The bedroom is one of the most important rooms in the home to organize. In general, an organized bedroom helps people relax. This room is supposed to be the room where a person can close the door and be completely at peace. An added benefit to having a peaceful and organized bedroom is the more relaxed a person is, the better they sleep. If your bedroom is small, it’s even more important to organize it. There is little worse than having your belongings in stacks on the floor or scattered here, there, and everywhere around your bedroom. All those things are visual reminders to do some organizing. Here are my tips to guide you as you begin organizing a small bedroom.
Tips for organizing a small bedroom
The best way to organize a small room
The best way to organize a small room is to determine its purpose. Once that is defined keep things in that room which support the stated purpose. The first step is to remove the clutter. If your bedroom is small decide what must stay and which things you want to have in there just because you like them. Are there certain collectibles you want to display in your bedroom? Do you like to keep your favorite books nearby on a shelf in your bedroom? The answers to these questions will determine which furniture or accessories to get.
Use multi-purpose furniture
As you go about organizing a small bedroom to make the most of the space, find furniture that can serve a few purposes. For instance, a bench at the foot of your bed may have storage in the seat. This is a great place to keep extra blankets, towels, or sweaters.
The bedside table can have a drawer, some shelves, and also be a mini bookcase. If you have the space, this bedside table includes a small cupboard, charging station, and shelves above.
You may instead decide to get a larger piece of furniture, like the one pictured on the top of this blog. If you take a close look at it, you’ll see there are cupboards to hide useful things like towels and shelving for books and more decorative items.
Make use of the walls
Make the most of the vertical space in your small bedroom by using the walls. If you have lots of books or collectibles, consider using floating shelves. You can make a shape or pattern with the shelves and then use the colorful book jackets or the collectibles as the art on the walls.
If you have lots of scarves, put hooks on a wall to display and store the scarves.
Use a small screen with hooks to hang your necklaces. Hang it on the wall above your chest of drawers. This serves multiple purposes. It will keep your necklaces organized and off the top of the chest of drawers and it will help prevent the necklaces from getting tangled. An added bonus is that you’ll be able to easily see the necklaces and you’ll save time when getting dressed because you won’t need to untangle a necklace to wear it.
Make the most of your space under the bed
As you’re thinking about organizing your small bedroom, remember the hidden space under your bed. If your bed is low to the ground, get some bed risers to lift it up enough so that you can use that space. Maybe you are in the market to buy a new bed. If you are, look for a bed that either includes under the bed drawers or is high enough up off the ground to accommodate under the bed storage.
Use these under-bed drawers to store things you don’t need to put your hands on all the time. This may include bulky clothes, out-of-season clothing, extra sheets and towels, and extra toiletries.
Make the most of the space in your closet
If your closet is a walk-in closet, and there is room for it, move your chest of drawers inside the closet. Make sure you have enough space to fully open the drawers before you move it. This adds walking space in the bedroom.
If you have plenty of long hanging space in the closet, think about adding an extra rod below one of the rods to make a double hanging section. It would look like this.
Use the shelf space above the clothing rods to store handbags, tote bags, and small suitcases. Or use it for things like extra paper towels and toilet paper. If you have small things to keep on that shelf in the closet, you can add a shelf so you make the most use of that space.
Declutter your belongings
The most important thing you can do when organizing a small bedroom is to continually declutter it. Remember that clutter takes up space. To make the most of the space in a small bedroom you need to be intentional when you bring something in.
Think about the organizing rule: one thing in and one thing out. This is important when space is at a premium. If you buy a book, for instance, which book will you remove from your bedroom (and possibly your home) to make room for the new book.
If you buy a pair of shoes, which pair of shoes will leave your closet to make room for the new pair.
Apply this rule ruthlessly to maintain the organization in a small bedroom.
As you begin organizing a small bedroom remember to look up and think creatively about how to use the vertical space. Then look down and think about what you may be able to store under furniture. If you are buying furniture, look for multi-purpose furniture so you can make the most of the space.
Feel free to contact me to schedule a free 30-minute consultation to get more personalized tips on organizing your space.
Diane N. Quintana is a Certified Professional Organizer® ,a Certified Professional Organizer in Chronic Disorganization®, Master Trainer and owner of DNQ Solutions, LLC and co-owner of Release●Repurpose●Reorganize, LLC based in Atlanta, Georgia.
Stellar advice for a calm bedroom! I think too many people tend to be exhausted when they’re in their bedrooms, either having just woken up or at the end of a long day, and they don’t have the intentionality to put things away. They just drop things where they are. Getting as much as possible off the floor (and the horizontal surfaces) as you describe will brighten the room in ways they can’t anticipate.
I love furniture that does double-duty, so I particularly like the idea of having a chest or storage bench at the end of the bed. The key is to not put anything on top of it (except your tush while seated, so you can put on your shoes. Otherwise, it’s a clutter-catcher that makes it harder to get out what you’ve stored inside. (I think we’ve all decluttered client spaces where the excellent storage option is inaccessible because of things plopped on top.)
After a lifetime of having wide (accordion-door-style) closets, my current home has a walk-in closet. It’s not large, and I certainly can’t put a chest of drawers inside (not that I need to), but the ability to have the closet somewhat separate rather than an extension of the bedroom means I’m much less likely to toss discards onto the bed or elsewhere in the room and more likely to neatly hang them back up. Win-win!
Thank you, Julie! I agree – horizontal surfaces are a magnet for stuff. Being intentional about not piling things on top of furniture that serve double-duty is important.
Readers with small bedrooms will benefit greatly from your ideas!
I grew up in a teeny-tiny bedroom (5’x12′) and often refer to it as my ‘organizing laboratory.’ The tip of yours I used most growing up was to make the best use of my vertical space. My closet and my bookshelves went almost up to the ceiling. I used my space under the bed, too but it was more challenging to access so I kept going higher and bought myself a stepladder!
Thank you, Stacey! I love going vertical and can understand why you couldn’t access the space under your bed. That room was teeny-tiny!
Great tips! We have two small bedrooms in our home. Last weekend, we reorganized and moved things around to improve my kids’ room. An old desk for my son works better in my daughter’s room. The desk in my son’s room now fits his chair; while the desk is a little wider, he can push his chair in so the chair is not sticking out of the desk. The other desk was able to replace two pieces of furniture in my daughter’s room and gave her more storage. It was a win-win for both kids.
That’s wonderful, Sabrina! Sometimes shifting the furniture around helps a lot!
I’m with you 100% about the importance of creating a peaceful, clutter-free bedroom. It makes all the difference in feeling calm, relaxed, and well-rested.
One of the small habits my mom instilled in me was making my bed each morning. It’s amazing how this habit makes me feel ready for the day and calmer. It’s a visual boost to the fresh start feeling each new day brings.
I love your ideas for creative storage, which is especially important for small spaces. Our bedroom is small. As you suggested, we make use of under-bed storage for off-season clothing.
I make my bed everyday also, Linda. I think it sets the tone for the day as well as helping to put the bedroom in order.
I think that decluttering is actually the best thing you an do in a small space. I was just talking with a young friend who will be heading off to college in the fall. We were talking about a packing list. I said, “You really need a lot fewer clothing items than you think. The closets are tiny. Bring lots of underwear to avoid the need to do laundry, but wear the same jeans and sweatshirts over and over.” Less is just “less”… to store and organize!
Great advice, Seana!