25+ Smart Bedroom Organization Ideas

These smart bedroom organization ideas will help keep your space neat and tidy so that your bedroom becomes a cozy haven!

Our bedrooms are supposed to be a comforting space, right?

A place to go and relax at the end of the day.

A place to escape from the stress and take a break.

And a place to reset and recharge.

But in reality, our bedrooms often become a cluttered drop zone for all of the stuff we’re not quite sure what to do with. They’re not out in the main part of the house where guests can easily see, so they become a dumping ground for things we want to tuck away out of public view.

But what if we could reclaim our bedroom space so that it actually becomes that cozy haven that we’ve been dreaming of?!

In this post I’m sharing more than 25 tried and true bedroom organization ideas that will help to make your space the most uncluttered and welcoming spot in the house. Sound good? Here we go!

Brilliant Ideas for Bedroom Organization

This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.

1. Declutter like crazy.

Before I try to break out the cute bins or put anything in its final spot in any room that I organize, I first try to declutter as much as possible. I find that many times our rooms feel unorganized simply because we’re trying to hold onto too many things that we don’t need.

It can be hard to let go of things– I get it. But I once heard someone say that we have a choice: we can either have the space or we can have the stuff. We can’t have both.

That really hit home with me! As much as I wish I could have tons of empty space and keep every single thing “just in case,” that’s just not realistic most of the time.

This little mindset shift really helped me to realize that it’s not worth overloading the precious space we have with stuff we don’t even use. It is such a weight lifted when we let go of the unnecessary items and only surround ourselves with the things that we love and use often.

Plus, we can have the added benefit of helping others at the same time! The things we no longer need may be used often and cherished by someone else.

2. Create a home for each item.

The only items that should be in my bedroom are the things that have a permanent home there. Nothing should ever be in the bedroom simply because it’s easier than putting it back where it actually goes. (Or because I don’t know what else to do with it, so I stick it in a corner of my room!)

For these random items that have made their way into the bedroom space, we have a few options:

A. Do we really need them? If not, can they be decluttered– donated or sold?

B. If we do need them, can they be relocated to a different area of the house, preferably the area where they’re used most often?

C. If discarding or relocating aren’t options, how can we create a “home” for the item in the bedroom space while still keeping it neat and tidy? Can the item fit inside a piece of storage furniture or on a shelf in the closet?

If we want to have a clutter free space that allows us to relax, we need to be diligent about only keeping items in the bedroom that have a permanent home there.

3. Keep surfaces as clear as possible.

Surfaces are tempting. It’s easy to just drop things on them to be dealt with “later.” But if we’re putting things down on our surfaces day after day after day rather than putting them where we actually go, we will quickly end up with a mess.

If we keep our surfaces clear (other than a few well-chosen decorative items, if you prefer), the entire room will feel tidier.

Clutter breeds clutter. Once we start let a little bit of clutter in on our surfaces, it doesn’t seem like a big deal to add a little more and a little more and a little more until we have a mess.

But order also breeds order. So if we can manage to keep our surfaces clear, it indicates to ourselves and others that this is a neat, tidy space. And we’ll try harder to keep it that way.

4. Choose a nightstand with lots of storage for bedroom organization.

When I first chose nightstands for our bedroom, I picked ones that didn’t have any drawers or shelves. My reasoning was that it would help me keep clutter out of the space because I didn’t have anywhere to put it.

But what happened instead was that I had items I wanted to keep close by, so they all ended up on the nightstand’s surface. It was always a mess, and it drove me nuts!

So I ended up moving our drawer-less nightstands into the guest room and getting new ones with plenty of storage, which have worked much better.

What I learned was that lack of storage wasn’t the key. The key was using the storage space I had intentionally. This way I could keep everything I needed close by and manage it in an organized way.

One of the ways I did this was to…

5. Use small bins to divide up nightstand drawers.

Drawers can quickly become a black hole of mess, particularly when they’re housing smaller items. The key to keeping them neat and tidy is to divide up the space.

In my nightstand, I did this with small, inexpensive bins that gave everything I wanted to store its own designated home.

Many of the items I wanted to store in my nightstand were electronics, so I decided to…

6. Add a charging station.

By simply drilling a hole in the back of the nightstand and adding a charging strip, I was able to create a spot to charge my phone, Kindle, AirPods, and FitBit all at once.

In the photo below, you can see the charging strip mounted to the back of the drawer. You can get the step by step tutorial for this setup in this post.

