Organizing a bedside table

Hello friends!

I have been meaning to complete this project for so long! It is really not a huge task, but if you are looking for small projects to make you feel a bit more active around the house when it comes to organizing, here is a good and simple one for you: reorganizing your bedside table.

When we first moved to our home, we both knew that the attic/master bedroom would be our last big project, so we never really did anything with it, not even a coat of paint, it is one of my big projects for this summer (removing carpeting, painting , etc.). Since our old headboard did not fit under the slanted roof, we had to buy this Ikea (Hemmes) bed frame, which I really like. But in our old apartment we did not really have bedside tables for lack of space. I ended up purchasing two small coffee tables, from Ikea as well, in the same chocolate brown color than the bed frame and that has been the extent of the setup ever since. 

Since I tend to hoard a ton of books, magazines , etc., this table quickly filled up, top and bottom, with all manner of junk, not to mention collecting dust and miscellaneous items in the like of bobby pins, cough drop wrappers and other unsightly stuff I simply got fed up with.

All week I thought about this projects, knowing it would not take much time and also realizing that I had put it off for far too long. It took under one hour to complete.

I have this antique bedside cabinet/stand I purchased at the Salvation Army back in the 90's. I think I paid $25 for it and it was in really bad shape at the time. To make a long story short, years ago when we still lived in an apartment near New York City, I had left my car parked on the street and our elderly neighbor had damaged my door while backing out of his driveway. He really was bent out of shape over this incident and asked me whether we could trade services rather than call the insurance companies. I really don't know whether that was all legit, but he was an older gentleman and quite frankly I could not care less about the dent in my side door. Well, it turned out that he was a retired Ebeniste! So I asked him whether he would be willing to restore my bedside furniture...and voila! Free restoration, and an amazing job he did too! He said it was probably around the turn of the century between 1900 and 1905 and made of Tiger Oak and Poplar. I do not know what compelled me to put this beauty in the guest bathroom when we first moved in but it stood there for two years now and that made no sense to me, I thought I was really depriving myself of the joy of having a beautiful piece of antique furniture by putting it in a room I only visited once a week at cleaning time. Today, I reclaimed it for myself!

I gathered a few other items for this project: I purchased this very inexpensive lamp at Target (I think it was under $20), and for drawer organization I thought I could use the leftover boxes that come with my monthly Birchbox subscription (more on Birchbox and other beauty sample subscriptions in a coming blog post). I also had two leftover decorative artworks I previously used for the guest bedroom and thought they would make a nice addition on either side of the bed frame.

I used the top and bottom parts of my leftover Birchbox boxes to provide compartments to the drawers. I thought about the kind of items I would want by my bedside and would actually use rather than just parking miscelleanous stuff I could not care less about.

This is what I know I used and will continue to use:

Container one (See end of post for liinks):

• Yves Rocher night time hand repair lotion with Arnica (a favorite of mine). 
• Yves Rocher Almond Body Lotion (excellent moisturizer, I use it every night on my legs, heels and elbows, it keeps the rough spots at bay, smells wonderful)
• Lipbalm
• Scented body lotion (this one was a sample from Calvin Klein's Euphoria line)

Container two:

• Burt's Bee cleansing towels (absolutely love these, they clean and refresh without leaving a greasy residue but are moisturizing enough on those nights I don't feel like putting treatments on my face, they are great for hands and neck too)
• Nail file, this one is from Tweezerman, it came in the December Birchbox.
• Burt's Bee Royal Jelly eye cream, I don't have enough left for my daily treatment routine so I am using the rest of the jar as a cuticle cream.

Container three:

• Pain relieving cream (I recently sprained my ankle...again)
• Hair band
• Aspirin and Excedrin PM

You can't see the back because of the shadow but I also keep a small zipploc with ear plugs because you know who snores, a lot!

That is all I need! Bobby pins and other hair clips can be placed in any of these containers...At least I know they won't end up on the floor and under the bed!

This is what it looked like once I had it all organized, what a difference for such a small job!

My All About Me Basket

Let me tell you a little bit about the basket in the front: this is my "All About Me" basket. I started this project at the beginning of the year and it has been a life saver!

