Organize a Nightstand Drawer for Less than $5

Last week I blogged about all of the rules I’ve been using to help myself clean out my apartment and keep things organized. Even with a rulebook, it is incredibly difficult to force myself to throw things out. But the other day, I was trying to straighten up my bedroom and decided to go the extra mile and toss some things. (Mostly because I had a cute tote that I wanted to use this past weekend, but it was filled with crap I didn’t need or want.)

My nightstand has been getting way out of hand (as with everything in my apartment). The other day, I was searching for something in it (of course, I can’t remember what) and I couldn’t get the stupid think to open. There was far too much crap in it. I wish I had taken a picture of it beforehand, but this is a tamed version that I recreated:

It also had a ton of papers, Zach’s business cards (why!?), a photo album, some DS game cases, some GBA games (I don’t even own a GBA anymore), a book, and a picture frame. There were also AC adapters to things we don’t own anymore. (How do I keep winding up with those?)

How did I manage to fit all of that into this one little drawer?

Witchcraft? I don’t know.

But I did…and it was time to take care of it!

First, I used these three tips from A Dish of Daily Life. The first two (empty your space and sort your stuff) are the ones I have a tendency to skip. I usually think I know what I need…and then I go shopping and discover just how wrong I was.

This time, I took her advice. I cleaned out the drawer and put everything into four separate piles:

1. Garbage
2. Donate or sell
3. In the wrong place
4. Keep

And then went to the store.

I ran up to The Dollar Tree to see what they had and I pretty much scored.

Materials used:

• 3-pack of plastic, white baskets = $1
• 4-pack of clear dishes = $1
• blue drawer liner = $1

TOTAL: $3 + taxes

Note: If I had elected to do all of the drawers and shelves in my nightstands (which equals six), I would have needed about three rolls of the drawer liner. They’re not very big, but they’re still cheap. I only bought one, though, and it was enough for my drawer and Zach’s.

As for how I did this…I’m sure you can figure it out! First, I lined the drawer.

And then I put the baskets and trays in the drawers and put my stuff in them.

The one in on the top left holds paper and a pencil (in case I’m laying in bed when I remember something) and some store points cards (I think it’s just for Petco and Hallmark–they give you two cards, so I have one in my wallet and put the others in my nightstand). The one on the top right holds electronic things, like adapters and the light for my Nook.

The bottom left holds chapstick, nail files, a hand mirror, and other random beauty products. The dish on the bottom right holds hair bands, bobby pins, and other clips.

I had three clear dishes remaining. I put two in Zach’s nightstand (he has batteries and stuff in them) and the last one is on one of the shelves under the nightstand. (We have the Birkland nightstands from Ikea. I love them. They have so much storage and they don’t take up very much space.)

My nightstand is so much more manageable and it’s way easier to find things in it! These trays don’t move around when I open the drawer, either, because they fit so snugly inside. If your drawer is larger, you can put some adhesive putty underneath them to keep everything in place.

Isn’t that just way better? If only you had seen it before I emptied it out.