44 Before & After: An Organized Nightstand Drawer

We all have that one drawer. The one that becomes a dumping ground with an endless pit of random items. It happens to the best of us!

Most of the drawers around our home are set up in a way that they self maintain, but there are a couple that demand attention more often; our junk drawer in our kitchen, and apparently, my nightstand drawer both top that list.

I clean out the junk drawer every month or so, because even with dividers, random items that don't have an instant home, end up in that very popular drawer. Being in such a high traffic area that we all utilize, I am pretty good about tackling it frequently to keep some semblance of order.

But my nightstand... that's another story. I generally only see it late at night or during a quick surface cleaning session. It was time to finally do something about it.

Sometimes these projects are brought on last minute when I just can't take it anymore. I generally just tackle them and never think to blog about the before and after. It's just a drawer after all. But dang. Anytime I see an organized drawer, or a before and after, I am 10000% more motivated to tackle one myself. So this time I grabbed my iPhone and took a quick picture of the before and decided that I would share the process. I am encouraging all of you to do the same! It doesn't have to be a nightstand drawer, it can be ANY drawer! Just one. Let's do it!

Wow, really Jen?

Let's see, there were candles, linen sprays, essential oils, cold and sinus medications, drawer hardware, jewelry, prescriptions and supplements, hair accessories, lotions, cough drops... the kitchen sink is about the only thing missing from this drawer. Remember, this is a no judging zone.

Clearly, I would use something and then just toss it inside.

First step was to sort it all out. I found two random bins/baskets and used one for "Keep" and another for "Relocate". The keep items would stay in the drawer and the rest would go back where it truly belonged.

Ha! Look at the difference!

I also gave my nightstand a good cleaning and thought to myself that the old, velvet-esque drawer liner was dark and dirty.

I had a couple of foam core boards so I cut them to the shape of the drawer and wrapped them in a scrap of light blue linen fabric. I did this for both of my drawers.

This was an added step, but I felt like it would just freshen up these old and dated nightstands without much effort for now. And I really believe these small changes make a big difference in the end result.

I dug through my stash of organizers and pulled some dividers and a random bowl that I thought would better fit the drawer and help me maintain things better going forward.

The bottom drawer just holds a massage pillow, oil diffuser, and my daily journal.

And here is the after of the top drawer:

The back organizer corrals all of my morning/nightly meds and supplements. The bowl holds my sleeping mask and silk hair scrunchie.

The larger organizer holds the remote, a single sleep spray, my glasses, and hand lotion.

Also matches, essential oils, lip treatment, earplugs, my grinding guard, and daily jewelry items.

It's like an entirely different drawer and only took me about 20 minutes to take a couple of really easy, anyone-can-do steps.

Now that I shared that, I dare you to take on a drawer too! Start small and simple! That's what it is all about. And this one little change really does make me happier at the end of the day. I have also become much more mindful of what I am tossing back into the drawer.

Yay or nay to more of these types of posts? I think we should share these types of transformations over on the #ihearttransformations hashtag on Instagram. It will be fun to take this small challenge to that community and see some before and afters from all of you! Ready. Set. Go!