If your bedroom is feeling a little… chaotic, just know that you are not alone. Deep cleaning a bedroom can feel overwhelming—like, where do you even start? The overstuffed closet? The mystery piles of clothes? That one drawer full of stuff you swore you’d deal with later (three years ago)?
It’s a LOT!
That’s why I created this step-by-step guide for how to deep clean your bedroom (and even a bedroom deep cleaning checklist) to make the whole process way less stressful. This guide will you take on one task at a time and give you one small win after another. Before you know it, you’ll have that calm and relaxing retreat you’ve been dreaming of that doesn’t stress you out every time you walk in!
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Step 1: Strip the Bed and Wash Bedding
Strip the bed completely and bring the sheets, pillows, pillow cases, mattress cover, comforter, etc. to the laundry room. Start a load then return to the bedroom. Be careful not to overload the machine – split into 2 or 3 loads if necessary.
Note that most pillows types are machine washable, like synthetic, down and even feather pillows. Some, like memory foam, need to be hand washed, so make sure to check your pillow’s care tag for specific washing instructions. If any of your bedding isn’t washable, put it in a bag and take it to the cleaners the next time you’re out.
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Step 2: Declutter the Bedroom
Decluttering isn’t just about getting rid of stuff—it’s about creating a space that feels calm instead of chaotic. The less clutter you have, the less time you’ll spend cleaning, organizing, and wondering why you own 17 mismatched socks.
Start with the closet
Take the hanging clothes out of the closet and place them on the bed. Remove items on the shelves, drawers and floor of the closet and either place them on the bed or on the floor outside of the closet.
While the closet is empty, start at the top. Wipe down the closet ceiling, shelves, walls and even the hanging rod with a clean, damp cloth. If you’re lucky enough to have them, wipe down any cabinets or drawers (inside and out). Clean the baseboards with a damp cloth. The next step is to sweep or vacuum the floor and mop it if necessary.
Now your closet is ready to hold your clothes again.
Designate a garbage bag for items you will throw away and a recycling bag or box for items you plan to donate. Chances are you may need more than one of each.
Inspect each item for tears or stains as you return it to the closet. If you find any, chances are you won’t repair the item if you haven’t already. Throw it away.
The same goes for any item that doesn’t fit or that you haven’t worn in a year. Try them on and put them into the donate bag or box if they don’t feel great because you are very unlikely to wear them again if they don’t feel awesome.
Dressers and drawers, including night tables
It’s time to move on to the dresser drawers. Empty one drawer at a time onto the bed. Wipe down the outside and inside of the drawers with a clean, damp cloth. Inspect each item you find to determine if you should keep it, throw it away or donate it. Be ruthless!
Declutter surfaces and clean them
Now you can declutter all of the surfaces in your room, including shelving. Remove everything from the surfaces in the bedroom, one surface at a time. Dust the items with a damp cloth before placing them on the bed. Use a damp cloth to clean and dust the surfaces. After determining whether you will keep them, place items back on surfaces in a way that makes sense to you.
Declutter everything else
Once you have decluttered your closet, drawers and surfaces, take a look around the room and see what else you can declutter. Remove all items that don’t belong in the room and put them where they do belong.
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Decluttering tips
Here’s some more decluttering tips for the bedroom:
- Under the Bed: If you forgot it was there, you definitely don’t need it.
- Shoes: If they’re worn out, uncomfortable, or you haven’t worn them in six months, it’s time to part ways. Store out-of-season shoes in baskets or under the bed to save space.
- Accessories: Only keep what you actually wear. Use baskets or drawer organizers to keep jewelry, scarves, and other accessories easy to grab but out of sight.
- Jewelry: Get rid of pieces you don’t wear or love, and organize the rest in a box for a clutter-free space.
- Makeup & Skincare: Toss anything expired, and be honest about products you just never use.
- Books: Donate or sell the ones you won’t read again. There’s always someone who’ll enjoy them more.
- Tech: Recycle those outdated chargers, devices, or anything that’s just taking up space.
- Paperwork: Digitize important documents and ditch the old bills and random papers you’ve been hanging on to for no reason.
- Decor & Knick-Knacks: Keep only the things that make you smile or bring positive vibes to your room.
- Bedside Table Drawers: Declutter and only keep things you actually need or use daily.
