Solid Wood Night Time Organizer

I will be teaching you how to make a Nighttime Organizer using simple materials at home. This wooden box will allow you to put away the things that you use daily and then grab them easily in the morning! Without the need of searching for 10 minutes just to find your keys. It has a built-in wireless charger and a drawer for anything you want. It will keep your nightstand organized and has a clean look. I will be using power tools in these projects, but they can easily be exchanged for hand tools. This is my first time doing a project out of wood, but it was fairly simple. It is great for organizing my things, and I hope that it will help you too! Anyways, here's my Instructable on how to make your very own Nighttime Organizer. Enjoy!

Supplies

You will need:

Tools:

-staple gun and staples

-Hand saw

-Jigsaw

-Drill and Drill Bits

-Circular Saw

- Electric Sander/ Sand Paper

- Knife/Scissors

-Hammer

-Ruler/Measuring Tape

Materials

- Plywood/ Any sturdy wood (Make sure it isn't brittle)

-Linseed Oil (not necessary, for appearance)

-Cloth/Fabric (I used Gold fabric for interior)

-Wood glue

-Nails

-Sharpie/Marker/ Pencil/ Pen

-Cardboard

-Tape

Step 1: Measuring Wood

Take your Plywood, Marker, and Ruler and measure wood pieces of these dimensions:

Keep in mind that the Wood that I'm using has a thickness of 1.5 cm. I will be using both cm and inches to avoid using messy numbers.

3 Pieces ( 13 in x 6 in)

2 Pieces (13 in x 7 in)

2 Pieces (7.5 in x 7 in)

1 Piece (2.5 in x 5.5 in)

1 Piece (1cm x 1cm x 1cm)

1 Piece (1 in x 0.5 in)

Step 2: Cutting Wood

Now that you have measured out the pieces, use the Circular Saw to cut the wood. Since it uses straight lines, it should have clean cuts. Be careful when cutting, because sometimes the wood can chip. Wear proper safety gear and be careful when using the saw.

When you are done, put the pieces in a pile and prepare for sanding.

Step 3: Sanding the Wood

Once you have cut the wood, bring out the electric sander and start to sand down the surfaces of the wooden pieces, so that they are smooth and clean. You only need to sand down one side of each piece, because the other side will be on the interior of the box and will be covered up later. Also sand down the edges of each piece, because some of these will be visible. For the smallest, cube-like piece of wood, sand it down until smooth and round. This will be the knob of your drawer later on.

Step 4: Partially Assembling the Wood

After Sanding your wood until smooth and clean, bring out your drill, nails, and hammer. You will need the two 13 in x 7 in pieces and one 13 in x 6-inch piece. You will also need the 7.5 in x 7-inch piece. This will go on the end of the box. It will be rectangular, so place down your 13 in x 6-inch piece with the smooth side facing out, and position the two 13 in x 7-inch pieces on the side of the edges of that board, so that the bigger board overlaps the edge of the smaller ones. Look in the picture if confused. Make sure that the sanded sides of the boards are facing outwards.

Now bring out your drill, with a bit the size of your nail, and drill a hole connecting the edges of the boards. Then take a nail and hammer it into the hole that you made. Make sure the hole is not too big so that the nail is tight. The hole is meant to guide the nail. Do this on each corner, See the picture for a demonstration of where to drill. Do the same for the end piece.

Here's a trick. If you don't have the right size of a drill bit, you can use a nail as the drill bit. this would ensure that it would fit properly.

Step 5: Laying the Fabric on the Interior

Bring out your staple gun and your fabric. Cut the fabric, so that it fits on the interior of the wood. Staple it down so that it stays on the sides of the interior of the box. Cut off any excess. You can use glue if the staples seem too obvious. The glue would give it a cleaner look. I suggest using multiple pieces of fabric for the interior so that it doesn't wrinkle and look compressed. You want to lay the fabric so that it is smooth.

Now that you have stapled down the fabric on the interior, take your second piece of 13 in x 6-inch wood and staple down the fabric on the surface of that piece. You only need to do one side, but if you want you can do both. This will act as a separator between the drawer and the top section.

Step 6: Tracing Out the Slots on Top

Now take your last piece of 13 in x 6-inch wood, and trace out the shapes to cut out. measure on the unsanded side, so that you won't see the markings of measurement on the outside of the box. This will go on top of the box and is where you will insert your things; wallet, watch, bracelet, wireless charger. Look at the picture for what I did. This is completely changeable to fit your needs.

From Left to Right: Wallet, Bracelet/ ring/Jewelry, Watch, Wireless Charger.