As mentioned in my previous post on Organizing Magazines, I do keep manila folders in it, with articles I plan on reading. But most importantly is the rest of the stuff I keep in this basket:

You may recognize my DIY iPad cover at the bottom right (it needs washing). What makes this an "All About Me" basket are the things I keep in it that have been amazing nurturing tools to me. I purchased these black mesh pouches a while ago from Barnes and Noble, they are made of very light nylon and come 4 in a pack. In those pouches I keep specific items I want to use either individually or as a whole:

• My journal (top left): this is from the Martha Stewart Avery collection. I was never a journal writer, however, since the beginning of this year I have started recording my thoughts and made it a nightly ritual. I do my very best to end every entry on a grateful and positive note. This goes alongside with the Simple Abundance book series.

• Simple Abundance, a Daybook of Comfort and Joy: I never thought I would get into this but it was recommended to me as something I should look into. In short, this book contains daily meditations and inspirations for women. It is not necessarily rooted in faith but it is very uplifting and each day connects into another, making it a progressive journey towards a better, more fulfilled self. I don't think it is necessary to start on January 1, you could definitely purchase the book now and back read whatever you need to but all I can say is that I strongly recommend this book for anyone interested in reconnecting with their authentic self. Each daily entry takes no less than 5 minutes to read. I have made it a routine, after work and while the boys have their half hour break before homework, to read that day's inspiration and move on to the companion book.

• The Simple Abundance Journal of Gratitude: this is the companion book to the Daily Comfort and Joy. In essence, this is a prompted journal where each day is filled with your own personal five entries on specific things you feel grateful about for that day. It could be anything such as a calm day at the office or a hot cup of tea by the fireplace. This also takes less than five minutes and all you have to do is write down five things to be grateful about each day. I find that this little ritual keeps us grounded and focused on the good things happening around us.

I Never thought that taking on this Simple Abundance journey would make a difference in my life but it did. I have been reading my daily inspirations, completing the Gratitude journal and writing in my personal journal, very faithfully  and every evening, since the beginning of the year. I can tell you that spending that little bit of time for and with myself to reflect and take the time to appreciate what I have rather than contemplating what I don't have, has had a true transformative effect on my well-being and the way I perceive the world around me. 

• Inside the medium mesh pouch, I keep another kind of journal, this one is separated with stick-on tabs, each section reserved to a specific room in our home. This is where I record all my ideas for projects, decorative items I would like to have, or organizational tips. I am constantly thinking about stuff to do around the house and how to enhance or better utilize a certain area. Unfortunately I also tend to forget my "brilliant" ideas rather quickly, so now it is all recorded, in time. Pops in my head? Goes straight into the Home Journal. If I am at work and I do not have the journal with me, or at the store, I keep stickie notes in my purse, jot the idea down and later stick it inside the correct section of my Home journal.

• The smaller pouch contains all manner of pens, pencils, highlighters and stickie notes.

The best thing about these pouches is that they can all fit into the larger one. So when I travel (should that ever happen, LOL) or want to take them somewhere, all I have to carry is one pouch!

To continue with my bedside table, I wanted to keep the top as much clear of junk as possible. So all I set my mind on keeping is this beautiful terrarium my oldest son made at the YMCA's aftercare two weeks ago. The art print also completed the look.

On the two shelfs, I simply keep a box of tissues and some of the books I am currently and desperately attempting to read. I just never have the time or am usually too tired at night to read more than two pages before falling asleep! I also keep my Filofax here and put it back every morning inside my purse. I am always thinking about what needs to be done with regards to kids' schedule, grocery shopping, etc., this is where I keep myself in check. I think I had mentioned this Filofax in my Purse Organization blog post. While I love its compact size, I have to admit that it is just too small for me, I need an A4 size rather than a Personal Size, so guess what is on my wish list for next Christmas?

And here is the final result:

I am glad I spent the time this morning to complete this project, quite frankly it took more time to write this post than to switch bedside stand and organize drawers!

I am hoping you found some inspiration in this post, in particular with the "All About Me" Basket. I would love to know what you do to keep yourself nurtured, so please leave a comment and share with MGC community what it is that you do to keep your sanity and find time for yourself.

Thank you for reading and sharing my blog. You can find me on FACEBOOK and YOUTUBE.

Sophia, NJ.

Items mentioned in this post with direct links:

 

2 in 1 Arnica Hand Cream by Yves Rocher                                   Nourishing body lotion with almond by Yves Rocher  *This post may contain some affiliate links. I am not affiliated with Barnes and Noble or Target. Nor am I compensated for reviewing any items mentioned in this post, all opinions are my own.