Removing this one personal item from my bedroom restored calm and helped me sleep again

I love having a neat and streamlined bedroom, but I also want it to be a deeply personal sanctuary, with pictures of my loved ones and most special memories visible.

That's why I added pictures around my dressing table mirror so I could start and end the day with my loved ones in sight. However, (as much as I love these pictures) having too many things on my bedroom walls was starting to make the room feel a little claustrophobic, and far from relaxing.

Once I cleared the visual clutter in my bedroom, I felt much more at ease in the space, and it became much easier to wind down and drift off. Plus, I found better ways to still enjoy my special mementos.

Why an extra gallery wall in my bedroom was stopping me sleep

The problem

At a difficult personal time, I decided to surround myself with images of people who meant a lot to me and loved me unconditionally. I therefore added five canvas prints of loved ones around the ornate dressing table mirror I had bought as an ode to the Gleaming Primrose mirror from Anthropologie.

My vanity was already a highly-functional and visually busy space, with a three tier turning carousel of hair and beauty products, and it turned out, having the negative space around the large ornate gold mirror had been vital to balance it.

Professional organizer, Ben Soreff, of House 2 Home Organizing says, 'There is no reason not use interior design to make the bedroom appealing, but the bedroom specifically should be focused solely on sleep. Anything that doesn't support that goal is not necessary.'

I certainly found adding photos around my dressing table for a well-intentioned purpose had actually made an already-busy space messy-looking, even when everything was put away. It meant when I was taking my makeup off and doing my night time skin-care routine, instead of feeling the stress of the day ebb away, I was getting stressed out, and that impacted on my quality of sleep.

It needed a bedroom decluttering to get things back on track.

What I did to fix it

It took me three months to realize what exactly was making it hard to relax in my bedroom, but when I did, I tested the theory by taking the five canvas prints off the wall behind my dressing table. They came off damage free thanks to large foam Command Strips, available at Walmart.

The space immediately looked more peaceful and clear, and I felt immediately like I could breathe again. The expanse of vertical decorating space above my mirror made this area of my bedroom look immediately tidier.

Ben Soreff recommends 'focusing on the overall main goal of returning every room in our space to it's intended function.' He explains, 'When you add a dressing table, closet and clothing to the room, making the bedroom a relaxing place can be challenging. However, if we have the goal of getting a good night's rest in mind, then the bedroom should be clear of visual clutter.'

Now when I sit down at my vanity to remove my makeup and do my nighttime skincare routine before bed, I don't feel frustrated by 'mess'. Streamlining my sleep space has helped me wind down and therefore drop off more easily.

As for the special pictures I took off that wall, I moved them to an existing gallery wall in my study, in view of my desk. That way, my favorite people are still in view during the day, just not making my bedroom look cluttered.

It's especially nice to have something personal to look at when I take a break from my screen (I work from home), or take a couple of minutes to create some mental 'white space' and recharge on busy days.

Of course, everyone has different sleeping habits, and what worked for me, might not necessarily work for you (a more minimalist sleep space isn't for everyone), but having too much visual clutter in a bedroom can sometimes overwhelm the space, and that's the last thing you want to feel and be exposed to when trying to get a good night's sleep.

To further aid sleep, consider our expert tips for restful slumber in our how to sleep better guide and assess the quality of your sleep hygiene.