Bedside Organiser
02/07/2026
I was tired of seeing the contents of my pockets strewn across my bedside drawers at the end of each day. I had seen bedside organisers with shelves, hooks and drawers. However, the best ones had laser-etched logos emblazoned on the side. I contacted the manufacturer but they confirmed the logos were not negotiable.
So I figured: why not try it myself?
I ventured to B&Q and bought a sheet of plywood, with which I stubbornly perserved for too long. Construction plywood was hard and ill-suited to the small joinery I was aiming for.
My initial cuts were straight but not square. I quickly learned that I needed a source of truth. My saw line had to be relative to a straight edge with, preferably, a 90 degree angle. I invested in a combination square and a better saw.
I eventually cut my losses, bought some basswood from HobbyCraft and treated myself to a handheld wood plane. Both purchases made the activity far more enjoyable.
Applying varnish made the wood look beautiful, though certainly patchy. I learned the importance of applying an even layer that moves with the grain. There was really no going backwards: tidying up one patch made it darker, which meant darkening the rest of the wood to catch up. It led to me chasing my tail and resulted in a far deeper finish than I wanted.
My general rule is that a DIY project doesn't have to be perfect, it only has to be an improvement - and an improvement over "nothing" is quite a feasible goal. The final result is acceptable and I still use it daily. However, there are various things I would change.
In my haste to see the results of this experiment, I broke many of my own rules. I didn't plan, I didn't slow down and I didn't think. While the miniature phone shelf seems like an obvious addition, it really demonstrates a ignorance toward usability. Nobody uses their phone like that: upright and plugged in. An incorporated charging cable was a good idea but people prefer to quickly check the time or recent notifications while the device is palmheld.