I Put a Soap Dish on My Nightstand, and It’s a Cute Storage Gem

My bedroom nightstand has always been a bit chaotic. With its compact countertop, it usually ends up cluttered with charging cables, hair ties, lip balms, jewelry, and earplugs. I had nearly accepted the mess until I recently thought I had lost an expensive earring that had rolled onto the floor — that was my wake-up call. I knew I had to find a better system.

Inspired by a recent trick I saw on Apartment Therapy using a soap dish as an entryway catchall, I decided to try putting one on my nightstand to keep it organized.

I picked out a heavy ceramic soap dish from Amazon with raised ridges (aka drainage grooves) to keep daily charging cables and tiny trinkets in place, preventing them from sliding or rolling away. The weight of the soap dish acts as an anchor, turning it into an instant catchall for all my bedside essentials.

I love the soap dish’s minimal design aesthetic because it’s sleek and not too bulky, fitting seamlessly onto my small nightstand. And because the tray is open-topped, I can see all my items at a glance, making it effortless to drop them in or pick them up at the end of the night.

Using a soap dish as a nightstand organizer is a wonderfully simple storage hack. You might already have a spare one lying around your home, or you can find one at a thrift store or online for typically less than $10. While I prefer a dish with grooves to keep small pieces from rolling around, a smooth one would work well, too.

I adore this trick so much that I plan to get a second soap dish for my dresser for small cosmetics, perfumes, and hair accessories. In theory, you could use a soap dish to organize small items virtually anywhere in your home. If you’re looking for a clever, space-saving way to organize your nightstand once and for all that isn’t an eyesore, give this hack a try. Who knew a basic soap dish could be so versatile?