Keep Bedside Essentials Organized With A Clever Dollar Tree Dish Drying Mat Hack

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From chargers to books, tissues to water bottles, your bedside may be cluttered with essentials. It can be hard to get a good night's sleep if your room is messy and untidy. If your nightstand top or drawer is starting to look like a catchall and it's hard to find specific items, you may want to look for some tricks to declutter your nightstand for better sleep. However, you may not have realized that there's a more straightforward solution. With this affordable DIY hack, you can create a clever bedside organizer for all of your essentials using just two items: a dish drying mat from Dollar Tree and a clear bag with pockets.

This hack works because the dish drying mat is soft yet structured, providing your items with a cushioned base. The clear bag also makes it easy to clean, which means you can use it for your water bottle or lotion. Plus, it provides visibility so you can see where everything is for easy access. It's also very affordable; you can easily make variations without having to spend much. For this hack, you'll need to get one of the Home Collection Dish Drying Mats from your local Dollar Tree. You'll also need a clear bag with pockets, which you'll attach to the mat using a hot glue gun. You might already have one of these bags on hand, or you can find one cheaply at a thrift store. If you need to purchase one, you can get this MAY TREE Clear Bag for under $6.00.

First, you should gather all of your bedside essentials and determine how they will fit into your clear bag's pockets. The essentials you'll want handy by the bed may determine the type of bag you purchase to attach to your dish drying mat. Next, open up and smooth out the dish drying mat, which will serve as the padded base for your bag. Cut the handles off your clear bag if it has them, and grab your hot glue gun. Glue the back of the bag to the bottom half of your dish drying mat, all around the edges. Once it dries, you can take the top half of the dish drying mat and stick it underneath your mattress, or tuck it into your bed frame so it stays in place.

Once it's set in place next to the bed, you can add in all of your bedroom essentials. If you have limited space in your bedroom, you could also DIY a simple and easy minimalist nightstand to help with more decluttering. You could even ditch the nightstand for more useful decor to go with your new caddy. Feel free to make your own variations of this hack, like adding another organizer using placemats for more storage. You may also want to find a bag with deeper pockets, like this SPORTS JOY Shoe Organizer Bag from Walmart, to cut up and attach to the mat. The deeper pockets may be more sturdy for holding heavier or bulky items, such as your tablet or water bottle.