Having a small bedroom can make you feel cramped, restricted, and unorganized. When we lack space to put our stuff or even freely move about, things can get frustrating pretty quickly.
For many, however, small bedrooms are cozy, easy to clean, and more affordable rent-wise. What’s more, a small bedroom can make you feel warm, snug, and totally safe!
You might like having a small bedroom and are looking for some tips to organize your things. On the other hand, you might be considering downsizing your room or moving to a small studio apartment to save money.
Whichever it is, it does not have to mean making sacrifices or spending more!
Below, we have rounded up 20 great ways to organize a small bedroom.
Check them out as these guarantee to help you declutter, simplify how you live, and maximize your living space!
1) Murphy Bed
It goes without saying that beds take up the most space in any bedroom – big or small. And if you are not willing to downsize to a single bed (we know – neither would we), it is a good opportunity to start thinking of ways we can maximize space and storage from our double bed.
Murphy beds fold up against the wall, leaving all that space it was taking up beforehand totally free. Yep, this genius invention is easily one of the best ways to make space in your bedroom, with different designs to blend in with your decor when folded up.
Murphy beds work with most standard mattress sizes, with a rugged spring mechanism that makes it easy to fold the bed up safely. If you need that extra space that your double bed is occupying, a murphy bed might be your next favorite purchase!
2) Storage Bed
If you are not sold on the idea of a murphy bed, a storage bed is your next best bet. Again, beds always take up the most space, so you need to make sure that space isn’t being wasted!
Storage beds either lift up, with storage available under the mattress, or have drawers built into the bottom of the bed frame. Either way, both designs offer a simple, organized way to store things that is more optimal (and less dusty) than just sliding stuff under the bed.
Honestly, we love storage beds. They are a fantastic way to store clothes, shoes, books – whatever you want.
3) Storage Furniture
Similar to storage beds, storage furniture is another great method for decluttering and maximizing space. Don’t just stop at getting a storage bed, get more space with storage furniture!
We are not, however, talking about regular bedside tables or drawers here. Try to think outside of the box, such as sofas, benches, coffee tables with unique underside drawers for storing stuff away and out of sight.
Of course, whatever you can put away means more space to make use of around your room.
4) Loft Bed
Is your bed taking up too much space? Elevate it – just like in a loft apartment!
Loft beds are in style right now and one of the best ways to organize a small bedroom. By simply elevating the bed off the floor, you can use that extra space underneath as if the bed wasn’t there at all.
With a loft bed, the free space underneath can be utilized to set up a desk area, a cozy living space with a TV, or simply an open area to relax or do yoga. As long as you don’t mind climbing up a ladder to go to sleep, loft beds are well worth considering.
5) Revolving Storage
Do you wish you had more shelf space? Revolving storage is becoming more and more popular for the simple reason that it provides four or five times the amount of storage as a single-sided shelf rack or set of drawers.
Revolving storage racks come in different designs (and heights), depending on what you want to store in them. You can get revolving shoe racks, revolving storage trays, and lots more, which all offer a modern, stylish way for storing more stuff in one place.
Did we mention revolving storage racks are also easily affordable? That means more storage space for less of the cost.
6) Door Storage Rack
Door storage racks are another way to organize your room and maximize the space you have to work with. These simple racks hang over the door (no installation required), offering a whole new way to store and organize your things.
Door storage racks are cheap to purchase and come in a range of unique designs. These can be shoe racks, metal baskets, or rows of pockets for easy storing of accessories, cables, and other loose items.
Simply put: a must-have door accessory for organizing and decluttering your room!
7) Under the Bed Baskets/Trays
If you have a regular bed frame and are not looking to spend money on a murphy bed or loft bed just yet, save your cash and get some baskets or trays instead.
We all know how messy and chaotic it can quickly get underneath the bed. We tend to slide stuff under there without too much thought, and before we know it there are old boxes, forgotten shoes, and random objects cluttering the space underneath the bed.
Of course, this is not ideal if you want to create more space in your room. And you can organize this stuff by using baskets or trays that can slide under the bed. It’s cheap and effective – in other words, a win-win!