- Hobbies & Craft Supplies: Store them neatly (or donate the extra supplies you’ll never get around to using).
- Unused Bags & Purses: Keep only the ones you use regularly or truly love. Donate or sell the rest.
- Extra Bedding: If you don’t use it, donate it. Animal shelters always appreciate blankets and towels.
- Toys & Stuffed Animals: Keep the ones with sentimental value or those your kids actually play with.
- Laundry Hamper: Empty it regularly and don’t use it as a catch-all storage bin.
- Candles & Scents: Get rid of the ones you never light or that have been sitting around for way too long.
- Unfinished Projects: Set a deadline to finish them or let them go. Don’t let them take up space in your mind or your room.
- Duplicates: If you have duplicates, you only need one. Donate the extras you’ll never use.
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Step 3: Deep Clean the Bedroom
Now that the clutter is out of the way, it’s time to get to the nitty gritty of actual cleaning. I like to start from the top – dusting ceiling fans and getting those dust webs out of the corners, cleaning the walls and windows, then working my way down to floors and other forgotten spots (yes, even under the bed).
Before I get started, I like to open the windows (if it’s not freezing out) to air out the room as I clean.
Take curtains down to wash
If you have curtains, take your curtains off the curtain rod and, if they’re washable, put them in the washing machine. This is a perfect opportunity to flip the original load of bedding from the room to the dryer.
If the curtains are not washable, put them in a bag to take to the dry cleaners for cleaning. Drop them off the next time you leave the house.
Clean window blinds
If you have window blinds, you can clean them quickly by vacuuming them first with the brush attachment. Then set the blinds completely down so that the inside surfaces are visible. Use a damp cloth to gently clean all the slats. Then set the blinds completely up so that the window-facing surfaces are visible. Once again, use a clean, damp cloth to gently clean all the slats.
Clean ceiling fan
If you have one, you can clean your ceiling fan with an extendable Swiffer duster. Run the duster over each fan blade, top and bottom, until clear of dust and dirt. If the fan is above the bed, place an old sheet over the bed to catch the dust before wiping. Then shake the sheet outside and throw it in the laundry when you’re done.
Clean ceilings, walls, doors and baseboards
Use a lightweight Swiffer Sweeper to clean ceilings, walls, doors and baseboards. Use a wet microfiber cloth on the Swiffer to easily reach into high corners to wipe away dirt and cobwebs. I like to keep a few of them ready in a bucket of hot, soapy water to quickly wring out and put on the Swiffer.
Deep clean mirrors, windows and window tracks
When I do my deep cleaning, I like to use hot, soapy water and a microfiber cloth to clean the mirrors, windows and window tracks. I then use some Windex Glass Spray on windows and mirrors to eliminate streaks. You can use old newspapers or dry microfibre cloths to leave them sparkling with no smudges or streaks.
Clean the tops of high furniture
You can use the extendable Swiffer Duster to dust the tops of high dressers, and bookshelves that are difficult to reach.
Clean light fixtures and lamps
If you can’t remove the light fixture covers to soak and wash in hot, soapy water, use a damp cloth to wipe them down. Wipe down lamp bases and use a lint roller to clean the lampshades.
Clean and disinfect remotes, light switches, outlet covers, door knobs and door frames
Use a microfiber cloth dipped in hot, soapy water to wipe down and clean the remotes, light switches, outlet covers, door knobs and door frames in the room. To disinfect them, use some disinfectant wipes after they have been cleaned.
Clean the headboard
Wipe down the headboard with a damp rag to remove all dust.
Rotate and vacuum the mattress
Vacuum the mattress using the cleaning wand brush on your vacuum cleaner. Rotate the mattress so that the area your head was lying on is now where your feet rest. If your mattress doesn’t have a topper, you can also flip it so the bottom is now the top. If you have flipped the mattress, vacuum it again to make sure there’s no dirt on the surface.
Clean the mattress
If the mattress has small stains on it, you can pour some hydrogen peroxide to just cover the stain and let it sit to bubble. Once you can’t see the stain anymore, blot it with a soft cloth until all the liquid has been lifted.
If the mattress has an unpleasant odor, you can sprinkle baking soda liberally all over the surface of the mattress. Let it sit for a few hours, preferably with windows, curtains and blinds open so that sunlight can help accelerate the process. Then vacuum the baking soda from the surface.
