Introduction + Day 1 [Monday 11 August 2025]
Welcome to Episode 3 of my 4th annual Whole House Declutter series! In this episode, I’ll be cleaning and decluttering my youngest daughter’s room, starting with removing everything from her closet. I’ll also be relocating her toy shelf from her closet to the loft. Eventually, I want to turn the loft into a fun teen lounge, since they no longer use that space for homeschooling. They can share the toy shelf, either for their toys, or arts and crafts, or whatever. Though, they don’t have a lot of toys – they’re slowly growing out of them – so I might end up keeping their toys in their rooms; but, I’m still weighing all of my options.
Life Updates: Back to Public School & Job Search
While I’m getting started, I wanted to share a couple of life updates. I know it’s been a little over a month since I posted last. It’s been hectic around here, and I had to pause content creation to focus on some changes.
I kind of knew this time would eventually come. Shortly after I was laid off from my last job, I attempted to monetize my YouTube channel on a deadline. I really gave it everything I could, pushing the deadline further and further. But the truth is, after a little over a year (14 months), I didn’t quite make it. So, now, I need to start bringing in income again – our budget has just been too tight.
But, the first thing I’ve been focused on lately is getting my children enrolled back into public school so I can work again. After homeschooling for the past two years, they actually wanted to return to public school this year – and, honestly, I kind of wanted them to as well.
We’ve got one child in her last year of elementary, one in his second year of middle, and one in her first year of high school now, so that’s been quite the adjustment! There were extra steps, like comprehension exams and case management meetings, since they’d been out of the system for a while. So, I was bouncing between schools a lot before they started earlier this month.
As for my employment search, I’ve only applied to one job so far, at the end of July. It’s with a company I used to work for several years ago. Last time, it took a while (about a month or two) after applying before they responded to my application; but, I’m hopeful I’ll hear back soon and be able to work there again. My husband has been employed at that company since 2016, and he’s been keeping me updated. I’m not in a hurry myself, so I’ll probably give it up to a couple of months total, minus the two weeks that have already passed since applying, before I start looking for other jobs.
I’m not committing to be fully back on YouTube just yet, but I didn’t want to leave you hanging either. I did publish a community post stating that I needed to take a break beforehand, but I’m not sure how many of you all actually saw it. So, I really appreciate your patience and support through this season. But, life is a bit calmer for now since my children have started school, and since I’m waiting to hear back from the company. Now that I have some more time on my hands, I’ll be easing back into content creation as I can. Life has been a bit of a whirlwind, but I’m taking it one step at a time.
Sorting Items from Decluttered Closet
Now that her closet is cleared out and dusted, I’m sorting through all of the stuff that I pulled out and putting things that belong in the closet back as neatly as possible, starting with her clothes. Most of her clothes are getting hung, but I’m also temporarily utilizing the hanging shoe shelf for her socks, underwear, pajamas, and seasonal items. Also, there was a lot of trash and random stuff in there that didn’t really belong. When I have enough money saved to organize and decorate her room, I plan to replace the hanging shoe organizer with a six-cube shelf and bins for her clothes and accessories, and a simple shoe shelf for her shoes.
So Many Stuffed Animals
Next, I’m working my way around to this side of her bed where I placed some of the items from her closet, but my main focus is getting all of her stuffed animals corralled into the hamper. Most of her “stuffies” were crammed under her bed, so I had to pull those out. When it’s time for the organizing phase, I think I’ll buy her one of those bean bag chair covers to store them all in, which will be functional as seating, too.
Book Shelf
Next, I’m tackling her bookshelf, starting with decluttering her book collection. I did remove several books that I realized weren’t quite appropriate for her age group (e.g. the Dork Diaries series that we’ve collected from Goodwill over the years). When it’s time to organize and decorate, I’ll be painting her bookshelf – maybe white – to coordinate with her other furniture. I am considering relocating all of my children’s books into the loft so that they’ll have less clutter in their rooms, and I think a book nook in their teen lounge would be so cozy and fun.
Day 2 [Tuesday 12 August 2025]
It’s the next day, and my first goal is to move her desk in here from the loft, to this area where her vanity currently is. I’m starting by decluttering her vanity. I’m temporarily relocating it to the loft and moving her desk from the loft into her room. (The vanity will probably get sold or donated when I refresh the loft.) Then, I’ll be clearing and cleaning the area.
It was such a hassle to move her desk in her room. I had to remove the monitor shelf and a couple of feet to fit it through the door. But, now, I’m just getting it set up in this corner where her vanity was, and then I’ll be screwing the monitor shelf back on and removing the side pocket, which just collects trash and other clutter.
Next, I’m getting the desk drawers vacuumed. Two can be used for her beauty and hygiene supplies, and two can be used for her hobbies, like her dragon puppets.
Now, I’m cleaning her computer. I’ll be setting it up in here temporarily, until I get the loft refreshed. Since they no longer need separate computers for homeschooling, I’m only going to have one computer for them to use in the loft, and I’ll store their other two as alternates.
Room Plan
Next, I’m just tidying up, mainly clearing off her bed and putting things away. While I’m doing that, I wanted to talk about my basic plan for her room.
My daughter’s room has been a purple shabby chic theme for the past almost-three years – well, besides the red curtains. (I switched her purple curtains for red ones this past Christmas, since red’s her current favorite color and that’s what she wanted.) She now wants a forest and wolf theme. I’m going to keep it really simple, though. So, when it’s time to organize and decorate, I’ll basically be swapping out all of the purple and other colors for green and focusing more on the organization aspect of it. I’ll also be replacing her chandelier with a simple ceiling fan and light fixture combination. Function is more important than aesthetic, in my opinion, especially when you only have $200 to work with.
Day 3 [Wednesday 13 August 2025]
Now, it’s the third and final day of my youngest daughter’s room declutter, and I’m getting the remaining detailed-cleaning done: spot-cleaning the rest of her walls, dusting the blinds, cleaning the window, wiping down the baseboards, and spot-cleaning the doors and frames.
Next, I’m removing two out of the four adhesive ceiling hooks that I originally hung for a sheer purple bed canopy about a year or two ago. Yeah, her canopy phase didn’t last long. The hooks did some damage to my ceiling upon removal, so I’m going to have to re-sand and paint the areas during part two of this refresh.
Next, I’m picking up bits of trash off her floor. My daughter did not want me to vacuum, so I told her that I wouldn’t (to avoid conflict); but, I found this loophole. Let’s just say that, from day one, she was not very appreciative of me decluttering and cleaning her room. She likes her space messy, and she was kind of upset that I was cleaning and decluttering it. She even threw her mountain of stuffed animals back on the floor the first and second day.
Part of me wants to respect her wishes for her space, and part of me is kind of annoyed with her (maybe for the lack of appreciation?). But, one day she’ll understand the benefits of decluttering and maintaining a tidy space, just not today. So, we’ll have to figure out a compromise in the meantime.
Conclusion
Apart from relocating her toy shelf and vanity to the loft, I was able to remove a black trash bag full of clothes, books, and some of her purple decor to be donated, along with half of a bag of trash.
When it’s time for Part Two, I’ll still need to declutter and replace her white hanging shoe organizer, purple bins and basket, purple bedding, and red curtains. Also, I might remove her art display; I have an idea for that wall that involves wolves. But, I think that this is a good start for the first phase of her refresh, and her space feels a bit more clean and lighter, which was the goal.
Simply Amber Marie 