Trade In Your Bulky Dresser: The Gorgeous Alternative That Adds Space-Saving Storage

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A dresser is a bedroom must-have, right? After all, you need somewhere to put all the clothes that don't get hung up in a closet. But if you have a small bedroom, you probably don't want an eight-drawer monstrosity taking up your already limited space. In fact, a dresser is one of the first pieces you might want to nix to make a cramped bedroom feel more spacious. Since your clothes still need somewhere to go (that isn't on the floor), swap out that bulky dresser for a lingerie chest.

Don't get tripped up by the name — a lingerie chest isn't just for storing your underclothes. Its tall, lean design, with small, shallow drawers, is meant to protect delicate clothing and keep it from getting lost or tangled in the abyss of a normal-size dresser drawer. While you may not be able to cram several pairs of jeans or your fluffiest sweaters into the drawers, you can easily fit T-shirts, socks, leggings and tights, pajamas, and, of course, underwear inside.

As for those bulky garments that most likely won't fit in a lingerie chest? They'll be perfectly at home hanging on a five-tier organizer in your closet or stashed away in boxes on a closet shelf or under the bed.

Just like in your small bedroom, space will be at a premium in a lingerie chest. So, you'll want to make the most of dresser organizing ideas to keep the chest — and your bedroom in general — neat and tidy. First up, choose what you put in the lingerie chest carefully.

Depending on the number of drawers and what you own, you may want to dedicate one drawer to each clothing category, such as underwear bottoms in one drawer, bras or undershirts in another, socks in a third, and T-shirts in a fourth. In some chests, the drawers get slightly deeper towards the bottom of the chest, so plan your arrangement accordingly, and place smaller items in the top drawers.

Once you've decided what goes into each drawer, focus on how to fit as much as possible inside, without overfilling. Don't be shy about using organizing tools and hacks to maximize drawer space — empty toilet paper roll tubes can enjoy a second life as a drawer organizer, for instance. Folding larger items, like T-shirts, into compact rectangles will also save space and keep your shirts from ending up in a mess inside the lingerie chest.