Under Your Bed
In one of the early moments, actually a recurring image in the film, Naoto explains how his existence can be compared to the life of certain bugs living underneath rocks. During his nearly incessant voice-over during the story of the film and his obsession, it becomes apparent how the image becomes compelling and bitter at the same time for him. Similar to the guppies he observes through the glass of the aquarium, he needs this kind of distance, the fantasy of getting closer to be his aim, in this case, Chihiro's company, without actually approaching this step. Naoto is an interesting, yet creepy character who prefers staying under the rock and being ignored by his surroundings as the fantasy of taking action is quite enough for him. Kengo Kora's performance certainly highlights these psychologically disturbing elements of his character, whose obsession combined with the dilemma of being forced to act slowly but surely consumes him.
Under Your Bed
Ever since I watched Takeshi Kitano's "Hana-Bi" for the first time (and many times after that) I have been a cinephile. While much can be said about the technical aspects of film, coming from a small town in Germany, I cherish the notion of art showing its audience something which one does normally avoid, neglect or is unable to see for many different reasons. Often the stories told in films have helped me understand, discover and connect to something new which is a concept I would like to convey in the way I talk and write about films. Thus, I try to include some info on the background of each film as well as a short analysis (without spoilers, of course), an approach which should reflect the context of a work of art no matter what genre, director or cast. In the end, I hope to pass on my joy of watching film and talking about it.
I recognized the mess under my bed was in fact reflecting a lot of what was going on with me emotionally. To keep sane, I repeatedly ask myself what I am afraid of. Left unchecked, my mind will eat its own self for the fears creeping in on it. Taking time to identify my fears is the first step in coming face to face with my demons. It is my first step in restoring myself to sanity. I am what I refer to as an experiential person. I am the person who needs to write the letter and never mail it. I am the person who needs to weed the garden as I weed away the unwanted things in my life. I am the one who must cull the clothes and items for Goodwill to make space for new things in my life. It should not surprise you in addressing some fears, I literally had to get under my bed and pull them out one by one, name them and then put them in the trash. But here is the thing. Just like those kids with the fear of the monster, I have a fear of addressing my fears too. Oh, I know they are costing me peace, but for far too long I will pay that price. Looking a demon in the eye is not for the weak. Being deeply afraid of addressing what has the potential to harm us demands a courage only a few of us will ever know. No wonder the demons and the mess of life gathers under our bed, out of sight, hidden even from ourselves.
The area under your bed may seem like a great spot to store a birthday gift for a loved one or seasonal decor, but it can also become a black hole for things you hide and then forget about. This can lead to unnecessary clutter, the one thing you may be trying to avoid by storing items under your bed in the first place!
Having layers of extra clothing and plenty of thick woollens to hand is a must over the chilly winter months. But finding space to store bulky out-of-season items can be a problem when spring comes around. If lack of closet space is an issue, why not consider another option and think about utilizing underbed storage ideas instead?
One of the advantages of a higher bed frame is that it gives extra space for underbed storage. While roll-out drawers are an option, if there is no valance and the underbed area is going to be on show, a more decorative design might look more visually appealing. A pair of vintage-style trunks complement a painted metal bedstead beautifully and offer plenty of stowing space for bulky blankets and eiderdowns.
If your bed frame is lower to the ground than a standard-height bed, then double check the height of underbed drawers before buying to ensure that they will fit underneath the bed frame and slide in and out easily.
Extra shallow drawers are an option if the space beneath the bed is a particularly tight fit. Or for an alternative to rigid drawers, consider storage with a more flexible construction, such as canvas or cork, which are squashier to handle so will fit more easily underneath the frame.
When looking for closet organization ideas, you can free-up valuable space at the bottom by storing out-of-season shoes and boots under the bed instead. The shallow space makes the perfect spot for shoe storage and will still keep items within easy reach if required in a hurry.
Keep shoe storage super-organized by opting for underbed storage ideas with individual sections or compartments so you can store pairs together rather than having them rattling around loose. See-through lids are a sensible choice too, enabling you to locate your favorite pair more easily.
Concealed castors underneath drawers will help them run smoothly, while cut-out handles look neat and more streamlined than drawer pulls. Using one color throughout will also help walls and woodwork merge and make a small space feel bigger.
