Your nightstand drawer can easily be a mess! You probably aren't in the mood to organize your nightstand before you sleep, so you may have tendencies of keeping items in just any junk drawer or your bedside table.
An organized nightstand would make it convenient for you to get the things you need when you need them, and will also ensure your bedside table is free of any clutter.
How to Organize Nightstand
Step 1: Pick a Day
Choose a day where you can schedule organizing your nightstand. Attempting to organize before sleeping isn't a good idea as you would be too tired to clean. Instead, pick a day when you can take a breather to organize your nightstand the way you want to.
Step 2: Remove All Items
Clear a space for you to dump out all your items. Remove all things from the drawers, and place them in a clear space like your bed or the floor. Take the items from the top of your nightstand drawer as well, and place them together with the rest of your items.
Remember that nightstands have small space, so you would ideally want to minimize as many items as you can to keep an organized home.
Step 3: Select and Collect
Start ruffling through your items by disposing of trash pieces. Old receipts, empty skin care tubes, broken containers, food wrappers, and the like have no place in your organized nightstand. Place all of these in the trash, and work on categorizing your items.
Select all the items you would like to keep in your nightstand, and segregate the ones you will keep elsewhere, like socks, handkerchiefs, medicines from the last time you were sick, and the like. Keep to as minimal items as you can when doing nightstand organization.
Step 4: Categorize Items
Now that you've determined which items you'd like to keep by your bedside, you need to categorize them according to frequency of use, convenience, and type of item. For instance, those skin care creams you use every night should be placed together in a convenient location, while your spare chargers and wires can be placed together in the bottom drawer.
Step 5: Clean and Line Nightstand Drawer
You wouldn't want to place your items back into a dusty, dirty nightstand! Remove the drawers, and shake out the excess debris. Use a damp cloth to wipe the interior and exterior of the drawers with a soapy solution: 1 cup of water with 2-3 drops of liquid dish soap.
Let the nightstand dry, and line the interior of the drawers with a foam, vinyl, or paper liner to keep your items clean, and prevent stains on your nightstand. If preferred, use drawer organizers to keep your items in their proper places.
How to Keep an Organized Nightstand
What to Keep on Top
The top of your nightstand should be kept minimalist. Keep as little items on top as possible, with only a bedside lamp, a clock, or any other night essentials kept on top. Minimizing your trinkets would give you space to place your phone for alarms, a book for night reading, a glass of water, or any other item you would like to keep within arm's reach.
The top also gets dusty often, so keeping as little items on the surface as possible would help to minimize the items you need to dust and clean each week. The general rule is, if you don't fancy cleaning an item, then it should be kept in the drawer.
If you have jewelry you'd like to keep on top of the nightstand, then you can use a jewelry box or decorative tray to keep all your jewelry pieces together. This way, you stay organized without random items cluttering your bedside. Another good way to keep the top of your nightstand minimalist is to use a floor lamp instead of a small lamp.
What to Keep in Drawers
Most nightstands only have one drawer, but if yours has multiple drawers, then you can take advantage of these as drawer dividers. The items you'd like to keep on hand should be at the top drawer, while the items you can store for later use can be kept in the bottom drawers. The less frequent you use the item, the lower its drawer level.
Generally, nightstand drawers have minimal storage, but that doesn't mean you should allow your items to just roll around your drawers. Use drawer organizers for both your top drawer and bottom drawer to keep items in place.
The best advice to organize drawers? Know your routine so you will know what to place in your own nightstand. It is good to start with a blank slate, and work as you go, recalling your nighttime routine so you know which items are most important for you to have on hand.
What to Keep in Shelves
If you have shelves by your bed, utilize these for your books! Shelves are perfect for you to place your night readings, but you can also place other items as well. Shelves are where you can place decorative items like trinkets, art pieces, and plants that are easy to clean. Shelves will give these pieces a spotlight without taking up practical space.
Unlike drawers, high shelves are organized in an ascending manner, with your most important and frequent items on the bottom shelf, and your decorations on top. This way, you can easily reach for items you need as you need them! Shelves are great for the master bedroom, where couples typically have space for their own items.
Looking for more organization tips? Check out the other articles in our blog for a full guide on organizing different areas in your home and office!
