* This is a collaborative post

I’ve realised lately that bedside tables are a very personal item, and more so than you’d think a piece of furniture could be. I mean it sits there alongside your bed, hopefully looking pretty but more importantly providing functionality whether that’s for a glass of water, your book, your jewellery, your teeth (no I’m not quite there yet!) or whatever.

But it seems there’s more to it than that. What we have on our bedside tables could affect how well we sleep. Looking at mine, I think I’m doomed…

When Furniture Village got in touch about this post my first thoughts were that it was just as well they hadn’t seen my bedside table, and then that it would be good to put my money where my mouth was, and actually do some decluttering.

I’m sure you can see from the photo above, that I like to have ‘stuff’ around me. And equally you can see from the photo below that MOH doesn’t so much. I think my bedside table drives him a little bit bonkers though…

So what did I discover?

If you read my post on Monday, this is the bit that’s a little embarrassing. I’m always proud of being a good ‘packer’ which is especially useful when having a small bag and plenty of clothes for a weekend away, and give me a suitcase and I can get more in it than most people. Seriously. And it’s a good skill to have.

However, perhaps not on my bedside table. Although i couldn’t help but feel a hint of embarrassed pride at how much had accumulated with relative ease.

There was a pile of books and notebooks, most of the books I’ve still not read but still want to. There was part of a crochet project, which I’d stowed there hurriedly in a last-minute pre-Christmas tidy up. I’d hoped to finish it before Christmas but didn’t quite manage it and haven’t touched it since.

As well as the books, there was a much larger pile of magazines, and on a range of topics.

I’d even branched out and started to store shoeboxes next to my bedside table. Only two have shoes in, and one contains a handbag. The other two I was keeping in case I needed them, yeap you’ve guessed it to put more stuff in.

And there was quite a few dust bunnies. Now even for me, there was little point getting this far and failing to have a thorough clean, so it was this part that had MOH asking if I was well. How rude. But anyway with the cleaning done, it was time to reload.

Reloading my bedside table

I started off with the completely clutter free version. And while it was tidy, it wasn’t me.

It didn’t seem right to me, to not make better use of the space below the table. And so, as I still have ambition to read those books, I decided to add those back. But then the pretty box didn’t fit, so that was removed, and I realised another rethink was needed.

But there was still the magazines to do something with. On my first sort through, the pile on the right in the top row were the only ones destined for the recycling bin. Even I knew that wasn’t going to work, and so a couple of the other piles joined that. The craft magazines found themselves a new home in the bookcase, as did one of the other piles which I’m hoping to use in a craft project or two.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THESE, THERE ARE RATHER A LOT THOUGH…

Which meant that the final pile made it back onto my bedside table. And the patterned box, which I wasn’t sure quite what to do with found a new home on the top of the table. So along with notebooks, and stuff, I’ve a thing for boxes, so having a stack of them here makes me happy.

So while I might not have stayed with the completely clutter free version, I’ve found a version that works for me. It is still much clearer than before, you can see the floor and the shoeboxes have moved into the spare bedroom, ahead of a clear out of my shoe cupboard. MOH is impressed, and I think he’ll be taking a look at his own bedside table now, as he’s not used to mine putting his to shame!

What are the essentials for your bedside table? And are you a clutter free fan or a reformed hoarder?

* This post is sponsored by Furniture Village but not endorsed by them. Any opinions or views expressed are personal to the author.