7. Use a trunk or storage ottoman at the bottom of the bed for bedroom organization.

In our townhouse, which was pretty small, I was always looking for ways to bring in additional storage! One way I did this in our bedroom was to use a trunk at the foot of our bed.

The trunk held my purses and duffel bags at one point. During another stretch it held gift wrapping supplies. And it stored extra blankets at some point too– so many possibilities!

Along with giving us extra space to store things, it was also a convenient spot to sit to put on our shoes in the morning or to set the laundry basket while we were putting things away.

8. Add a cute basket for extra pillows and blankets.

Our current guest bedroom doesn’t have room for a full trunk, but adding a smaller basket was possible! (This one is from Home Goods.) Baskets are a beautiful, easy way to add functionality while also making the space aesthetically pleasing.

9. Choose wall pockets for additional bedroom organization and storage.

Our boys share a room, and because they requested “side-by-side” beds rather than bunk beds, that didn’t leave us with a ton of room for extra storage.

To help solve this problem, I found some cute wall pockets at Hobby Lobby that worked as decor. They are also the second “nightstand” in the room, giving my boys more room to keep books or special items.

10. Add a wall-to-wall shelf to display tchotchkes.

Anyone else’s kids like to collect stuff? Mine are constantly finding special things that they insist on keeping close by. The walls and surfaces in their room were becoming a cluttered mess, and it was driving me bonkers.

It was their room, though, so I wanted them to be able to have the items they wanted. We compromised by adding a thin wall-to-wall shelf where they could display their most special pieces.

Our rule is that they can keep whatever will fit on or above the shelf in their room. Anything else has to be relocated to their playroom or decluttered.

Setting these limits gives them the freedom to make the space their own without it getting overcrowded with junk.

11. Add a few wall hooks for easy bedroom organization.

Particularly in my kids’ room, I try to make things as easy as possible to put away. When things take too many steps, they’ll just throw it on the floor rather than putting it back where it goes.

Hooks are great for putting things away easily. We have three hooks right near the entrance to their room where they keep hats and sweatshirts they use often. It has been a great solution for them.

It gives them an easy way to put things where they go, but it also gives them a limit so again, clutter is minimized.

12. Maximize the closet space with a storage system.

Standard closets typically have a ton of wasted space. There is typically one bar with a shelf above it and a TON of extra, unused space below.

One of my favorite projects is to add a closet system because it really helps to use every inch of the closet wisely! In our current closet, we used a custom system from EasyClosets, and it has made a huge difference in our ability to keep this space organized!

Our townhouse closet was much smaller, so we used IKEA’s ALGOT system (now called BOAXEL) to make the most of the space we had. It was far from a walk-in closet, but we were still able to make plenty of room for both Donnie and my clothes to fit.

We used the ALGOT (BOAXEL) system again in our boys’ very small shared closet in our current house. Adding a second row for hanging clothes allowed us to store twice as much stuff. It also ensured that our younger son could reach his clothes without help so he can get ready unassisted in the mornings.

13. Bring in a rolling cart to help with bedroom organization.

As great as closet systems are, sometimes they’re just not an option. Maybe we’re renting. Or don’t want to spend that much money. Or the shape/size of our closet just isn’t very conducive to a closet system.

If that is the case in your home, there are still plenty of options! One of my favorite ways to make the most of that bottom area of the closet under the hanging clothes is to bring in a rolling cart.

Even if you don’t have a closet or there is no room in the closet for anything extra, rolling carts can be used to bring in more storage in the main part of the room or in a nook or corner.

Rolling carts are great because they add some additional levels of storage, but they are also portable. They can easily be moved out of the way or adjusted to meet your needs.

14. Use stacking bins to create additional storage space.

Stacking bins are another helpful option for making the most of the closet space. When we lived in a rental right after we got married, we used pantry bins like these to hold our shoes and keep them tidy in our bedroom.

15. Add a dresser in the closet to help with bedroom organization.

When my boys shared a room in our small townhouse, we needed space for a second dresser, and the bottom part of the closet ended up working perfectly! It went from completely wasted space to nicely organized storage.

16. Use a towel bar + shower curtain hooks for jewelry storage.

Jewelry storage can also be a challenge in the bedroom area. Along with typical jewelry boxes or stands, I like to use a towel bar + shower curtain S-hooks to store my necklaces. It keeps them tidy and also puts them on display as “decor” in the room.

17. Use spice racks for makeup storage.

I don’t have a makeup vanity in my room, so I had to maximize the wall space to store my makeup. These acrylic spice racks ended up being the perfect way to hold my minimal makeup collection.

