Organized Nightstand & Bedside Essentials

Last week, I conquered another project I’ve been putting off… wrangling the contents of my nightstand and putting it back into working order. The effort took little time, so if your bedside is a struggle or is currently in disarray, maybe seeing this simple before and after will give a little motivation.

*Posts on KelleyNan.com may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn commissions from qualifying purchases. Click HERE for full disclosure.

Organized Nightstand Before & After

There’s a few places I went wrong that brought me to the point of no return.

I “borrowed” a few organizers from my top nightstand drawer for another project I tackled, thinking I would quickly replace the organizers I grabbed. I never did. Lesson learned. Don’t dismantle something to fix something else.
Not having a the clear “home” for contents in place encourages additional disorganization and the next thing you know, you’re sifting through and tossing things back in. Number one reason for having actual organizers in place, that clearly define category parameters.
I had contents in my drawer that sound like things that belong in a nightstand, in theory, that I don’t actually personally use. Ex: I have had a small notepad and pen in my drawer (maybe always?). I have NEVER written anything in a bedside notepad. If something struck me, I would type it into my phone. Also — a small flashlight, that I’ve personally never used. Again, I would use my phone’s flashlight. Don’t turn your nightstand into a big catch-all/junk drawer if you don’t have to!

So, before clearing it out and starting from scratch, here’s where we were…

And here’s the after!

Organized Nightstand Essentials & Organizers

I ordered spare clear organizers (that go with the clear organizers I already had in place), removed everything in the drawer, vacuumed out the drawer (THIS handheld vacuum is still an MVP in our house!), sorted the keep, trash, and re-home piles, and configured the organizers back in the drawer to fit my contents.

Organized Nightstand & Bedside Essentials

These are all the things I personally, actually use and let me tell you — it makes a big difference when you have a space/drawer that actually works for you.

THESE expandable drawer dividers are my favorite way to hold organizers in place and also to use as drawer organizers in their own right.