What We Keep On Our Nightstands

photo of a nightstand with Stellar glass dildo

We would argue the most intimate thing that happens in your bedroom (after sex, of course) is how you organize your nightstand. Are we not the truest, least performative versions of ourselves right before we go to sleep? What we keep at our bedside says more about us than we realize, and the Unbound Team is ready to let our nightstands speak for themselves.

Polly, CEO (she/her)

My nightstand is organized like a mullet: business upfront, party in the back. I keep it separated with my books, comics and journal up top and then into two drawers. Drawer #1 contains life essentials and drawer #2 also contains life essentials, just a different kind.

On top of my nightstand: I try to keep 1 book, 1 comic, and 1 journal at all times. I'm currently reading Sapiens which is incredibly interesting but dry enough that it puts me to sleep. I also try to journal every night and keeping it by my bed serves as a helpful reminder to, "WRITE THOSE FEELINGS DOWN, WOMAN." I'm also a comic book nerd so sometimes I'll get a little high and indulge in my picture books. My current choice is Station 11 (yes, from the TV show / book and yes, I made it myself)
Drawer #1: the business casual drawer. The things I need to survive. Earplugs because my bedroom is right on the street, 2 inhalers because 1 is never enough, and a lint roller because it's never until I'm looking into the full length mirror by my bed that I realize my entire body is covered in dog hair
Drawer #2:
- Ollie is probably my favorite vibe that we make so when we decided to make it glow-in-the-dark it was game over for me. An absolute essential
- Puff comes in at runner up for favorite vibes so it also receives a coveted spot
- Jelly because it's my all time favorite lubricant and as you can see I am almost out and need to order more
- Sleep mask for when my mind can't shut off and I need extra darkness to relax

SarahJayne, CCO (she/her)

My nightstand is more or less just a glorified phone stand but it isn't pictured there because I had to take the pics with it. That said, the things in and on my nightstand are mostly there bc I hate getting out of bed once I am in. Water, some reads, & the just out-of-frame jumbo size bottle of Ibuprofen & Excedrin Migraine- all there *just in case* I am cozy.

Here are the goods:

Jelly: bc I believe it's a nightstand essential for any sexually active person.

Pep: A really perfect vibe for home & travel. The box now houses edibles so the actual vibe has been relegated to the drawer.

Cerave Healing Ointment: no explanation is needed. Jelly, water & Cerave- the holy trinity of liquids here.

Remote holder + glasses: I wish I was the kind of person who did not have a million electronics in their bedroom but at least they look nice together. This is from 7thhouseceramics on Etsy. These are my "at home" glasses because I look like the warden from Shawshank Redemption in them.

Reads:

"She Memes Well" by Quinta Brunson: Abbott Elementary is a delight and I aspire to have a millionth of Quinta's creative vision.
Town & Country Mag: I started my career in magazines and I still love them. T&C is always such a fun read.

GoVino plastic wine glass that contains day-old water: Bc I have a fear that I'll knock an actual glass over, I bought these plastic cups for bed and I really like them.

Aaaaaand finally, peeking out there in the drawer is our next product (!!!!!!!) that will launch this Spring. No spoilers but I think people are really going to love it.

Sam, Wholesale Manager (they/them)

My nightstand is very functional-- the top level contains all the items I need for sleep, and organizes them to prevent them falling over or spilling.

The second level contains a catchall in case I have anything with me when I come to bed that I need to store.

The bottom level holds books that I've been reading, unless I've left them somewhere else in the apartment, and also sometimes contains unopened letters (because where else would I put them??)

From top to bottom:

A glass of water (full)
Honeywell Laser Lite Earplugs
Silk sleep mask (normally I actually have this in its case and I slot the case in on the second row when I'm not using it, but I thought this made a better photograph)
Phone charger
Catchall dish with sunflowers in a cloth basket
The Truth by Terry Pratchett, unfortunately without the cover (I'm sorry to the publishing industry... a family member gave me dozens of coverless Terry Pratchett and Agatha Christie books as a tween and I've been obsessed ever since)
A Game of Thrones

Not pictured:

My array of Unbound products, which live elsewhere in the bedroom

Maddy, Content Manager (she/her)

There are two things you must know about me: I am a pragmatist, and I hate getting out of bed. My nightstand has all the things I would ever need come bedtime, so leaving the Cozy Zone™ is a rarity.

