17 Practical Ideas for Organizing Under Your Bed

The time has come to finally organize under your bed. It’s the perfect place for storing all of those things that you don’t know where else to put, but can’t seem to find a home for in your bedroom. If you take the time to invest in some storage containers and simply get everything out from underneath the bed, it will not only look better in your room—you’ll be able to find what you’re looking for when you need it! Here are 11 ideas on how to go about getting organized.

Take everything out from under your bed

Take everything out from under your bed and start sorting through it. You’ll want to discard anything that is broken or no longer needed (donate as appropriate). You need to have a clear space to work with so you can see the possibilities when it comes to creating a new organized system.

Clean under your bed

Now that you’ve taken everything out, you’ll be able to see the floor under your bed—a big accomplishment! Now you’ll need to actually clean under your bed. It’s really easy for the area under your bed to get dusty and collecting all sorts of debris. Get up on your bed and vacuum the floor, then wipe things off with a damp cloth.

If you have a vacuum with an attachment, you can clean under your bed as best you can with the vacuum. It will be even better if you can actually move your bed so you can clean the floor completely under your bed.

What should you do once that’s done? Here are some ideas to keep in mind.

Organize the items you pulled out from your bed

The next thing you need to do to clean under your bed is to organize the items you pulled out from under your bed. Only leave the things here that don’t belong in another place of the house. Put like items together so they can be easily found later; for example, if there are shoes under your bed, pile them neatly next to each other instead of scattered about or piled on top of clothing. If you plan on storing out-of-season shoes under your bed, you organize your shoes by type: sneakers together, heels together, etc.

Remember how we talked about getting rid of things? Only keep things that you are actually going to use. Be brutally honest with yourself. Organizing under your bed can only be effective if you’re willing to get rid of what you don’t use.

After you’ve pulled everything out, cleaned under your bed, decluttered, and sorted all of the items that are staying, now we can start organizing under the bed!

Organize Under Your Bed and Create a System that’s Easy to Access

It’s important to create an organized system that will be easy to access. Because it can be so difficult to reach the middle of your bed (especially if you have a king-size bed!) make sure to use organizing products that can easily be pulled out so you can reach everything you need to.

The most important thing to remember is to measure the height of the area under your bed. This can be a really difficult space to fit things under so measuring is essential. You can also use a storage solution that is more forgiving such as a storage bag rather than a rigid system such as a storage box. I also recommend purchasing bed risers if you want more space.

The things that I store under my bed are things such as travel duffel bags, swimming towels, spare pillows and blankets, etc.

Items to organize under your bed:

• Bed Risers
• Add Wheels or Casters to your Storage
• Storage Bags
• Storage Boxes
• Drawer Sets
• Old Dresser Drawers (even better if they have wheels!)
• Storage Baskets
• Shoe Boxes
• Storage Bins
• Gift Wrap Boxes
• Wire Baskets
• A Safe
• Space-Saving Vacuum Storage Bags
• Photo Boxes
• An Under the Bed Shoe Organizer
• Plastic Drawer Set
• Archival Garment Boxes

Think outside the box when you are trying to find ways to organize under your bed. You could even use something as simple as an Amazon box!

Bed Risers

Bed risers that are specifically designed for under-the-bed storage. Bed risers come in a variety of sizes and colors to fit your needs. These risers will make it easier to reach what’s stored below, so you don’t have a hard time pulling out your organizer if space is tight!

I got these bed risers for my daughter’s bed and it is so nice for her to have a few extra outlets and usb charging outlets. It also helps to keep the area under the bed more organized and more accessible. They are really sturdy too!

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Add Wheels or Casters to your Storage

Add wheels to the bottom of storage bins or baskets so you can easily move them in and out of the bed. If space is tight, put some casters on a dresser drawer and place them under the bed! Just make sure that you measure the height of the bed (or add risers) to make sure everything will fit with the wheels on the storage bins.

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Storage Boxes

Some Storage Boxes slide out from the side of your bed and have handles on them. They can be easily pulled out without so you can easily access everything inside the storage box. This is perfect for storing extra pillows at night time because they’re easily accessible but still hidden away during daytime hours.

I’ve done a lot of research on storage solutions for under the bed and I really prefer storage that has a hard outer skeleton to the storage bags. I love these because I feel like I can put the contents into the storage box and it will stay in good condition. The storage bags often result in wrinkly items because it’s been stuffed under the bed. I also strongly encourage you to purchase storage solutions that can be zipped closed or that have a lid. This will go a long way to make sure that the contents under your bed stay dust, dirt, and creature-free.

After lots of research, these are what I chose to organize the area under my bed with. They have hard sides, they zip closed, they have a handle so they can be easily pulled out, and the top is clear so that I can see exactly what’s in each bin for when I need to find something. But the beautiful gray fabric (but they still have hard sides) on the side makes everything look beautiful on the outside. You could also consider these ones if you have a large (tall) space under your bed.

