  Even though, many people with chronic illnesses do not get optimal rest at night, we still need to have a place where we can get the best possible rest for our bodies.  

A neat, well-tended bedroom is a blessing.  Have you ever walked into a bed and breakfast, a hotel room, or a comfortable guest room, and felt the almost instantaneous relaxing of your body?  Ah, what a pleasant place, my place to let down my hair, to put up my feet, and to find comfort and relaxation.  Compare this to walking in a room that has clothes tossed over various chairs, clothes baskets waiting to be emptied, boxes tossed in a corner to be out of the way, shoes lying in various places where they were taken off, weeks of dust on the furniture, and an unmade bed.  I can say this, because I have been there.  How about you?  Does any of this sound familiar?  

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A bedroom does not have to be sumptuous to be delightful.  I have admired bedrooms that had stacked crates beside the bed for nightstands and unmatched tables for setting down items one needs.   The creativity of making a bedroom a comfortable place does not depend on a fat pocketbook.  However, there are some basics that make a difference in how a person feels when walking into his or her own room.  Here is a list of what I consider basic:  

1. A chair with arms, so you can assist yourself in standing up.
2. A dresser or chest of drawers for your clothes.  Even crates or inexpensive rolling carts will work.  If you want to dress them up, you could paint them or throw a scarf of some sort over the top.
3. Tables beside the bed;  however, I have seen lovely design settings where stacked books were used.
4. Lamps beside the beds and possibly a small book light for those that have spouses who are annoyed by light when he/she is trying to sleep.
5. Closets are nice, but people used hooks and wardrobes long before there were closets.  Also, shoes can be neatly lined up under the side of the bed.  Some people even buy rolling carts.  I have a hanging shoe bag in my closet.

These are some of the essentials.  If you think of some more, please write a comment.  And I might add:  if you have CFS/ME or Fibromyalgia, you should consider a comfortable bed.  This is where I would put my money.  If you cannot afford a new mattress, at least top it with some sort of padding to cushion your body in the right places.  

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Moreover, let me talk about sheets.  I am sure we all have our preferences.  Sometime in the middle of my bouts with Fibromyalgia, I discovered that thread counts do count.  It seems the sheets with a thread count of 600 or higher feel better when they touch my skin.  It is pitiful when even the sheets hurt your skin;  however, they have:  and, I felt desperate.  I could not stand to be touched for a time.  Just the brush of my husband's elbow against me at night made me stay awake for hours.  I hurt everywhere.  That is when we got a king size bed and I got a higher thread count in our sheets.  Let me add:  it was not my husband's fault:  it was the miserable illness.  How, anyone does not believe a person with Fibromyalgia is sick, is beyond me.  Thank goodness there is data now to back up what we feel in our bodies.

So there it is:  my introduction to a week of cleaning the master bedroom.  My goal is to walk in, to see and smell the freshness, and be rid of most of the dust mites in my room.  How many of you wake up with stuffy, swollen sinuses or with post-nasal drip?  I want my bedroom to be a launching point for my day, my own personal bed and breakfast room, and a place that oozes restfulness and peace to me and my husband.  

Finally, it doesn't matter whether you have children at home or you are the only one that lives there --your bedroom can help set the tone for your day.  I know it is your attitude that should set the tone for the day, but having a clean, neat room can make a difference.  I think order in our lives is an innate need, even a God-given need.  Therefore, I am looking forward to this week of working on our bedrooms.  Maybe, some of you will be able to do the advanced version.  LOL.  However, some of us have some heavy dusting to do.

Gentle hugs,
Deborah

P.S.  Later on tonight, I will post the proposed cleaning schedule for our bedrooms.  I know there will probably be differences, depending on the state of your room;  so, please don't be frustrated if my suggestions do not exactly fit your situation.  If you have any questions, you can comment here or at Chronic Fatigue and Creative Decluttering.