Emily and Jonathan Attwood, Founders of scooms, offer their top tips on how to make sure your bedroom and bedding is at its best. See: Cleaning tips – our essential guide to keeping your home spotless
How to spring clean a bedroom
Your bedroom should be a relaxing space where you can unwind from the day’s stresses and get the best night’s sleep possible. There are some key things you can do to ensure this is always the case.
1. Clear the clutter
As life keeps us busy, it’s easy for our bedroom to become cluttered with clothes, books, tech and other personal belongings. It’s easy to cover a sideboard, bedside or dressing table with bits and bobs – a face cream, make-up and toiletries, books and more. Before you know it, you’re surrounded by clutter that makes the room feel busy, and not conducive to a relaxing environment. Take a moment to clear surrounding surfaces and your floor and use this time to have a clear-out – get rid of any old clothes, toiletries and unwanted items. Make sure your bedroom offers ample storage for the items you want to keep, and neatly store them away whilst keeping them easy to access. This simple act of clearing and decluttering will instantly lighten the room and evoke a sense of calm.
2. Opt for natural bedding
We spend a third of our lives sleeping, so it’s important to invest in a mattress and bedding that not only looks good, but feels good and provides a great night’s sleep too. To get the best from your sleep, opt for natural materials with allergen resistance. As well as being better for the environment, natural materials offer many benefits to us too. An Hungarian goose down duvet, for example, provides the ideal warmth, right weight and just enough drape to contour your body. Simple items like these can simplify your life and detox your space in an instant.
3. Embrace nature
Bring the outside in with house plants and fresh flowers. Many houseplants have air purifying properties, so introducing them into the bedroom will not only bring in a touch of greenery, but will help to clean the air in your bedroom. Fresh flowers on the bedside are beautiful to wake up to, but can bring with them a natural fragrance that is calming. Similarly, bed linen in botanical prints, shades of green and earthy tones all help to create a relaxing atmosphere, whilst textures such as linen and wool add a cosy feel. See: Smart bathroom cleaning tips to turn your space into a spa
4. Care for your bedding
When it comes to caring for your bedding, there are some key things you can do to keep everything in top shape:
Wash your duvet and pillows at 40 degrees every 6-12 months using a non-bio (enzyme free) detergent, using about a third of the usual amount.With your bed linen, you should do your first wash at 40 degrees, then wash once a week dropping to 30 degrees to go greener.Ensure your pillows, duvet and bed linen are dried thoroughly – tumble dry if necessary and remember they take longer to try than clothes. You may need to take your duvet to the launderette if you don’t have a large capacity machine.With your bed linen, opt for a low heat setting in the tumble drier, or air dry in the sunshine to keep your whites bright. Iron on a high-steam setting whilst damp for minimal creases.Remember to use wool dryer balls when drying your bedding. They’ll help dry your bedding more quickly and efficiently by creating gaps to allow more air to circulate around your laundry. They also agitate the fibres in your bed sheets, making them feel softer and cosier.Replace your pillows every 1 to 2 years for peak support, and your duvet every 5 years to ensure you get the best sleep. The more you love your bedding, the more your bedding will love you.With bed linen, you can replace cotton sheets every 5 years and Egyptian cotton sheets every 7 years. With good care, you can make sure your bed linen stays at its best for many years.Make sure it’s always easy to find a matching set of washed and ironed bed linen; store your bed linen sets together by folding them neatly after ironing, storing the whole set inside one of the pillowcases.
