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by Lydia Parker
Ah, the nightstand. That sacred little table beside your bed that’s supposed to hold a lamp, a book, and maybe a glass of water. Instead? It’s housing a small Walgreens, a tech graveyard, and about five rogue hair ties plotting a coup.
Don’t worry—you’re not alone. My nightstand once looked like a magician’s junk drawer: endless cables, expired melatonin, and three half-used lip balms. You know, in case my lips dried out during REM sleep.
Grab a trash bag, a box, and your sassiest attitude. We’re going in.
Decluttering is self-care with a trash bag. Light a candle. Put on a vibey playlist. Pretend this is a spa day… for your side table.
Take everything off and out of the nightstand. Yes, even the drawer you haven’t opened since 2017.
Ditch the guilt, not just the junk.
Clutter is nothing more than postponed decisions.
Barbara Hemphill
If that quote hit a little too hard, good. That’s your cue to stop stashing and start deciding.
Here’s the deal: your nightstand should only hold things that actively improve your wind-down and wake-up.
Keep ONLY:
Let’s talk cords. Messy cables are the snakes of bedside chaos. Corral them already. I recommend using a simple cable management system to make it look intentional, not like spaghetti night at tech school.
Oh, the drawer. It always starts out with noble intentions (“Just my journal and earbuds”) and ends up as a holding cell for who-knows-what.
Purge these culprits immediately:
Use small compartments or drawer inserts to keep categories separate. Imagine your drawer as a curated boutique, not a garage sale.
Try these expandable bamboo trays: Drawer Organizer Set. They actually make you feel like a functional adult. Weird, right?
Book lovers, I see you. But a nightstand isn’t a bookshelf annex. Be honest: are you actually reading all those tomes piled there, or are they just putting you to sleep by proximity?
Limit yourself to one active read. The rest? Relocate or donate.
Need help deciding which books to keep forever and which to pass along? We deep-dived into this over here: Declutter Your Bookshelves: How Many Cookbooks Do You Actually Use?
If your nightstand looks like it’s auditioning for a role in “Cords Gone Wild,” let’s simplify.
Here’s what you actually need:
Everything else—out. Including that Bluetooth speaker with the mysteriously sticky surface.
If you keep your phone nearby but don’t want to doomscroll at 2 a.m.? Try turning your screen to grayscale or using the bedtime mode features we talk about in Stop Doomscrolling: Hacks to Reclaim Your Time from Social Media Black Holes
Your nightstand isn’t a museum. It’s part of your routine. So give it a nightly and morning check-in:
Nightly refresh (60 seconds):
Weekly vibe check (5 minutes):
Add a calming photo, a tray for your items, or even a small plant. Just ONE, okay? Your nightstand is not a greenhouse.
I want receipts. Not the ones cluttering your drawer—the image kind.
Try this:
Once the lip balm army has been discharged and the charger tangle unraveled, here’s what you’re left with:
🛏️ A calming, chaos-free corner of your home
🧠 A mind that’s not yelling at your mess while you try to sleep
🌿 A space that feels like you, not a junk drawer in disguise
Your nightstand doesn’t need to spark joy. It just needs to let you sleep in peace. So say goodbye to midnight chaos and hello to a touch of Zen, Lydia-style.
Sweet dreams—and even sweeter drawer organization.
Lydia Parker
Lydia grew up in a home where the motto was "Keep everything; you never know when you’ll need it!" After years of wading through mountains of Tupperware lids and mismatched socks, she had an epiphany: less is more. Armed with a label maker and a deep love for minimalism, she turned her life around and now dedicates her days to helping others tame their clutter and embrace simplicity.
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