The bedroom is the most prone to clutter because it isn’t just where we start and end our day. For many people the bedroom is also where they work, engage in their hobbies and interests, study, etc. Here are some simple yet effective ideas to get you started in organizing your bedroom and keeping it clean, spacious, and clutter-free.

Think Vertical
So often when we walk into a room, we visualize the arrangement of furniture, and the space each piece would take, horizontally – as in, we are more commonly concerned with footprint than height. Think vertical, and you will see the storage and organization potential of utilizing heights and the vertical spaces in your room. Use hanging closet organizers. Instead of going for a wide shelf, why not go for a thin and tall one? Ditch the space-consuming photo frames lined up on your dresser and go for a film strip wall decal where you can display your pictures.

Photo Credit: East Side Bride – Robert Reck for The New York Times

Set Up a “Gadget Garage”
Cellphone and laptop chargers, earphones/headphones, data cables, iPods and tablets — these are things most of us use every single day so we end up taking them anywhere and everywhere. To minimize the wire and electronic clutter, set up a charging dock instead of bringing everything with you. If you REALLY can’t go for a couple minutes without your cellphone or laptop, put a storage bench near the wall outlet/charging dock. You can use this as storage for your game consoles and peripherals, etc.

Photo Credit: TechnGear

Storage on Wheels
Whether you’re a college student, young professional, or a mom, there will always come a time when you just have too much stuff and nowhere to put them in. More often than not, these stuff end up on furniture surfaces or the floor. If you’re out of shelf space for your books and magazines, you can put them on sturdy, wooden platforms with wheels so they don’t end up in a messy pile and will still be easily accessible. This will also make them easier to move around when you feel like rearranging your room every once in a while.

If you want a more secure storage, there are “rolling drawers” that you can get which will fit perfectly under your bed or side table. These are among the most common areas that go underutilized, yet could provide the perfect storage space.

Photo Credit: West Elm

Wall-Mounted Shelves and Panels
Not only do hanging and wall-mounted shelves save you precious floor space, they actually look way more trendy and stylish than your typical standing shelves. If you want to put up a workstation in your bedroom, you can just put a cheap but sturdy table against the wall, install/mount open shelves above it, and voila – you already have a place for your desktop/laptop and desks for your books and documents. Make your white wall-mounted shelf even more stylish by attaching it to a gold or colored chain that extends up to the ceiling.

Photo Credit: Decoist

Photo Credit: The Luxe Home

Arrange by Functionality
Arranging the things and furniture pieces in your bedroom by function not only helps in organization, it also shows you the corners and areas of your room that go unused — freeing up space and giving you better storage and design options. If you spend a lot of time on leisurely reading, set up a little reading nook in one side of the room with a comfortable chair and put all your bookshelves in that area. Put your full-length mirror, coat/bag racks, and accessory stands near your dresser, since this is the area where you try on different ensembles on a daily basis.

The basic idea is to, as much as possible, have the things you would need for any activity located in the same area. This lessens the tendency to clutter because you wouldn’t be walking around the room grabbing (and discarding) the things you need.

Photo Credit: Design Various

Written by Jim Klossner