11 Practical Ways to Organize Your Bedroom to Make it a Place You Love
One of the most important parts of your home is, undoubtedly, your bedroom. It’s where you can shut off from the world and just relax.
But, if you have a cluttered, disorganized room, then it becomes really difficult to enjoy yourself there!
No worries – we’ve got 11 practical ways that will make organizing your bedroom easier than ever before!
These organization ideas will help you turn a messy bedroom into the relaxing oasis it should be. We also have some tips to help you keep it that way long after you’re done decluttering and organizing!
Need more ideas? Check out: How to Get Rid of Stuff: 10 Steps to Help you Let Go or The Best Nightstand Organization Ideas for a Restful Night’s Sleep
How do I organize my bedroom with too much stuff?
It’s very difficult to truly create a clean and organized bedroom if you have too much stuff. That’s why you should always try to declutter your bedroom before you begin organizing.
If your closet or dresser is overflowing with clothes, take them out and see what can be donated or just tossed without remorse.
Keep your room from getting cluttered
You can also try the “one in, one out” rule: if something new comes into your closet, get rid of an old item that doesn’t bring happiness anymore. Then you won’t have to keep decluttering because you’re cleaning it out as you go!
Do this with books as well – if a book has been sitting on your nightstand for years, totally untouched, then it may not be worth keeping around any longer!
And don’t forget about all those sentimental items; if they’re just taking up space and making your room more cluttered then there is no point in holding onto them forever!
Give yourself permission to toss these objects so that you’ll create more room for happy memories instead.
You can always take a picture of it first so you have a tangible way to remember it, but a picture on your computer takes up much less space than the actual item.
Where do I start when decluttering my bedroom?
One of the easiest places to begin when decluttering your bedroom is with your nightstand. Starting with your nightstand is ideal for several reasons.
First, the nightstand is a small area that doesn’t seem as overwhelming as the entire room. It’s ideal to start with a smaller area and work your way up to larger areas.
Second, nightstands often become drop zones since they are right by your bed, but it’s super important to keep them clean and beautiful because it will set the tone for your entire room.
If your nightstand is clean, then the rest of your room tends to follow suit.
After you’ve decluttered your nightstand, choose another small area to declutter. It’s like the popular book says – how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time! That’s the exact approach that you should take with decluttering your bedroom.
Decluttering is important
Remember, decluttering your bedroom is the most important step when it comes to organizing your bedroom, especially if you have a small room.
Decluttering is important because you want to make sure the area is clear of any unwanted items that may be cluttering up your routine.
There are a lot of ways you can go about decluttering, but keep in mind that one way might not work for everyone. We’ll share our favorite ways to declutter and organize, but take some time to figure out which great tips work best for you and your home.
But here’s a good place to start…
Get rid of anything that doesn’t bring you joy.
You should start by getting rid of things like clothing or shoes that don’t fit anymore and have been hanging around taking up space all this time.
Next, get rid of anything on the floor – it just makes more clutter in an already-cluttered room!
Throw out some of your knickknacks.
You’ll also want to remove any knickknacks from tables or bookshelves because these little objects will end up collecting dust over time if they’re constantly out in the open without anywhere specific to call home.
Some knickknacks and decorative objects are good, but too many will make your room seem cluttered. If your bedside tables are overflowing with little trinkets, pick out your favorites and get rid of the rest.
This goes for throw pillows as well. Some throw pillows on your bed can make your room feel more cozy and welcoming, but too many will make your bed look uninhabitable.
Make sure you throw out any extra pillows that are making your room look too cluttered.
Remove any broken objects or furniture.
This probably seems obvious, but along with any clothes or shoes that don’t fit, make sure you get rid of any pieces of furniture or decorative items that are broken.
Most of us hold on to old things, telling ourselves we’ll fix them someday but then we never do. If you have anything that has needed to be fixed or replaced in the last few weeks, find time to fix it or just toss it. It’s only adding clutter to your home.
How do I organize my small bedroom?
Be creative with your storage
When organizing small spaces, it’s important to think outside the box when it comes to your storage.
If you don’t have any dressers, closets, or shelves in your bedroom to store clothes and other personal belongings, you’ll need to think of other solutions when it comes to storage. We’ll cover a few spots you can use to save some space in your room.
You’ll want to invest a few dollars into storage solutions, such as bins that stack on top of one another for easy accessibility when it’s time to clean up.
Utilize the space under your bed
If you are running short on available space in your room, don’t forget about the extra space under your bed! Bed storage is seriously a game-changer.
You can even purchase bed risers to make your bed taller so that your bed can fit more things under it!