You can get all of the details of my makeup organization strategy in this post.

18. Keep a sheets bin in the closet.

Our linen closet is teeny tiny, so I first started keeping our sheets in the closet out of necessity. I found that I really liked it, though, because they were right there whenever it was time to change the sheets!

I keep a wire basket in the closet of each bedroom with a spare set of sheets for just the beds in that room, and it has worked really well for us.

19. Hide the ironing board.

It makes sense to store the ironing board close to where we store our clothes, but it’s not always the prettiest thing to have around. (Also, it’s big and awkward and can get in the way!)

I solved this problem in our current house by getting a folding ironing board that can hide behind a drawer front when not in use.

Whenever I need to iron, I simply open the drawer front, slide out the ironing board, and unfold it, and it is ready to go!

20. Make the hamper easily accessible.

I don’t want to make a battle of getting clothes into the hamper, so I try to make it as easy as possible for everyone. In our closet, the hamper tilts out as part of one of the built-in units.

In my boys’ room, it’s even easier! They don’t have to open any doors or tilt out anything to reach their hamper. They can simply toss in their items, even from across the room! (And they even make it most of the time! 😉 )

Again, the easier I can make the process, the more likely they are to follow through with it.

21. Stick with one type of hangers in each closet.

This is a simple one, but I think it makes a big difference! When all of the hangers are uniform, the closet automatically looks more orderly. (And hopefully, we’ll be more motivated to keep it that way!)

In our closet, I use slim velvet hangers to hold all of our items…

And my boys’ clothes are all on white plastic hangers. These are super inexpensive, and having them all the same really makes the closet look a lot better!

22. Keep shoes off the floor if possible.

This isn’t always going to be possible. (You can see my boys’ shoes on the floor in the closet above.) But when it is, I like to keep shoes off the floor if I can.

If everything is off the floor, it’s less likely to become a catch-all for our stuff. It’s easier to vacuum and clean the baseboards. And our shoes have a designated spot rather than being thrown around haphazardly.

Whether it’s with pieces from a closet system or in stacking pantry bins, getting shoes off the floor can help the overall space look a lot tidier.

23. Choose the folding method you’ll be most consistent with.

Who knew that folding would become such a controversial topic? Ever since Marie Kondo came on the scene, it seems that everyone has a strong opinion about how clothes should be folded.

I personally like the file folding method because it allows me to see all of my clothes at once. But like so many areas of organizing, I don’t think folding is one size fits all.

I think the “best” folding method for your household is the one that you will stick with most consistently. If you like to file fold like I do, go for it! If you prefer traditional stacking and will stick to that consistently, do it! And if you have room in your closet and find it faster to hang up nearly everything, use that method!

The most important thing is to have a system for completing the entire laundry process– from washing and drying through folding and putting away– on a consistent basis so you have clean clothes available when you need them and aren’t always having to search through the hamper or laundry basket to find what you need.

24. Keep clothes tidy with drawer dividers.

I’ve talked to a lot of people who want to try the file folding method, but they get frustrated that their clothes won’t stay upright as well as they’d like them to.

If you are in this camp, drawer bins or dividers can help add some extra sturdiness to keep clothes more upright.

My favorite drawer bins– and the ones shown in this photo– are IKEA’s SKUBB boxes, which come in 3 different sizes.

25. Label the edges of drawers.

This may not be necessary, but if you’re struggling to get members of your household to put clothes back where they go, labels can help!

I use my label maker + clear tape to put inconspicuous labels on the edges of the drawers I want to mark, so it’s easy to tell where everything goes.

26. Keep a donate bin close by to keep up with bedroom organization long-term.

Finally, we want to make it easy to get rid of items we’re done with so we are not building up a lot of clutter! One of the best ways to do this is to keep a donate bin close by. (You can see mine in the back corner under my clothing.)

Whenever I realize I’m not wearing an item often or don’t like its fit anymore, I simply drop it into the donate bin, so it is out of my way. Then when my bin is full, I know it’s time to make a trip to my local donation center to get rid of the items!

I hope these tricks and tips will be helpful for reclaiming your bedroom as a cozy haven!

I know this isn’t an exhaustive list of bedroom organization tips, so let me know your favorite tricks for organizing the bedroom in the comments below!

And if you’d like to save this bedroom organization post to come back to later, be sure to pin this image so you can find it easily:

Thank you so much for following along! Have a wonderful day!

This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.