10 Minute Organization: Bedside Table

I'm excited to spring into part 2 of my '10 Minute Organization' series! Today I'm tackling bedside tables!

Before you begin this 10 minute organization, I'm going to ask you to take a couple of seconds and envision what your perfect bedside table would look like. Close your eyes, and picture you've done your night time routines, have closed down the house, and finally slipped into bed. When you sit down in bed what do you want to look at beside you? A beautiful lamp or vase? A candle? A collection of your favorite books? Everyone's ideal bedside table will be different, and before you begin decluttering have a picture in your mind of what that looks like to you. For me, my perfect bedside table is completely void of any objects, is pristine white, and holds a single minimalist lamp (and sometimes a bloom). I store nothing under it, and the current contents of the drawer are a pacifier, two pictures of my daughter and hand cream. 

Now that you have a vision of what you want your ideal bedside table to look like, let's begin!

Prepare 

1. Timer - Phone, oven or egg - whichever timer works best for you grab it!
2. A small to medium box - shoe box, basket - whatever you have accessible and easily within reach
3. A garbage can or bag
4. Optional - A good podcast - The Simple Sophisticate, Housewifery or The Dave Ramsey Show are my favorites! 

Let's Go!

1. Start your timer!
2. Empty everything that's currently on, in, under or around your bedside table out onto the bed or floor.
3. Quickly sort through all items that you have in front of you and group them into categories. Are there an abundance of hair bands and accessories? They would sit together. Books? They would be piled together. Lotions and creams? Also would be put together. Keep working until all contents have found a category. 
4. After dividing everything into categories, go through each and determine if they fit your ideal bedside table vision. Does keeping all your hair accessories in the drawer beside you bring you happiness? Or would they have a better home in your bathroom? Do you need to keep all your 'Harry Potter' books beside you at night? If the answer is "YES don't be crazy Lauren" then absolutely go for it! 
5. In your categories are you finding garbage? Wrappers from candy bars? Throw them in the garbage.
6. After assessing what fits into your ideal bedside table and what needs to be thrown out, you will find a substantial amount of items that need a new home (either in your home, or need to be donated). Quickly go through these items and decide if they will continue to live in your home or if you can give them to someone else that may find more joy in them. Place these items in your donation box for the next time you visit your local Goodwill, Salvation Army or any charity that you may support. 
7. Place everything back into, on top of, or under your bedside table. When you're placing items back be conscious of them. These are the items that you have decided mean something to you, so place them back with the kindness that they deserve. 

BEEP-BEEP-BEEP! - ALL DONE

Side note

I am aware that many people use their bedside tables to store clothing, such as underwear and socks etc. If this is your case, treat this as an opportunity to also go through some of your clothing to see if they fit your vision of your ideal life. 

Simply yours,

Lauren