Invest in some under-the-bed organizers and use that extra bed space to store and organize your things. A platform bed can also be great for this purpose or you can consider purchasing a bed with built-in storage drawers.
Under your bed is ideal storage, because it’s easy to cover up with a dust ruffle or long comforter. It’s basically free real estate for storage boxes!
Using bed storage can help you organize shoes, seasonal clothing, or documents you don’t know where to put. Any storage space that isn’t being used should be used to your advantage!
Use over-the-door shoe organizers
Using the vertical space in a small bedroom can be a vital part of organizing your bedroom. Vertical space means that you can store things on top of each other or use your wall space to your advantage.
The back of the bedroom door is often wasted, but it’s perfect for some extra storage space. This vertical space is super valuable, especially if you have a small bedroom.
Use an over-the-door organizer to save closet or floor space! They work great for shoe storage.
They also work for tons of things besides just shoe storage. You can use them for belts, ties, small accessories, or any relatively flat objects.
Using an organizer and your door as storage will end up giving back lots of space in other parts of your room.
Even if you don’t want to get an organizer, adding hooks to the back of your door can give you some easy, cheap, DIY storage space.
Taking advantage of the hanging space in your room will really add functionality to your bedroom organization.
11 Steps to Organize Your Bedroom for Good!
1. Declutter: get rid of anything you don’t use anymore, including old books, clothes, and makeup supplies
Like we said at the beginning of the post, the first step to organize your bedroom is to declutter. You won’t be able to see how much stuff you truly have until you’ve gotten rid of the things that you no longer want or need.
Be brutally honest with yourself…it might be a difficult process, but it’s actually quite freeing! After decluttering your bedroom, it’s time to start organizing!
2. Designate a place for every item
It’s super important to designate a space for all of your everyday items. This allows you to know exactly where things go when you are finished with them. It won’t do you any good to organize your bedroom if you just make it a mess within a couple of days.
Designating a place for every item prevents that from happening. Most of us don’t have the luxury of having a walk-in closet, so creating extra storage space can really make your bedroom more organized.
3. Have decorative pieces and furniture double as storage
Many furniture pieces can do double duty. They can be beautiful pieces of furniture while also helping you achieve your bedroom organization dreams!
Whether you have a traditional nightstand or a headboard with hidden storage space, invest in items that are both beautiful and functional.
Headboard space isn’t usually considered ideal for storage, but some headboards have storage space built in that can really help you when organizing your room.
And headboards aren’t the only furniture piece that can hide some storage. You may be surprised what you’ll find in nightstands and bedside tables these days! Using furniture that is functional really helps free up space in small bedrooms.
You can also invest in vertical storage pieces that give you extra shelf space so you can display knickknacks, hang jewelry with extra hooks, keep shoes organized, or free up space in your small closet.
4. Utilize these spaces as ideal storage spots in your room
- Use the space under your bed
- Tension rods can provide new bedroom storage by creating new shelves or hanging spaces
- Add some floating shelves
- Corner shelves are great for limited wall space
- Rolling carts can be used in a million different ways, so I always recommend getting one
5. Use containers to store items under the bed or in drawers
Using containers will help keep your things separated and organized so that you can easily find things later. I like using clear bins so I can see what’s inside of them, but labeling your containers is helpful too.
If you have a tiny closet, you can pack away seasonal coats into a bin and stick them under your bed during the summer months!
6. Use decorative storage containers to keep things out of sight but still within arm’s reach
If you don’t like the look of plastic bins, you can use wicker baskets to hide other accessories. These decorative accents double as storage and decor. They allow you to hide the sometimes necessary clutter while maintaining a system that’s easy to keep organized.
You could also store your baskets on a floating shelf and pair them with some greenery and a picture frame! No one will know your beautiful shelf is actually just hiding away some of your things.
7. Use tension rods to add extra space
If you have some empty space in your bathroom, you can free up some space in your bedroom by using tension rods inside the bathroom cabinet.
This frees up space in your room and your counter space in your bathroom by helping you store things like cleaning supplies or scrunchies!
8. Floating shelves add more space
Adding floating shelves to your bedroom gives you tons of extra space you otherwise wouldn’t have had otherwise. This is especially helpful if you have a small bedroom or if you don’t have a lot of closet space.
You can also make those shelves beautiful by thoughtfully arranging pretty storage bins as we covered in the previous tip!
9. Corner shelves can add style
Much like your floating shelves, corner shelves can be great for adding space to small bedrooms. Corner shelves are helpful because they can be inconspicuous and they don’t take up too much space.
They also look nice because the shelves aren’t as deep as some of your other options, so it’s a great balance between function and design!
