Declutter Nightstand: 15 Minute Mission

Today's decluttering mission is to declutter your nightstand.


This is often an area where all kinds of things get piled, from late night reading material, cups of water, your glasses and more.

Make sure to declutter the surface enough to get rid of anything that should not be there, and so you can actually access your alarm clock easily each night and morning, without fearing knocking stuff over or off!

In addition, if your bedside table or nightstand has a drawer, clear it of clutter as well. Ready, set, go!

Bonus points if you tell me what types of items normally accumulate on your nightstand and/or what you do to combat clutter and keep the space functional.

Further, below are pictures of bedside tables and night stands that readers have sent in, some of them decluttered and others that still need a bit of work, all for inspiration for you!

Photo courtesy of Chelsea Nesvig

Common Items Found On A Cluttered Night Stand

Eric provided this picture of his cluttered night stand.

He's not alone in piling stuff onto this spot in your home.

Other readers shared what types of things take up residence on this surface and don't seem to leave.

Do you recognize any of these items next to your own bed right now? Now, I'm not saying all of them need to be cleared off. Some of these make sense in the location, such as your alarm clock. But many of them need to be moved to a different location, or at least regularly cleared off.

• Alarm clock


• Books


• Candles


• Chargers (including a charging station)


• Ear plugs, eye masks, etc.


• Flashlight


• Glasses


• Hair accessories


• Jewelry


• Keys


• Kindle or other e-reader


• Lamp


• Magazines


• Mail


• Medications


• Money, such as random bills and pocket change


• Papers


• Pen and notebook, diary or journal


• Personal care products, such as lotions, manicure equipment, etc.


• Photos and framed items


• Receipts


• Remotes


• Telephone (land line and cell phones)


• Tissues


• Toys


• Vase


• Water or other drink in cup or bottle

You can have whatever you want on your nightstand, but choose what you want to keep there carefully. You don't want so much stuff that it feels cluttered, or that it is difficult to access the things you do actually use regularly that you keep there.

In addition, routinely, from now on, make sure clutter does not accumulate by putting things away where they need to go, after you're finished using them. You can do this as part of your daily tidy up routine. You can learn more about this necessary and important routine at the link.

Before & After Pictures Of Night Stand When Did This Decluttering Mission

Ellen shared these before and after pictures, shown above.

She stated, "Everything gets dumped here. Kids stuff. My stuff. Random hand bag stuff.

I cleaned off and (tried) to put everything where it belongs. Now I need to tackle the dresser.

Thanks for these 15 minute challenges!"

Here's a few more from other readers:

The photos above are from another reader, Sabrina. She said, "I love how I'm so energized after cleaning the kitchen! I couldn't settle down so I cleaned my night stand!!!" She continued, saying about the after photo, "15 mins later after sorting and wiping!"


In addition, these photos were sent in by another reader, Kimberly. She said, "This is such an embarrassing photo, but that's why I joined the Declutter 365 group. My whole house was cluttered and I'm gradually getting it under control. I'm so thankful that I found this group and that Taylor created it. My nightstand was a nightmare. I've only just begun. I need to vacuum and sort through the basket of clutter but I have such a better handle on it now because for over a month I have been creating homes for my items and it's so much easier to put things away when they actually go somewhere! :) What a blessing this group is."

I'm so glad you found this site and the accompanying Facebook group too Kimberly! And you should be proud of what you've accomplished!

This Is The Worst My Night Table Has Ever Been

by Lynn

Lynn says:

Well I think everyone should have a hanger, a Tupperware bowl, a plastic bag, a new wallet etc. on their bedside table.

This is the worst my night table has ever been.

Oh, and a baby monitor (fyi my kids are 8 & 9). I haven't used it in years. I don't know where it even came from.

Wow that is bad! It will be done before I go to bed.

Taylor says:

That's the spirit Lynn! It looks like a lot but really it shouldn't take too long to clear it off and you'll feel so much better!

My Results From This Mission: Before & After

Amy shared the picture above when she did this mission. She said:

"My nightstand is a bookshelf and I have lots of medications and medical things needed so it gets cluttered and a mess very easily!

Ideally, the top is for drink and evening snack and a scentsy melter, first shelf is a basket of bills for the week medications, and books/magazines currently reading, and second shelf is my daughters and mine "craft" shelf- paper, markers, cross-stitch etc.

As you can see in before pic it becomes overloaded EASILY."

Here's some more pictures from additional readers, the one below is from Tina.

In addition, don't forget to clear the clutter not just from the top of your nightstand, but also inside the drawers. Here's a before and after from another reader, Liz, who decluttered her night stand drawers.

Yay Me! I Got It Decluttered Today!

by Susan

Thanks for the reminder.

Lamp, cell phone hooked to charger, iPad hooked to charger, Kleenex box and coaster.

The pile of junk "to do" is gone, as is the wireless device "organizer" that was a dust trap. Yay me.

Want To Do More Decluttering Missions? Get Started With Declutter 365 Today!

Once you declutter one type of item in your home I bet you'll want to declutter some more. After all, decluttering gives you a great reward for even a small investment of time and energy.

The Declutter 365 system is designed to help you declutter, over the course of a year, your entire house, with just 15 minutes of decluttering each day!

Hundreds of thousands of people use this proven system to get rid of their clutter, and bring peace and calm back to their homes.

Declutter 365 works to guide you to clear the clutter without overwhelm, focusing on just one small area at a time, and without making a huge mess in the process, so you see consistent forward progress without all that "messy middle" that makes it even harder to function in your home than before you started.

In addition to building a daily decluttering habit, the Declutter 365 program, along with the accompanying 52 Week Organized Home Challenge, teaches you the skills, habits, routines, and mindsets necessary to maintain the clutter free and organized state of your home from now on, so it'll never be as messy and cluttered as it is right now, ever again.

If you haven't already, make sure to get your copy of this year's Declutter 365 annual calendar here (it's FREE!), find today's date, and do 15 minutes of decluttering on the day's mission. Then, repeat again tomorrow, and again and again. Over the course of the next year, if you do this 15 minutes per day, you'll declutter your whole house!

Get This Bedroom Decluttering Checklist + 32 Other Decluttering Checklists For Your Home

Right now you're decluttering bedrooms, and the items they contain, and there's a lot of stuff to declutter in these spaces of your home.

Get your 1 page bedroom decluttering checklist, plus 32 other decluttering checklists, to help you declutter your entire home here.

I've done the hard work of breaking down these tasks into smaller more manageable steps for you, so you don't get overwhelmed or worry you're forgetting a task, and you can go at the pace you want, whether that's fast or slow.

In addition, you can tackle these decluttering tasks in whatever order you want when you use these checklists!

Bedside tables are, of course, a type of flat surface, and these types of surfaces attract clutter all the time. You can get more tips for how to declutter flat surfaces here.



In addition, make sure to declutter and organize additional items in your bedroom. You can get more tips in the Primary Bedroom Organization Challenge here.

Related Pages You May Enjoy

Getting Clutter Free 15 Minutes At A Time Hall Of Fame

Getting Rid Of Bedroom & Closet Clutter Hall Of Fame

Go From Declutter Nightstand Or Bedside Table To Home Page