Top:

CeraVe Healing Ointment: I have been slathering my face in this for YEARS — also called slugging by trendier folks — but I just call it greasin' up.
Puff in Mint: Do I need to say more?
Glasses: I have terrible vision, and in the rare case I do leave my bed in the middle of the night, I like to see.
Bunny hair clip: My hair stays pulled back all day until my head hits the pillow. There are usually at least 3-5 hair clips on my nightstand at any given time.
AC Remote: I have a theory that I am part lizard because I canNOT regulate my own body heat. I am constantly turning my AC on and off in the middle of the night (which is, yes, intentionally set at 69 degrees).
"Bright Dead Things" by Ada Limón: I have an awful attention span, and I am awfully sentimental, so I read poetry books. Ada Limón is one of my favorite poets.
A glass of water: I keep a full glass of water next to my bed because I always wake up parched. Probably because I blast my AC all night long 😬
My dusty crusty night guard case: I grind my teeth prettttty intensely at night. Not pictured: my dingy night guard, which I have chewed cracks into

Bottom basket:

Humidifier: My dry skin needs a constant cool mist raining down on it in during the night, otherwise I will wake up cracked as ever.
Boric acid suppositories: I tend to get BV (bacterial vaginosis) around my period. I usually ride it out, but if it get to be too much I use one of these bad boys to wipe it out before bed.
Massager: I once had a massage therapist tell me I hold a lot of tension in my glutes, which I took to mean I have a clinically tight ass. But yeah I do have a lot of knots.
Heat pad: I have a monster of a period, and for at least one week out of the month I have to lay on this belly-down because it's the closest thing to setting my uterus on fire.

Kate, Director of Design (she/her)

My nightstand is an Ikea relic from my partner and I's first apartment almost ten years ago 🥴. The old girl has served us well. Every couple of months I'll scour Etsy or Ebay for some more fabulous vintage replacement, but I have the attention span of a goldfish so that hasn't happened yet.

Top of nightstand:

A lamp that honestly probably predates the nightstand. I'm pretty sure I got this in a moment of desperation at a hardware store when I was living in Somerville, MA. She is nothing fancy.
Hand lotion and chapstick. I don't know if this is some sort pavlovian response to being in bed, but I always immediately feel SO DRY and need to slather myself in moisturizers/ointments/etc as soon as I hit the sheets.
A candle from one of my favorite companies Fishchersund. They're based in Iceland and their scents are so weird and wonderful and make me feel like I'm in some kind of Lord of the Rings universe.
Jewelry, I always forget to take it off before bed.
Books. I have insomnia, pretty bad sometimes. I try to read before bed to help slow my brain down. I like sci-fi or something equally immersive.

Nightstand Drawer:

Eye mask which I almost never use unless I'm traveling on a plane or staying in a hotel. My bedroom faces an alley and stays REALLY dark at night and well into the morning.
A rose quartz crystal for literally no good reason.
Lighter & rolling papers for....you know.
Unbound Puff and Pep! I need to know my VIPs are tucked away next to me when I go off to sleep.
Melatonin, this also does nothing for me. It probably expired awhile ago TBH.

Shazi, Director of Supply Chain (she/her)

I love it, but my nightstand is nothing special, and is mostly used for storage! I have a bookcase bed frame, so most of the quick grab items are kept in those lil' cubbyholes, but there's a lot of miscellany going on over here too.

List of items:

Jewelry stand with only like a quarter of the jewelry I own hanging (can you spot both the old and new Unbound Bangle Cuffs?)
A Ziploc full of those glow-in-the-dark stars that I've neglected to hang up yet
A fluffy towel for when things get dirty
A makeup box full of my old cream lipsticks and drugstore makeup
Puff!
Tsk!
Vaporub on deck, it is a constant through all seasons
Assorted Bath & Body Works Wallflower refills
MOTH BALLS
Enough office supplies to open a Staples supercenter