4 Signs Your Bedroom Needs a Make-under

4 Signs Your Bedroom Needs a Make-under
by House Beautiful Magazine, on Wed Jan 5, 2011 10:56am PST

The bedroom is supposed to be where you relax, unwind, and get a good night's sleep. But with today's multitasking lives, your bedroom could be collecting more clutter than hours of beauty rest. Here's how to determine if your space needs simplifying — plus solutions to nix the clutter.

1. Problem: Your TV rules the bedroom.
Solution: As severe as it may sound, a television doesn't belong in a well-ordered bedroom. It brings with it remote controls, DVDs, cords, and other mess-producing items that counter the main purposes of the room. Bedrooms should be a cozy space for decompressing, like this serene master bedroom by designer Ginger Barber.
Related: Find Your Living Room Style

2. Problem: Your closet door won't shut.
Solution: It's time to start editing. Expert organizer Julie Morgenstern recommends first starting on paper. Ask yourself, "What are my favorite clothes?" When considering what to toss, refer to your list. If you're still afraid to get rid of items, ask yourself these questions: "Do I love it? Is it flattering? Is it the image I want to project?" If it's a "yes" to all three, then it's a keeper. Donate the castoffs to a favorite charity.
Related: Closet Cleaning Tips

3. Problem: Your nightstand is piled sky-high with books.
Solution: You've been meaning to read those magazines and last week's paper, but you've just been too tired at night to crack one open. The answer? Since you can only read one thing at a time, that's the number of publications that should be in your bedroom. Keep the rest organized in your library or living room with a magazine rack or bookshelf.

Related: Beautiful Designer Bathrooms4. Problem: Your smartphone is your alarm.Solution: If you're checking e-mail before you doze off, you'll be fretting about the next day's meetings instead of drifting off to sleep with sweet dreams. In addition, the light emitted from these devices can also contribute to keeping you awake at night. Banish phones and laptops to a home office, and soon you'll be snoozing soundly.

Quoted: http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/life/4-signs-your-bedroom-needs-a-make-under-2436904/

Secret Duties, Open Rewards

More than what is done in public, God values the words, the thoughts and actions that are done in secret. These secret duties are what God rewards whether they are stored up in heaven for eternal enjoyment or released upon for earth for others to honour you at the proper time, for God will honour those who honor Him. Thomas Brooks believes that secret duties reap "open rewards." He states that "God will reward his people here in part, and hereafter in all perfection. He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him in secret. Those who sow in tears secretly shall reap in joy openly. Private prayer shall be rewarded before men and angels publicly. How openly did God reward Daniel for his secret prayer! (Dan. 6:10, 23-28). Mordecai privately discovered a plot of treason against the person of king Ahasuerus, and he is rewarded openly (Esther 2:21-23, with Esther 6). Before he came to the kingdom, Darius received privately a gift from one Syloson; and when he came to be a king, he rewarded him openly with the command of his country Samus. God, in the great day,will recompense His people before all the world, for every secret prayer, and secret tear, and secret sigh, and secret groan that has come from their heart. God, in the great day, will declare to men and angels, how often His people have been in pouring out their souls before Him in such and such holes, corners, and secret places; and accordingly He will reward them." What does your secret place look like? When you think that no one is around, God is there and He sees your good works. Will you trust in God today and see how He is faithful to reward those who serve Him in secret? "And your Father who sees in secret will reward you" (Matt. 6:4b)

Living Life