Clever Ways to Organize a Room Without a Dresser

Organize Your Closet

• Utilize your closet’s floor space to store any items you’d regularly keep in a dresser – including lingerie, socks, T-shirts and pajamas. Install shelving systems, which are available at home improvement and hardware stores, into the existing closet. Instead of simply storing the items on the shelving, which can lead to a disorganized mess, place them into wooden or fabric cubes instead. Label the cubes or decoupage images from magazines with the items housed inside to cut down on confusion. The cubes also allow you to safely utilize the closet’s vertical space by installing shelving all the way to the ceiling.

Under the Bed

• Utilize the space under the bed to store items as well. Purchase pre-constructed under-the-bed storage units from a home improvement or furniture store, or create your own. Locate the drawers for a beat-up, unwanted night stand, dresser or cabinets in your own home or local thrift store. Install casters on the bottom of the drawers before filling them with items. The rolling drawers are then pushed under the bed for quick access.

Trunks and Suitcases

• Store seasonal items, blankets and anything else you’d otherwise keep in a dresser in unused suitcases or trunks. Place silica gel packs and moth balls into the trunks and suitcases before storing the clean clothing and blankets. The silica gel packs prevent moisture damage while the moth balls protect the items against insect damage. Use sachets filled with lavender, mint or cedar chips if you want to avoid the smell associated with moth balls. The trunks and suitcases are then stored inside an extraneous closet or painted and decoratively arranged inside the bedroom.

Before Organizing

• Reduce the clutter in your bedroom before attempting to organize. As a rule, donate any clothing that no longer fits, is out-of-style or you haven’t worn in a year. Toss out any damaged, dirty or dingy items. Wash all of your clothing before long-term storage as well. This ensures that your lingering body odor doesn’t attract any insects. Only keep the necessities in your bedroom and banish any other items, including your exercise bike, an extraneous shelving unit or your child’s ride-on pony, into another room.