8) Floating Shelves
With any small bedroom or room, you can create more space by simply getting stuff off the floor. Shelves are perfect for this, and can even make your bedroom look more attractive as a means to decorate the walls with ornaments and the things you like.
If you have anything hung up on the walls of your bedroom, it’s time to pull them down in exchange for some floating shelves. Shelves come in all different designs and can be easily installed around each wall, offering infinite ways to store things and decorate your room!
Whether you are a bookworm, plant lover, or collectibles enthusiast, shelves are a genius way to organize – and decorate – any small bedroom.
9) Wall Wardrobe
Wardrobes do not have to be standalone pieces of furniture that jut out from the wall, occupying space and appearing bulky.
In fact, it is possible to install your own custom wall wardrobe that goes across one wall, or around several walls, of your bedroom, offering more clothes storage and an attractive, tidier appearance at the same time.
You can further maximize your storage options with a wall-to-ceiling wall wardrobe or wall closet. While this might need to be custom-built, it is a great way to organize your clothes and make full use of your bedroom walls, leaving no space unaccounted for!
10) Vertical Shoe Shelves
This might be obvious, but a row of shoes spread across the floor – even lined up on one side of the room – can take up valuable space that should be utilized for other, more efficient purposes.
A set of vertical-rising shelves is perfect for storing and organizing your shoes. This is even better if you are a shoe collector, as shoe shelves are a great way to display your favorite shoes in a way that looks neat and stylish.
What’s more, shoe selves can be installed in the corner of your bedroom to provide more space in general and be out of sight (if that is what you prefer). For displaying your shoes, however, vertical shoe shelves are definitely the better option to a shoe rack or horizontal shelf.
11) Closet Drawers
Standalone closet drawers can be put inside your wardrobe as a smart way to further organize your wardrobe contents, including socks, t-shirts, and so on.
As mentioned earlier, if you can free up floor space or store things away in places that usually wouldn’t be viewed as storage, it’s easy to make a small bedroom more efficient, while feeling larger!
If, for example, you have a wardrobe that does not have shelves or drawers at the bottom, purchasing a pair of small closet drawers to insert in the free space can really help to organize your clothes and accessories. This is also essential if you do not own any bedside drawers!
12) Wall Hooks
Just like floating shelves, you can install wall hooks, brackets, or hangers that are perfect for organizing items and freeing up floor space.
The key here is to get creative. There are a host of things that can be hung from wall hooks, from coats, jackets, accessories, jewelry, cables, storage hampers, storage baskets, plant trays, and lots, lots more.
In addition, wall hooks or hangers are ideal if you want to mix up the appearance of your room – as opposed to having only shelves around the walls. They are also cheap to purchase and relatively easy to install.
13) Bedroom Pegboard
Have you ever seen a pegboard in a bedroom? Pegboards come in all shapes and sizes nowadays, and offer a great way to organize items on shelves, or by simply “pegging” them up on the wall and out of the way.
What’s more, pegboards are totally customizable. You can move shelves and pegs around, allowing you to fully organize your things and design the appearance of your pegboard from scratch.
Pegboards can be freestanding or installed on the wall. They look great when positioned above headboards, desks, or simply across one wall, and are perfect if you are someone who likes to organize your things in an aesthetic, easy-to-see way.
14) Rolling Storage
We mentioned revolving storage earlier, but what about rolling storage? There is nothing wrong with putting your stuff on wheels!
Rolling storage carts are not as unattractive as they sound, and are actually available in a wide range of stylish designs and materials to match your bedroom decor. Rolling storage carts are also versatile, allowing you to move or position them around your room as desired.
Essentially, rolling storage carts can be used to replace bedside drawers, or even regular cabinets or bookcases. If you are someone who tends to move and rearrange your room a lot, then rolling storage carts might be ideal for you!
15) Hanging Laundry Bag
Laundry baskets can take up more room than desired, often standing out in the room – small bedrooms, especially – like a sore thumb.
The solution? If you absolutely must have a laundry basket in your bedroom or studio apartment, then consider using a hanging laundry bag, or hanging laundry hamper, instead.
Again, this allows you to free up floor space to make your small bedroom appear larger and more organized. There is nothing wrong with hanging a laundry bag on your bedroom wall and, honestly, they look better than they sound!
