How to Organize Your Bedroom Fast—Even in 15 Minutes

By Whitney Coy
Jun 25, 2019

When you focus on getting your house in order, your bedroom is usually the last room to get your attention. After all, it’s probably not a room that’s seen by most of your guests.

But hey, the bedroom deserves some love! It’s where you go to relax after a long, crazy day. And there’s nothing all that relaxing about locking yourself in a room with mounds of clutter and clothes piled on the bed.

In this installment of our weekly guide, “Home Organization Made Easy,” we address this often overlooked area, so you can declutter this space and create a soothing bedroom retreat. It’s not as big of a job as you think it is—according to the experts we consulted, all you need is 15 minutes to get going.

Want to organize your bedroom even faster? Make the bed (it takes just a few minutes).

Here’s where to start, regardless of how much free time you have (and you don’t have to hire an organizer or follow Marie Kondo to get great results).

Got 15 minutes?

Fifteen minutes doesn’t seem long, but if you focus, you can use it to make a noticeable difference in the condition of your bedroom by clearing the top of your bureau.

Photo by Crosby Creations Drafting & Design Services

A dresser has a couple of important jobs: Not only does it need to be attractive to look at—it is a focal point of the bedroom, after all—but it also has to be functional. If it’s covered in clutter or draped with clothes, it’s not fulfilling either purpose.

Nancy Haworth, an expert organizer and owner of On Task Organizing, suggests you start by taking everything off of the top of your dresser. Return only the items that really need to be there: essentials like a jewelry box and perfume bottle, and one or two decorative items. Consider using a tray to corral smaller items—this works to both keep your items together and limit the number of items you can set out to what fits on the tray.

Got 30 minutes?

If you have a half-hour to organize, there are a few more bedroom projects you can try—starting with your dresser drawers.

Photo by California Closets

Before you get too excited, know that a half-hour is probably not enough time to clean out all of your dresser drawers. Haworth says it’s more likely to take closer to 30 minutes per drawer.

One drawer at a time, pull everything out and discard anything that no longer fits or that you no longer wear. Next, neatly refold everything you intend to keep and put it away, with the items you use most in the most accessible spots. That will keep you from undoing all your hard work when you’re digging through the drawers next time.

Next, hit the books. If you like to read in bed, there’s a good chance you have stacks of books all over your floor space. Now you may consider books as decor, but that’s not the same thing as leaving books on and under every available surface.

Haworth advises you to take 30 minutes and gather all of the books in the room, then put them away on a bookshelf, or, if necessary, bring in a new bookshelf that can house them—anything to reduce the piles in the bedroom. Or spread them on the bed and keep your favorite titles and donate the rest.

Photo by Norton Ellis Architects

Next, organize your purse collection.

“Take 30 minutes to empty all of your purses from your drawers or closet, and then sort, declutter, and organize what remains,” advises Haworth.

This is another job whose time frame will depend on how much you’ve accumulated.

“It could take up to two hours if purses are full and you need to look through all of the contents,” she says.

Photo by Tim Wood Limited

Got an hour?

There’s a lot you can do with a whole hour—like organize your jewelry collection. How long has it been since you’ve pared it down? Chances are good it’s been a while, and probably it needs it.

“Detangle, declutter, sort, and organize your jewelry collection,” says Haworth.

If your jewelry box is overflowing and you can’t bear to part with any of it, consider investing in a larger storage solution, like a vertical jewelry box that doubles as a standing mirror (yup, it’s time to hit up the Container Store for some storage containers).

Photo by J Korsbon Designs

Or, if you’re a shoe hound, go through your shoe collection in the closet and get rid of as many pairs as you can. If necessary, try them on to help you remember which ones pinch your toes and which ones look much better in the box than on your feet. Your reward? More closet space!

Photo by Acastrian Bespoke Fitted Furniture

Got two hours?

If you somehow find two full hours with nothing to do (lucky you!), it’s time to tidy up and organize your closet.

You may think your closet doesn’t really count as clutter, since you can close the door and forget all about the clothes in there, but that’s simply not true. If your closet is so stuffed that you can’t put anything away (or even find an empty hanger), you’re more likely to hide things under the bed or set them where they don’t belong. Getting a clothes closet organized is a key factor in keeping the rest of your bedroom (and home) free of clutter.

If you have a standard-size bedroom closet, Haworth says, it’ll take you about two hours to get it under control. Go through each item of clothing (maybe arrange the pieces on the bed), pulling out anything that you no longer wear for the donation pile. Consider removing anything that’s not in season and storing it elsewhere, in the basement or a garage, for example, until it’s time to pull it out again.

Photo by Schroeder Design/Build

You can also organize your bedroom nightstand.

“I personally think the nightstand is the single most important piece of furniture in a bedroom,” says certified professional organizer Lauren Williams, owner of Casual Uncluttering, in Woodinville, WA. The reason: It’s storage for items you need immediately to start the day (eyeglasses, a lamp, cellphone, alarm clock, or perhaps some crucial medications), items for ending the day (water, book, maybe other meds), and other personal items (tissues and cough drops).

“A good two-hour project makes your bedroom nightstand more functional,” Williams says. “You need to remove everything from on, in, and under the bedside table, making the usual decisions about what to keep and not keep. This time, however, you will also need to more carefully decide if the ‘keeps’ stay on, in, or under the nightstand—or go somewhere else. Next, consider where things go very carefully—generic personal items like tissues may not need to be as close to hand as your eyeglasses, for example.”

Photo by Notis Design