If you have time and access to the outdoors, leaving your mattress in direct sunlight for a few hours is an excellent way to sanitize and deodorize the mattress. It can even bleach out stains. Vacuum the mattress when you bring it back inside.
Clean decorative rugs
Remove any decorative rugs to clear the floor. Some rugs can be washed in the washing machine – others need to be vacuumed. Spot clean any stains on the carpets with hydrogen peroxide. Just saturate the stains with peroxide, let them sit and then blot with a soft cloth to lift the stains.
Vacuum and/or wash floors
I like to vacuum instead of sweeping my hard floors as I shed hair constantly and so does my dog. Vacuuming picks up all the hair and dirt more thoroughly than sweeping. It’s also the only option if you have carpeting.
Make sure to move all furniture to get behind and underneath it and wipe down the baseboards and walls behind furniture. To thoroughly deep clean the floor, you may need to divide it into sections. Don’t forget to move the bed too, to get all those dust bunnies that gather underneath it.
Once you have vacuumed or swept up all the dirt, mop the floors if you don’t have wall to wall carpeting.
Make the bed
Cover the bed with a mattress cover first to catch spills and sweat before they can reach the mattress. Then put the fitted sheet on the bed. Then put the top sheet on if you use one, paying attention to tucking the bottom corners. Then it’s time for the comforter or duvet. If you use a duvet cover, here’s a neat trick to easily get the cover on. Put the pillow cases on the pillows, fluff them up and place them on the bed.
Put the curtains back up
After washing, put the curtains back up. If they are wrinkled, you can remove the wrinkles using this Electrolux Portable Handheld Garment & Fabric Steamer. Simply run the steamer up and down the curtains.
Finish the laundry and put it away
Complete all the loads of laundry that were generated when cleaning the bedroom. Make sure to put any laundry you just washed and dried back where it belongs.
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Step 4: Keep Your Bedroom Clean
Keeping your bedroom clean after all this work feels like it should be easy… and yet, somehow, it turns into a disaster zone way too fast. These simple habits can actually help keep things tidy without having to do a full-on deep clean every week. Here’s some tips to help you stay on top of it!
- Make Your Bed Every Morning – It takes two minutes, instantly makes your room look put together, and stops you from crawling back in for a midday nap (maybe).
- Declutter as You Go – If you pick up random items throughout the day, the mess won’t pile up. Yes, that means putting your shoes away instead of kicking them off in the middle of the room.
- Keep a Laundry Basket Handy – Because “the chair” (aka the mountain of clothes you swear you’ll deal with later) is a trap.
- Put Clothes Away Immediately – Whether it’s clean laundry or something you tried on and decided against, just put it where it belongs instead of letting it live on the floor.
- Nightstand Check – Clear out cups, wrappers, or random junk from your nightstand daily. Otherwise, it turns into a mini landfill.
- Dust Weekly – Yes, you actually have to do this. Otherwise, your surfaces will slowly turn into a layer of gray fuzz.
- Vacuum or Sweep Regularly – Floors collect dust, hair, and mystery crumbs. Even if you think they look clean, they’re not.
- Adopt the “One In, One Out” Rule – Got a new candle, book, or decor item? Find something old to donate or toss so clutter doesn’t build up.
- Have a Designated Spot for Everything – If everything has a home, your stuff won’t just float around aimlessly.
- Limit Decorative Pillows – Because let’s be real—if making your bed feels like a workout, you’re not going to do it.
- Use Baskets or Bins for Easy Organization – They make everything look cleaner, even if you’re just hiding the chaos inside.
- Take Out the Trash Regularly – An overflowing trash bin is not the bedroom aesthetic you’re looking for.
- Wipe Down Surfaces Weekly – Nightstands, dressers, and mirrors get surprisingly gross. A quick wipe keeps things fresh.
- Open a Window Daily – Fresh air = fresh room. Plus, it helps get rid of that stuffy bedroom smell.
- Do a 5-Minute Tidy Before Bed – Straighten up, put things away, and reset your space so you wake up to a clean room instead of yesterday’s mess.
Keep up with these tips, and you’ll never have to do a major bedroom overhaul again. (Okay, maybe once in a while, but way less often.)