Course Content
Sleep Well Coach Training
About Lesson

A messy bedroom can be detrimental to sleep as it can create a restless energy within the body and cause over-anxious thoughts such as “why am I so messy, I need to clear stuff up, I can never find anything”. This can result in a feeling of not being good enough, overwhelm and/or despondency. 

Check in with your client as to how they feel about the clutter in their bedroom, how it affects them and if they attach any meaning to the mess (such as; I’m a bad person, I am lazy, I am useless etc).

Also note, there is a the paradox that a messy bedroom could have an impact upon our sleep such that in not sleeping well we feel too tired to tidy up! Be gentle with your client.

We can also feel a sense of shame if our rooms are messy. This can be especially true for women, who often shoulder the burden of the upkeep of the home. Remember as coaches we are not here to judge. Use empathy and compassion to build rapport and understanding with the situation your client has found themselves in. 

What to Do

Establish what is cluttering up the room, the client can do this by taking an inventory of what they can see. For example, clothes strewn on the floor, dirty dishes, food wrappers, books and papers everywhere, scattered cosmetics and whatever else has found its way into the bedroom. The client is not tackling any of the clutter at this stage.

Then:

  1. Create a plan with your client as to how to tackle the clutter. 
    • Clear out obvious rubbish.
    • Remove all dirty dishes.
    • Sort through clean and dirty clothes.
    • Hang up clean clothes (or have a chair they can put them on if hanging up feels too much).
    • Sort through books/paperwork/cosmetics etc and ask “Do I need them?” (they may also wish to go through clothes and start to get rid of clothes that don’t fit, they don’t like and never wear). Get your client to either throw them away or take to charity.
  2. Set a timer for a set amount of time The use of a timer can be useful for the client to commit to only a set time, for example 15 minutes. This can help to reduce overwhelm and build a sense of satisfaction that they have completed something.
  3. Make a ‘home’ for things in the bedroom It is much easier to tidy if something has a place for it to belong to, a ‘home’ so to say. Work with your client to establish where things go. So once they have cleared clutter, it can be easier moving forward to stay on top of things and prevent clutter building back up.
  4. Establish a plan to move forward What can your client do to keep their bedroom clutter free? For example: 
    – can they make sure they put their clothes away at the end of the day?
    – can they bring down any cups or dirty plates in the morning?
    – can they keep books in a neat pile?
    – can they only have a certain number of objects on their bedside table?
  5. Check in to see how having a clutter free bedroom helps Ask your client if they have noticed any benefit to their sleeping patterns with a tidier bedroom. You can also check in to see how having a clutter free room impacts generally on their wellbeing and how they feel and think about themselves.