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Storage Bags

There are lots of storage bags designed specifically for organizing under the bed. The advantage to these is that they usually zip all the way closed so all of your items inside remain dust-free. Some people use these bags for organizing their entire closet. The zipper is what really sets these apart from other storage solutions because it keeps everything inside sealed and protected! These are typically made out of plastic material which makes them somewhat waterproof.

Storage bags really aren’t my favorite option but they work nice enough to get by.

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Drawer Sets

Drawer sets such as these sliding drawers make it really easy to pull out exactly what you need. Some products that you can purchase look exactly like a drawer but they are made for organizing under your bed. These create a nice polished look and look beautiful from the outside.

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Old Dresser Drawers

If you have an old dresser that you don’t know what to do with, you can use the old drawers to help you organize under your bed! Simply pull out the drawers from the dresser and slide them under your bed to keep the area under your bed organized. This will be especially helpful if you can put wheels (or casters) on the bottom of the drawers so they slide out easily.

Storage Baskets

Baskets that hang on the side of your bed, are a great way to organize the current books that you are reading but it keeps it off of your nightstand. I love this organizer that’s small but functional.

Shoe boxes

Shoe boxes are a great way budget-friendly way to store all of your small items like office supplies, important notes or documents, makeup, or other small items.

Storage Box

Storage boxes are the most easily accessible type of under-the-bed storage item that you’ll be able to find. The disadvantage is that you may only be able to fit smaller items in the storage boxes depending on the size of the storage boxes that you use.

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Gift Wrap Storage Box

A really great solution to organize under your bed is to use a gift wrap box. These are often larger and are made for storing items under the bed specifically. That’s why they have a low profile.

Wire Baskets

You can also purchase wire baskets that are made for under-the-bed storage. They typically have wheels which makes it much easier to access the items underneath. The disadvantage to the wire baskets is that it will only hold bigger items such as out-of-season clothing because smaller items will fall right through the cracks.

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A Safe

If you’re looking to store valuable items under your bed, you can also store those things in a safe. A safe is a great way to keep your items secure and hidden from the prying eyes of thieves. You can also use a fireproof safe to store things such as jewelry and valuable family photos that you would be devastated if they were destroyed in a fire.

Space-Saving Vacuum Storage Bags

Vacuum storage bags can be a huge space save when organizing under your bed. Because all of the air is sucked out of the bag with a vacuum it takes up significantly less space. You want to make sure to only store items in these that you won’t need to access often such as old t-shirts or sheets.

Photo Boxes

Because photo boxes come in many various sizes, they can be a functional (and beautiful) way to store items under your bed. Photo boxes can also be useful for organizing within your closet. You can store seasonal clothing in boxes and put them on the floor of your closet or stack them neatly on a shelf according to size.

I use this large photo storage box to store special notes that I’ve gotten from my husband and kids. It’s a perfect place for keepsake items that are easily kept out of the way but are easily accessible when necessary.

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An Under the Bed Shoe Organizer

An under-the-bed shoe organizer can be a great way to declutter your floor space and keep shoes neat. There are many different styles of organizers, but they all have one thing in common: you’ll save room within your closet for other things by utilizing this storage solution.

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Plastic Drawer Set

There are some plastic drawer sets that will make accessing your items really easy. They can be placed directly under your bed and have a handle on top to make pulling them out easier. You’ll want to measure the height of your mattress or boxspring so that you know which drawer set will work best for you.

Archival Garment Boxes

Putting your clothes and other delicate items in archival garment boxes will keep them safe from dust, dirt, pests or any other elements. These are a great way to store anything that needs special care like shoes, lingerie or children’s clothing because they have large lids you can open quickly without getting everything else on top of the box dirty. You can also store special occasion items such as dresses, ties, or ball gowns in these boxes.

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Label the Organizers

It’s important to not skip this last step. Labeling the totes or bins that you just organized everything in will really help to save you time in the long run. You will know exactly where to find what you need when it’s time for laundry day or when you’re looking for your favorite sweater again.

If you don’t label the bins, you’ll have to dig around and search through everything, which can take a lot of time. If you’re looking for an easy way to label your bins or totes, try using some inexpensive stickers. They will work great for any type of container you want to label.

You can also do something as simple as labeling totes with a marker and masking tape so that they are easy to read but can be taken off when you decide to rearrange things.

I’ve always found that decluttering makes me feel so much better. It gives me a sense of accomplishment and helps with my anxiety, too! And the best part is it doesn’t take long to do. All you need are some items from your closet, an hour or two on Saturday morning (or evening), and a clean bedroom when you’re done. The hardest part is just getting started—but once you start decluttering under your bed, organizing all those things will be easy as pie!

Decluttering your space can be a daunting task for some, but it’s worth the time and effort. By organizing under your bed, you will not only feel more organized and less cluttered in general, but you could also find lost items that were hiding out down there! How do you organize under your bed? Give me your best tips on what has worked for other people to declutter their homes!

What are your tips for cleaning up?