16) Ottoman Shoe Storage
Ottoman storage benches look great positioned at the end of a bed. It is a classic look when it comes to bedroom design, and one that can make any bedroom appear more refined and elegant.
But what do you do if you have a small bedroom? Can you still have an ottoman in a small bedroom?
Nothing should stop you from having an ottoman bench at the end of your bed. However, if you have a small bedroom, consider optimizing the space by getting an ottoman bench that doubles as a place to store things.
Ottomans are particularly useful for sitting down comfortably and putting your shoes on, so why not get an ottoman shoe storage? Just like a shoe rack, shoes can be slotted inside the bottom half of the ottoman for a great way to both store, and display, your shoes.
17) Cable Organizer
Let’s face it: cables always get in the way. They either occupy space on our desks, hang untidily out of plug sockets, or get left on the floor. Cables unravel and make themselves larger than they have to be, and get tangled up for no apparent reason.
This can be even more of a problem in a small bedroom!
Cable organizers are getting more popular and for good reason. Most of us own more than one electronic device – laptops, phones, tablets, handheld consoles, etc. – and managing all the different cables can be a nightmare.
Just like a pegboard or coat rack, cable organizers offer the best way to hang and organize your cables, making sure that they are easy to see and just as easy to retrieve and use.
The best thing is that cable organizers are cheap, easy to install, and do not take up much space, but make a world of difference – especially in small bedrooms that can easily look messy.
18) Hanging Jewelry Organizer
Do you own a lot of jewelry? It might be a good idea to get a jewelry organizer – one that you can hang up on the wall so that it does not need to sit on your desk, drawers, or bedside table.
Hanging jewelry organizers are perfect for separating necklaces, bracelets, and even rings. Just like cables, these can easily get tangled up, or worse: lost!
Find a free space on your wall to hang up a jewelry organizer or jewelry board. This can be near your desk, beside your mirror, or on the wall by your makeup dressing table.
What’s great about hanging jewelry organizers is that they are cheap and easy to put up on the wall. Similar to pegboards, some hanging jewelry boards can also be customized in different ways to separate, organize, and display your jewelry.
19) Above Door Shelf
Who said that shelves can’t be installed above doors?
If you have a small bedroom, you have to make use of all the space that is available to you. And that includes the space above your door!
Chances are you do not have anything above your door. If so, why not put up a shelf that sits perfectly on top of the door frame?
This might prove to be a hard place to reach, but it is a great place to store and display ornaments, picture frames, or old books that you have already read. If you are worried about this space collecting dust, you can place boxes or storage containers there as an alternative.
In fact, having nothing above doors looks boring, which gives you all the more reason to decorate that space!
20) Fold Down Desk
Fold down desks are a real thing, and the perfect way to organize and maximize the space of your bedroom!
If you have no other area to work – whether that is for typing on a laptop, drawing, or writing – a fold down desk is an essential solution for being able to work while not having to sacrifice the space of your room.
We know: desks, especially ample sized desks for basic work tasks, can take up a lot of room – room that simply isn’t available in small bedrooms. But fold down desks offer a simple alternative that is also cool-looking and super efficient.
Just like a murphy bed (listed above), fold down desks can be lifted and lowered when needed. When they are folded up, it’s like they aren’t there at all, with designs available to match the color and decor of your room!
You can take this idea further by having a folding chair as your desk chair, or more simply a stool that you can place to one side when you are not sitting at your desk. All in all, a fold down desk is worth considering for your small bedroom if you need a place to work.
Conclusion
Small bedroom? No problem! Small bedrooms and small studio apartments are cozy, easy to maintain, and more affordable. There are plenty of great ways to organize and arrange a small living space, and these do not necessarily have to be expensive.
If you want affordable storage solutions, or are thinking about downsizing your living space, make sure to use some of the organizational tips we have listed above so that you can declutter, live more efficiently, and maximize the space of your room!
Hi, my name is Deborah White, and I love to save money where possible. I will be the first person to admit that I am frugal, but when you have three children and two low income salaries, saving money makes all the difference. This is why I decided to set up this site, to help others save money too.
