How to organize your bedroom to get more space.
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Start by determining any special uses for the bedroom (e.g., home office, baby’s crib and supplies, etc.) Only have items in the bedroom that serve the purpose of the room. Remove all other items.
Closet
It is easy for bedrooms to become the collection spot for all sorts of items. Piles form. When you declutter the bedroom, start with your clothing. Hang up clothing in a closet or on a rack. Place other clothing in a dresser or on shelves. Keep the clothing you like wearing, you get compliments when you wear it and that suits your lifestyle. Have a place to put dirty laundry. Double your hanging space by installing a lower hanging bar. Add an extra shelf up high in the closet to store off-season items.
Neatfreak Hanging Expandable Bar
Under the bed
Under-bed storage containers are very helpful for oversized items or off-season clothing. You can raise your bed to create more storage by using bed risers to lift the bed up.
Raising the bed can make more storage space under the bed
Bedside stand
A nightside table with a drawer and shelf or cupboard will provide more storage than a table. The nightstands in a bedroom tend to collect clutter. Frequently clear off the surface and declutter the drawers. Decide what is important to have handy. Do you need a book, tissues, medication, a charging station or a water bottle?
Vertical space
Use vertical space to add more storage. An armoire or high-boy may suit your room better than a long, low dresser.
Doors
Use the inside of the bedroom and closet doors to hang items. Over-the-door rack and hook products accommodate shoes, jewellery, scarves, ties, etc. Try using a shoe organizer.
There are many organizing options for storing items on doors
Bedding
Reduce the amount of bedding to a minimum. Have 2 sets of sheets one on the bed and one extra set. If you need to store sheets in the bedroom try using the shelf in your closet. Fold the 2 sheets and pillowcase and slide them inside the other pillowcase. You have a nice contained set of sheets that are easy to store. Recycle sheets with stains and holes. Donate sheets you don’t use, that are the wrong size and mismatched. Have a lightweight blanket for warm weather and a heavy blanket for cooler seasons.
Cosmetics
Cosmetics can also pile up on bedroom surfaces. Use a container to store the cosmetics and make them look attractive. Try repurposing a silver chest. Check expiry dates, and remove expired items and products you no longer use. Try to relocate some of the cosmetics to the bathroom.
The brushes nicely fit where cutlery used to be stored in this repurposed silver chest
Jewelry
Jewelry is another area to consider. There are nice trays that can fit in drawers, boxes to sit on a dresser and wall-mounted cabinets to store the jewelry you use frequently. Go through your jewelry and make sure you still love it, it is not broken and it is clean. Donate or sell jewelry that you no longer wear, fads that have come and gone and jewelry that doesn’t fit.
Custom Designed Closets
I always suggest that you first decide how you will store things in your room before having renovations done. Once you know what types of shelves and spaces you need to hold everything you might want to get a custom build closet. It can be a wardrobe specifically designed to your unique preferences and individual requirements. This could include walk-in spaces, lighting, and multiple interior features. You can find out more about this level of customization by speaking with a professional contractor.
In most cases, the bedroom is used for relaxing and sleeping. Find new places for all the items that don’t belong and create a tranquil space. I think I have considered all the areas in the bedroom. Did I miss anything?
Let me know which tip you liked best and add your own tip in the comment box.
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, coaching you virtually using Zoom. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situations. She uses her love of teaching to reduce clutter, in your home and office. She guides and supports you to manage your time. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
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We each have a night table with two drawers – perfect for storing small items and keeping them out of sight!
If any piece of furniture can be designed for form and function it usually end up being more useful. The added area of storage in furniture, a drawer, shelf,cupboard, pocket, hidden space etc will make the room easier to keep organized. My night table has 1 drawer and a cupboard. Great for storing small things and my stack of books all out of sight, the way that works best for me.
I love the baseball cap storage on the back of the door. Bought 2 of those years ago and it has been a lifesaver for my husband’s many caps. When it gets full and he buys another, I tell him we’ve gotta let one go. Not easy, but I’m trying to keep the limit!
Having a lot of baseball caps seems to be very common. My dad (93) still buys a baseball cap from almost every place he travels to. Thanks for sharing about the baseball cap storage for the back of a door.
I use all of these ideas in my bedroom too! I especially like the 4 plastic containers that fit under my bed for storing off season clothes. I like being able to separate them by tops/pants/sleepwear/shoes. Thanks for sharing this on POBC!
Under the bed storage for clothing can be very convenient depending on the layout of your home or apartment. thanks for sharing how you use them.
Wow, you’ve certainly found a lot of space in the typical bedroom! Using all of those little areas adds up to a lot when it comes to storage.
Thanks for the comment. You make a good point that finding many small places can make enough space for your storage needs. It doesn’t have to be a large space.
Great suggestions for making the most out of your bedroom storage space!
There are lots of “hidden” storage areas in the bedroom. When you decide where the best place is to store something it starts to put order into the room. There is less laying around.
These are such excellent tips for creating a calm bedroom. When possible, I recommend NOT having a desk in the bedroom. But especially in the past few years with more people (and kids) working and/or learning remotely, sometimes the bedroom also becomes an office/work space.
If that’s the case, I suggest putting some type of visual divider ( a bookcase or a decorative screen) to separate work from relaxation. Because it’s hard to relax when you’re staring at a pile of work.
That is a great suggestion when a workspace needs to be in a bedroom. You might be able to position the bed so you are not looking at the work area when you are relaxing.
Great tips! A word of caution about the expandable bar in the closet. I had a client who had wire shelves in her closet that were not attached to studs. When she was getting new molding put in, the vibration of the walls made the shelves pull off the wall with the weight of those extra clothes on the bar. It’s best to confirm that all the supports were attached to studs before using these bars. Another tip is never to overfill these bars.
You are so right. Some of my clients have had shelving pull out of walls because they had too many clothes on the rod and the rod was only mounted into drywall. Thanks for the tips.
So many good tips, but my favorite is focusing on organizing vertically. There’s so much unused *upward* space if we will just consider it. We have to train ourselves to see those vertical opportunities.
I find the trick with vertical space is to decide if you want to use the wall before buying things for the room. A lot of times people see a dresser they like, buy it, and then the vertical space is less available. Sometimes a floor to ceiling piece of furniture is too big/heavy for the feel of the room and a few shelves are better.
Using that vertical space is important and really reduces the amount of clutter on flat surfaces that turn into clutter. Great ideas!
Thanks for your comment. Looking at where you have space to turn into storage before you buy furniture is important.