We all keep certain items on the bedside table before going to sleep. For me, it’s usually my water bottle, night-time skincare products and glasses. But over time, a nightstand is prone to attract clutter if you aren’t in the habit of clearing it regularly.
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A clear nightstand allows for a sound sleep and prettier mornings. And if you’re keeping your nightstand cluttered with objects that are of no help while you are sleeping, you make way for stress and uneasiness. As clutter builds up in your mind just as fast as it does in your surroundings, you’re depriving yourself of a good night’s sleep by keeping your bedside table covered up with unwanted items. Besides that, a cluttered nightstand also makes it harder to find objects in the middle of the night.
I, for one, have a habit of waking up many times in the middle of the night to drink water and it doesn’t really help if the nightstand is so cluttered that I have to turn it upside down to find the water bottle.
But it’s time to keep your worries aside and choose to sleep tight. Here’s how you can declutter your nightstand in no time:
1. Limit What You Keep There
Your nightstand is the last thing you see before you sleep and the first thing you wake up to in the morning. In order to make sure that you only carry positive energy to your sleep, try restricting the number of items you keep on that nightstand.
Ideally, you should keep nothing more than a décor item, a glass of water and an alarm clock on it. If you’re into night-time skincare, toss the skincare products in the nightstand drawer. Stick to these items no matter what. And if you see that nightstand holding anything apart from these things, clear it immediately.
Pro-Tip – Make it a rule in your home to never sleep with a mobile phone kept on your nightstand. Sleeping with a mobile phone can end up affecting your sleep quality thereby contributing to stress and anxiety.
2. Choose Minis Or Small Items
It won’t really help if you cover the nightstand surface with a giant book, a large bottle of water and big jars of lotions and creams. Choose minis or small items that will allow for some open space on the nightstand. Use small jars or tubes of lotions, creams, lip balm and other skincare essentials. Keep a small water bottle and books that are handy.
3. Use Nightstand Drawers
Apart from the items mentioned above, if there’s anything else you need before or while sleeping, use your nightstand drawers to keep it. As someone who loves reading before going to sleep, I like to have at least a couple of books by my side. Apart from the books, I like to have a lip balm and a hand cream. It always works to toss these items in drawers and keep the nightstand surface clear to make sure that your mind doesn’t get distracted by visual clutter.
Also, try not to clutter the nightstand drawers with anything that you won’t be needing during the night. So put away those watches, jewellery, digital devices or anything that won’t be of any help while sleeping.
If your nightstand has open compartments instead of drawers, you can organize it with decorative baskets where you can put your stuff. Don’t let the open compartments become a source of visual clutter by stuffing in too many books and baskets. Keep it simple.
4. Move Or Relocate The Charging Station
Speaking out of experience, cords and cables used to be the biggest source of nightstand clutter in my home. After noticing that it wasn’t really helping me, I formed a habit of moving the charging station someplace else before sleeping. Many people I know tend to hide the charging station in the nightstand drawer before sleeping and bring it out after waking up in the morning.
No matter how you chose to tackle the charging cords, cables and wires, make sure that you don’t let the nightstand get cluttered with them.
5. Get Creative With Organizing
If your nightstand is small or doesn’t have enough space to keep the items, try and get creative with organizing. You can use a basic nightstand organizer that has compartments for a book, a tissue box and your reading glasses. Make sure that you don’t end up cluttering it with non-essentials. You can also use a simple decorative basket or a tray to keep your night-time essentials.
In order to maximize the space in your drawer without making it look cluttered, use drawer organizers to store your stuff. My bedside table has two drawers, one of which is used to keep the books that I am currently reading and the other for everything else. I recently bought a drawer organizer for the other drawer because it had become a catch-all spot for random items. Having a drawer organizer helps in ensuring that I don’t toss random items in that drawer apart from just a lip balm, a hand cream, air pods, cell phone charger, night-time medicines and a few skincare products.
6. Cut Down The Décor
Ideally, your nightstand shouldn’t have more than one decorative piece sitting on it. For most people, a lamp is enough while for others, having no décor works perfectly. Whatever your preferences are, make sure that you don’t clutter your nightstand with too much décor.
Choose a piece of décor that makes you want to smile before you sleep. Be it a framed photo of your closest family members, a scented candle or a simple centerpiece, keep what makes you happy and get rid of the rest.
Now that you know how easy it is to keep your nightstand clutter-free and tidy, it’s time to stop with the stressful mornings and sleep better in the night. Make sure that you always keep a check on the items sitting on your nightstand and clear it from time to time.