Today's mission is to declutter under the bed in whatever bedroom you're currently working to declutter and organize. You'll do this mission separately for each bedroom, or bed in a bedroom, in your home that you work on, both for adults and kids.google_ad_client="ca-pub-2194995392836201";google_ad_slot="3913829680";google_ad_width=336;google_ad_height=280;This mission is designed to be done while working through the Bedroom Organization Challenge here on the site, which is part of the 52 Week Organized Home Challenge, and again when doing the Kids' Bedroom Organizing Challenge a few weeks later.Of course, you can do this Declutter 365 mission whenever you want or need to, and frankly, especially for kids, this is really the type of mission you should probably do more regularly than just once a year.The mission itself is pretty self-explanatory. While we're focused on decluttering the bedroom a prime place that needs to be cleared out for many people, both kids and adults, is under the bed. So that's what we're doing today.There are three main categories of things you'll find under a bed:1. Things you've stored there.2. Surprise items you've assumed were lost, and somehow accidentally have gotten under the bed. (Or things your child has shoved under there when "cleaning up" but that you wouldn't want to be there.)3. Dust bunnies, cobwebs, and other items that need to be cleaned up.We'll talk about all three categories, briefly, here in this article. Decluttering Items You've Stored Under Your BedFor the first category of items, things you've got stored under your bed, I want you to pull out what you've placed under your bed and evaluate whether you really want to keep it, period, and if so, if you still want to keep it under the bed.Under the bed can be a good place to store items that are used infrequently, if you don't have much other space for storage in your home, but it is not a very convenient storage area, and can get quite dusty, so I only suggest using this area for storage if you really really must.Because it's inconvenient to access though, since you have to get down on your hands and knees google_ad_client="ca-pub-2194995392836201";google_ad_slot="0651180334";google_ad_width=250;google_ad_height=250;to get to anything, it often is a place you "store" something and then forget what you've even got under there.Anything you've placed into this space but then you have not needed or accessed again within 6 months to a year you should seriously consider getting rid of, permanently.Further, as you do more and more of the Declutter 365 missions, and therefore get rid of excess stuff and have more storage space elsewhere in your home, you may also decide that you no longer need to store anything under your bed at all, since you have a more convenient space somewhere else.Decluttering Random Items You FindThe second category of items you may find under the bed include items you've been looking for, but then had assumed were lost.I have no idea how these things end up under the bed, but they do. It's kind of like when you declutter under your couch, and you have a treasure hunt. You can find missing socks, or pets may carry items up there and stash them, or in the case of your kids bedrooms, who knows what you'll find, from toys to library books, and more!Any items you find under there that don't belong, put back into their rightful spot in your home, or declutter, depending on what it is.I'd love to hear what you find under there when doing this mission, so tell me below in the comments!Remember, just declutter under one bed at a time, and repeat it for each bed in your home. You can wait until we work on kids' bedrooms later in the challenge to do those beds if you wish.Finally, the is the third category of stuff I mentioned that you'll find under your bed -- dust. There will most likely be a LOT of it, it's a prime spot for it, for reasons I'll explain below.Once you've cleared out the clutter from underneath your bed you should take a bit more time to clean under there, since you don't get the opportunity too often. Below I've provided some tips for how to do this.Image of kids' bedroom courtesy of Rubbermaid Products
After you've decluttered and cleared out everything underneath your bed, and before you put back anything under there you've decided to store in that space, it's a good idea to clean under your bed.The reason is, as I mentioned, it is likely to be quite dusty under there and in need of a good cleaning.Finding lots of dust is really no surprise because wherever someone sleeps is a prime location to get dusty. After all, a lot of dust is (don't get to grossed out when I say this) dead skin cells, and you slough off a lot of those as you sleep each night. It's only natural a lot accumulates underneath the bed.Therefore, getting in the habit of cleaning under the bed regularly can be important, especially for those who suffer from dust related allergies.When you decide to clean under your bed it is also a great time to take off the bedding on your bed, including not just the sheets and pillowcases, but also the mattress pad and dust ruffles, to really get rid of a lot of the dust all at once.Most of your bedding can be laundered, and while the bedding is off the bed I recommend vacuuming your mattress to remove excess dust from there as well. You can read the article on the sister site, Stain Removal 101, at the link, for more information about that task.To clean underneath the bed itself isn't difficult in one sense, and in another it's a big pain (which is why we don't do it too often).Vacuuming is the best way to remove dust from your home, on either carpet or hard surface floors (for hard surfaces just make sure you're using a vacuum that is safe, and non-damaging for that floor surface). And generally vacuuming is easy, which is why I say, in one sense, cleaning under your bed is also easy.However, what makes it difficult is that the bed is quite low, and so it can be difficult to reach under there with the vacuum to adequately vacuum the floor.The best way to deal with this issue is to move your bed, vacuum, and then move the bed back into place. That is often easier said than done as well though, because beds (and mattresses) can be quite heavy and cumbersome to move if you don't have strong help.Therefore, other ways to reach under the bed without moving it include using the attachment of your vacuum to reach farther under there, using a broom or dust mop to sweep much of the dust out from under the bed to then vacuum up (which works best for hard floor surfaces, not for carpet), or to get a smaller stick vacuum or robotic vacuum which can reach into these lower clearance spaces.Here's some examples of vacuums that will work well for vacuuming under a bed:amzn_assoc_placement="adunit0";amzn_assoc_search_bar="true";amzn_assoc_tracking_id="hss101site-20";amzn_assoc_ad_mode="manual";amzn_assoc_ad_type="smart";amzn_assoc_marketplace="amazon";amzn_assoc_region="US";amzn_assoc_title="Vacuums For Cleaning Under Beds Referral Links";amzn_assoc_linkid="326d8427bc978804a57d9fe1640ed3b7";amzn_assoc_asins="B008LX6OC6,B01N9P4NH5,B01CFN1BDO,B002KCO96C";Along with vacuuming, make sure to also dust the baseboards and lower walls around your bed as part of this mission, since these areas can often be neglected if your bed is close to the wall.Also, make sure to dust the headboard and other parts of the bed itself.Below I've added some photos from readers who've done this mission to get you motivated to do it yourself. You may not see under the bed very often, which can make it easy to forget, but you'll literally sleep better once you clear out and then clean up this space! 041b061a72