Using corners also helps ensure that there is no wasted space in your room.
10. Rolling carts are an easy organizational tool
For most people, closet space is a precious commodity. Carts can really save space and help you be able to see exactly what you need. They can move all over the room to go exactly where you need them to go.
You can even use them as a small dresser if you’d like!
If you are short on bathroom space, you can even set up all of your makeup and toiletry items inside a cart to save space! They are really versatile and useful in any room in your home.
11. Use separators or organizers to keep drawers tidy.
Keeping drawers tidy can be hard, but separators or organizers can really help you to stay organized and be able to find everything quickly.
Most bedside tables get filled up with odds and ends that rattle around and make your drawer seem messy, so using dividers to make small spaces within your drawers will help organize items and keep everything where it needs to be.
Plus, it makes it way easier to keep your drawers tidy going forward. If there’s no place for it in your drawer, you’re less likely to try to force it in!
How can I keep my room neat and organized?
Designate a place for everything.
Like we covered before, designating a place for everything is important because it prevents clutter going forward. It’s not just for organizing your room that day, but for keeping it organized in the future.
Create an organizational system for your room that works with your lifestyle so that it is easy to put items away as you use them.
It can be anything a system of bins or baskets, labeled shelves or drawers, or anything else that works for you. You want something that will fit you and your lifestyle so when the time comes to actually use it, it’s simple!
If you’re using an organizational system that you don’t like, you won’t be very likely to use it. So make sure you find a system that you enjoy and you’ll actually utilize.
Figure out what works for you and then stick to it!
Keep your bed neatly made at all times (even if you don’t have guests).
Making your bed every morning, even if you don’t have anyone else who will see it, is a good idea because it is a constant reminder to you to keep your room neat.
It’s like a visual cue to you. It makes your room look more organized and put together – even if it’s not.
A freshly made bed can go a long way in making your room look clean!
Put away clothes as soon as they’re worn.
Don’t let your clothes pile up on the floor or in the closet. Instead, put them away as soon as they’re worn.
If you wear something in the morning, hang it up or place it in your hamper at night when you’re getting ready for bed.
Make sure to organize items right when you use them. That way, you don’t end up with piles of clothes all over your room that you’re not sure if they are dirty or clean!
Make sure there is ample storage space for all of your belongings, including shoes and coats.
You want to make sure you have enough space in your room for your shoe storage and seasonal coats so that your closet isn’t full of clothes you aren’t even using.
Place the items that are used less often in hard-to-reach spaces like under the bed or inside suitcases. This will help keep your closet more manageable.
Finding more space to store things in your room can be hard, but as you get creative and start seeing every part of your room as a possible storage solution, you’ll find places to store those items you aren’t using at the moment. Sometimes in life, you have changes that necessitate you to move into a different home to accommodate you situation better. But maybe you aren’t ready to sell your initial property. But if you want to keep your first property, you can always choose to rent it out for some extra cash. And if you don’t want to deal with the stresses of having renters, you can even hire a property management company to do all of the hard work for you!
Throw out anything that doesn’t belong in this room – it’s time to get rid of those old magazines!
Has your bedroom become a landing spot for anything you have no other place for?
Keep your room clean by throwing out whatever doesn’t belong in your room like old magazines, mail, or other junk that has somehow found its way into your room.
That goes for sentimental objects and bedroom decor too. If they are taking up space or would look better somewhere else, it’s time to find a new home for it – either in another room in your house or another home altogether (like the garbage can).
It might sound harsh, but hanging on to items that just make your room feel cluttered and small isn’t helping you in the long run.
Clean off surfaces often, such as dressers and nightstands, so you can find what you need when you need it.
For the surfaces that see your most frequent use – such as dressers, nightstands, or bedside tables – give them a quick wipe down every day to keep them free of dust and other small items that tend to pile up over time.
This will make it more likely for you to find what you are looking for when you go looking!
Plus, when you spend a few minutes every day (or even just every week) to make sure your room is staying organized, then you won’t have to do any hours-long decluttering and cleaning every few months.
Cleaning off those surfaces and keeping the floor picked up will help you stay organized without having to do tons of work.
Keeping your room organized is a lifelong journey
It can be hard to keep from getting overwhelmed by the sheer number of things we bring into our lives these days!
But if you take small steps and try not to get too far ahead of yourself, then you’ll soon find that organizing your room (and keeping it organized going forward) isn’t as hard or time-consuming as it sounds.
Sure, the first time you go through and declutter everything it might take a while, but maintaining that organization will go much more quickly and easily than you’d expect.
When you have a space and system that works well for your needs, it’s so much easier to maintain.
