What’s on my bedside table/nightstand?
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Why have a bedside table?
Guest room bedside table - our old bedside tables that proved too small for all my stuff. (EXIF data - iPhone image)
I often wonder when Kory and I travel to different places and the room has no bedside table - why is that? Where are you supposed to put those little things that you put on the bedside table? Are you not supposed to put things there? Is there a reason it’s missing? So many questions and so few answers.
I have always had a bedside table for as long as I can remember - even when I shared a room with my sister we had one table between our beds that we shared with two drawers - the top one was hers because she was the oldest. It has been a lifelong habit of mine.
It got me to thinking about the things that I put on my bedside table, why they are there and should they be?
What gets a place of honour on my bedside table?
Night table with all my essentials. (EXIF data - iPhone image)
I’m an unapologetic morning person - my day usually starts at 5 am if not earlier and despite the fact that I have an alarm clock/radio on my bedside table (item number 1) - I rarely use it for the alarm. I naturally wake up early - or Roxy makes sure that I wake up early, but early rising is part of my morning routine - so why do I have that clock radio taking up valuable real estate space? Good question for me to ponder.
One of the first things that I do in the morning is write in my Gratitude Journal (item 2) - I have a small 3”x5” lined book (right now it is periwinkle - I love that colour) with a pen and I take about 5 - 10 minutes in the morning to think about what I am grateful for, set intentions for what would make the day great and then I write out an affirmation that I’ve been working on. Lately my affirmations have been about me taking time for myself and self compassion. This habit really gets my day started in the right way.
I also have a U-May eye mask (item 3) which I use either first thing in the morning or before I go to sleep (sometimes both when it’s been a tiring day for my eyes) - it is a cooling and heating mask that my eye doctor recommended to help address my dry eyes. It works really well and has helped me to maintain good eye health and sustained tears on my eyes for the last 5 or so years - I’m a firm believer in it.
It should also be no surprise that there are usually multiple books (3 - 4 at least) (item 3) on my bedside table - for those pre-sleep reads that lull me into a lovely restful space.
There’s also my reading glasses which I rarely use and a reading light (which I need because I don’t use my reading glasses) plus a journal and sometimes a glass or mug (items 5 - 7). It can get very cluttered on that bedside space - here it is relatively tidy.
Electronic devices.
Cluttered electronic charging cable drawer. (EXIF data - iPhone image)
You may have noticed that I didn’t mention any electronic devices - such as my phone or iPad. I made a conscious decision to remove them from near my bed about a year ago when I found that I was having difficulty sleeping. I would spend time before bedtime scrolling or doing some other non important thing and then I would lay there - wide awake and unable to shut my brain off.
Since removing these devices there have been no negative side effects except that I’m finding it easier to sleep.
Come to think of it - I should probably remove that clock radio because I have my watch if I need to set an alarm and it’s much less disruptive than the blue LED lights of the clock radio. (down to 6 items now)
What does it say about me?
I often wonder what the assortment of things on our bedside tables say about us - in terms of what is important or what we need close by as we sleep. I know that the items on my table are part of my pre-sleep or pre-getting up routines, however I think they go beyond that.
Layers of greens reflecting the layers of self care that goes into my peaceful and healthy nighttime routine. (EXIF data f9, 1/500s, 96mm, ISO1250).
I think that they reflect what is important to me such as my thoughts and the things that I tell myself or let The Judge weigh in on. The journals are there to remind me where I’m headed and where I’ve been which feels grounding and may be part of helping me to drift off to sleep so well.
I’ve also clearly prioritized my health and wellbeing with the choices of things on my bedside table and that is a good thing to signal my brain what is important.
What’s on your bedside table?
Kory has a much less cluttered bedside table - there’s no clock and never has been (he either uses his phone or gets me to set an alarm - hmmmm) and he doesn’t tend to read in bed as it makes him fall asleep. For the longest time he used a quilted mat on his bedside table that I made for him when we were first dating - it was of a cup of steaming coffee and he liked to set his first morning cup of coffee on it. I guess that helps me to know what is important to him and that makes me feel very good inside.
So - what’s on your bedside table (if you have one)? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below or send me a message directly by clicking on the Connect With Me button.
Greeting the morning with a lovely sunrise at Writing on Stone Provincial Park. (EXIF data f22, 1/100s, 70mm, ISO320)
I hope you’ll come back soon, share a cuppa, relax and enjoy more of my musings.
