Organize Your Nightstand With These 5 Clever Hacks

Does your morning routine start with blindly groping around your nightstand for your alarm clock or phone to stop the blaring sound? And then you return it to its position, only to have everything else on the surface knocked to the floor?

 

If so, you’re like millions of other people in the world, so don’t feel too bad. But if you want your day to be more productive than the average person, starting out with efficiency is the best way to ensure it happens.

 

The nightstand is usually the last place we think about when it comes to getting organized. It’s an integral part of our mornings and evenings, though. 

 

If you clutter the shelves and drawers next to you — finding what you need can be a pain.

 

But, if you know how to organize the nightstand to use it to its maximum ability, that stress disappears. The extra tidiness puts you on track in the morning and ends your days cleanly and without pressure.

 

Use these five clever hacks to get your nightstand in gear to prime your day (and end it) on the right track!

 

1. Choose Your Nightstand

 

If you haven’t settled on a nightstand yet, take a minute to think about the different types and what you really need. This oft-forgotten piece of side furniture can make or break your morning if you’re not careful!

 

Not just any size end table will do. It has to fit correctly in the small area you want it to go, but your nightstand has so much more to offer.

 

When you combine size with efficient storage, the nightstand you fall asleep and wake up next to gives you access to everything you need at that time. 

 

For this reason, you should pick a nightstand with enough shelves and drawers to suit your requirements. How much storage you need depends on your level of clutter and how you plan to use it.

 

2. Clean it Out

 

But if you already have a nightstand, you can still make the most of what it offers. Start by taking everything out of your nightstand if you’ve been using it for a while. 

 

Clean the surfaces, shelves, and drawers. It’s common for nightstands to collect dust, but it’s not healthy for you. 

 

As a side tip: Using laundered baby wipes on surfaces that aren’t real wood prevents dust from accumulating quickly.

 

 When everything is neat and shiny, it’s time for the fun to begin! Go ahead and return everything in an orderly fashion, starting from the top and going down.

 

3. Limit What’s on the Surface

 

Bedroom Design Rule Number One: Only the most essential items should live on top of your nightstand.

 

Sure, it’s a convenient place to store your clutter — but it’s not for that. Your alarm clock, a coaster for drinks, your phone charging station, and a lamp should be sufficient. 

 

Precious mementos are commonly seen on nightstands, too. It may be the last thing you want to see at night and the first thing in the morning, but it’s not efficient. 

 

Unless it’s something you can’t bear to part with, save your photos and keepsakes for other surfaces.

 

4. Use Your Drawers and Shelves with Care

 

When you are reorganizing your nightstand for efficiency, keep these tips in mind. 

 

Shelves are for quick access. Drawers are for storing items away for later use.

 

Your shelves should be solely for often-used items that need to be in easy reach. This might include your current reading material, remote controls, and tissues.

 

Drawers, on the other hand, are for everything else you need nearby but not in immediate access. 

 

Typical items that are acceptable to store in your nightstand drawer include:

 

• Emergency items such as flashlights, candles, and matches
• Nighttime moisturizers
• Morning and evening medications
• Tissues
• Extra charging ports

 

Your nightstand drawers shouldn’t accumulate junk as though they are a miscellaneous collector. Keep them tidy, and if you need more room, use drawer extenders and organizers.

 

5. Keep it Neat

 

Now that you’ve worked so hard on your nightstand, you’ll want to keep it clean. It’s an excellent resolution, but not always so simple to keep up with. 

 

Staying organized with this piece of furniture requires adjusting little habits. You have to retrain your body and your schedule to remember to include the cleanup in your day.

 

Start small, with little, easy-to-do activities. Every morning, clean the surface until only the necessities remain.

 

Maybe you ate a late-night snack the evening before and were too tired to clean up after yourself. That’s fine! But make sure you put away the dishes first thing after you wake up. 

 

Stumbling into the kitchen for your daily dose of caffeine?

 

While you’re at it, remove any unnecessary items and return them to where they belong. Daily upkeep lets you stick with staying tidy. 

 

Health and hygiene come next. Since you sleep right next to the nightstand, it needs to be germ-free. Schedule a surface dusting and thorough cleaning weekly.

 

Make it your mission to keep your nightstand picture-perfect, just in case you ever want to do that “morning hair, don’t care” or ready-for-bed selfie.

 

Conclusion

 

A good goal is to get your kitchen, living room, and other major areas under control. But when you hit the level of organizing your nightstand for efficiency — you’ve reached the pinnacle of tidying success. 

 

From the entryway to the nightstand, keeping your living area orderly gives you the satisfaction you can’t get in a messy home. 

 

Fall asleep and wake up knowing that you’re in control of what you need nearby by organizing your nightstand.

 

Author Bio:

 

Chris DeAngelis is the founder and principal of TriArch Real Estate Group, a multi-strategy real estate investment and property management firm. In this role, Chris oversees all acquisition, management, design and development activities of the company and spends much of his time working with Monarch Heights to help them with their marketing efforts.