I traced out the dimensions of my wireless charger and this is where the wireless charger will sit. It will be on top.

Step 7: Cutting Out the Slots on Top

Now that you have measured the slot sizes, Drill a hole in each slot. Next, take your jigsaw, insert it in the drill hole, and start cutting out your shapes.

Step 8: Attaching Separator

The 13 in x 6-inch wood board that you put the cloth on earlier, is now going to be attached. Insert it through the top of your box. It should fit perfectly in between. Measure how deep you want your slots to go, since this will be under them, preventing things from falling in. My board was 3.5 inches deep. Make sure that the side with the cloth is facing upwards.

Now measure how deep your separator is and mark where its edges are on the outside of the box. This is where you will drill through to fasten it to that spot. Start Drilling on your mark through the outside of the board and into the edge of the separator. Now take a nail and hammer it through the hole that you just made. Do this for all four corners of the separator and now it should be fastened securely.

Step 9: Attaching Board With Slots

Now take the board with the slots that you had cut out and slide it above the separator. This should sit in between the two boards of wood. Make sure that the sanded side is facing outwards and you have the slots where you want them. Next, Drill through the sides of the box and into the edges of the board with the slots and hammer a nail through. Do this with all four corners. It should now be securely fastened.

Step 10: Attaching the End Piece

Now we will be attaching the final side of your box, located at the end. It has dimensions of 7.5 in x 7 inches. It is an exact duplicate of the board at the other end. Now place it at the end, with the sanded side facing outwards.

Now drill four holes on each corner of the end piece going through the edges of the other boards and towards the farthest end of the box. Next hammer in the nails. Now it should be secure at the end of your box.

Step 11: Cutting Out the Slot for the Drawer

Now measure the rectangular space between the separator and the bottom board. This is where your drawer is going to go. It is the space below the separator and the top board with the slots. Now drill a hole through your end piece and through that space.

Now take your jigsaw and cut out this space. Make sure it lines up with the edges of the board. Look at the pictures for reference.

Step 12: Making the Drawer

Take your cardboard and measure the length of your box. For me, it was 13 inches. Also, measure the width of the Drawer slot. Cut your cardboard according to these dimensions and add sides that are the height of the drawer slot. Then add an end to the cardboard. Grab the wooden board with dimensions of 2.5 in x 5.5-inches

Attach this to the other end of the cardboard strip. I used the staple gun to do this. Then use your wood glue to attach the 1 x 1 x 1cm sanded knob to the front of the sanded wooden end.

Take the 1 in x 0.5-inch piece and attach it to the bottom of the wooden end piece. This will help to act as a stopper for the drawer. I don't have a picture of the attachment, acting as a stopper.

Now you should be able to slide the drawer through the slot. If it is too tight of a fit, just trim the cardboard.

Step 13: Sanding Down Mistakes/ Edges

Now it's time to use your automatic sander/ sandpaper to sand down any mistakes and smooth out the box. I would suggest sanding down the edges of the slots on top. Just touch it up until you are happy with how it looks.

Step 14: Adding the Wireless Charger

Here I am using an old Nokia charger, which I traced out earlier. Make sure that there is a place for the wire to run out of. That's why I drilled a hole for the wire to go through (See Picture). I also added some wooden skewers under where the charger goes. This is so it won't fall through. You can use a thinner wooden cutout, or simply glue the charger to the slot. But now the charger should sit perfectly within the slot and allow for easy-access charging.

Step 15: Adding Shaft for Bracelet/Jewelry Holder

For the Bracelet holder to work, you will need to add a shaft in the middle. The bracelet holder must have a shaft for the bracelets to sit on. This is where I pulled out my drill and put in a drill bit that was the diameter of my shaft. I just used some skewers for the shaft, but I would suggest sanding down a wooden shaft. Next cut the cloth on the separator, where the shaft is going. Now drill a hole there, but not all the way. Make sure that your shaft fits inside tightly and add some wood glue in the hole for good measure. Let it dry and you should have a secure shaft for your bracelet/Jewelry holder.

Step 16: Oiling With Linseed Oil

Now take out your linseed oil and spread it on every inch of wood on your box. Let it dry, and do with paper underneath, so that the oil won't get everywhere. Once it dries, the linseed oil will help protect the wood and give it a rich color. you can easily swap the linseed oil with some polish or a different oil. There are many different options for coloring your wood.

Step 17: Enjoy!

Now you are done! Enjoy your new organized bedstand. No more searching for your keys or phone, it will now be organized in a neat wooden box.