Bedroom Organization Tricks

If your bedroom is small or large, these organizing ideas will help you keep everything in its place, leaving you a calm and tranquil space to relax in.

The space under your bed can be put to sensible use with these bins, made by attaching casters to a wooden box, a drawer from a chest, or a wine crate.

Orphaned teacups and saucers are perfect vessels for sorting jewelry, and, when arranged in a velvet-lined drawer, they give you an easy-to-scan bird's-eye view of your bijoux. To set it up, measure the height of the drawer's side (not the front), then gather dishware that's slightly shorter. Line the drawer with velvet or felt to prevent rattling and sliding, then position the porcelain. Hook drop earrings on rims of cups, nestle necklaces within them, and stash chunkier beads and bangles on individual saucers.

Take advantage of every bit of bedroom space by stacking your nighttime necessities instead of crowding them on top of a tiny stand. The four wide rungs of an extra stepladder provide a steady spot for a row of books as well as the necessary alarm clock and reading lamp.

Keep your most delicate dresses from falling to the floor with felt-topped wooden hangers.

A hanging laundry bag saves floor space, but you have to wrestle with the drawstring to deposit dirty clothes. Have it both ways when you prop open the suspended bag with a large embroidery hoop at least 14 inches in diameter.

To create a belt rack that matches your other hangers (and doesn't require making holes in the wall), try this: Predrill a row of holes in alternating spots on both sides of a wooden clamp hanger, and screw in cup hooks. Make as many of these hangers as you need to accommodate your belts.

Keeping electronic devices charged is easier if you make it an evening ritual. Create a charging station in your nightstand. Make sure that there is a drawer (to keep the electronics hidden) and an outlet close by.

It's difficult to build a train track when you can find only four rails. A compartmentalized toy chest can help. Stencils on the front of each drawer help kids find toys quickly.

Square acrylic organizers give ties and belts their own homes. Underneath, blue acid-free mat board lines the drawer for extra color. Additional trays are cushioned with coordinating felt to protect the jewelry inside.

For even wear and a longer life, a mattress should be flipped four times a year (alternating between end-over-end and side-over-side rotation). Hotels keep track by marking each end of a mattress: one says "January" (right side up) and "April" (upside down), the other "October" (right side up) and "July" (upside down). Whenever one of those months rolls around, adjust the mattress so that the appropriate month's name is right side up at the foot of the bed.

Homemade hangers preserve the shape of tall boots and maximize space. They're created by replacing the knobs on cedar boot trees with large cup hooks, which are screwed into the tops. The trees and boots then hang from a cafe-curtain rod.

Like anything else, belts should be stored in such a way that they are neat and accessible.

Don't have the space that a walk-in closet demands? Try building a walk-by.

Open, pull-out shelves provide an orderly home for men's or other flat footwear. Each shelf is deep enough to accommodate two rows of shoes, so no stand-alone racks are needed.

Vanities are good for more than just, well, vanity. They store toiletries and keep jewelry organized (and having one means never fishing your mascara out of the sink).

If surface area in your bedroom is scarce, try a wall-mounted solution on for size. This jazzed-up shadow box, retrofitted with a variety of hooks and knobs, shelters delicate earrings and chains from possible entanglements while turning them into objets d'art. Small decorative bowls perched on the box's lower ledge corral rings, pins, and brooches and complete the charming trinket tableau.

The same felt glides that keep scratches off wood floors keep pants on wood hangers.

Slip your shoes into something comfortable while protecting them from scuffs: Store them in homemade velvet shoe bags.