Her bedside table

What’s on her bedside table? Kim Palmer, founder of Clementine

We’re starting a new series where we get properly nosey about women’s bedside tables. Real ones, not the glossy ones. It seemed only fair to go first.

By Kim Palmer, Founder of Clementine
3 November 2026 · 5 min read

In short

Three things never leave my bedside table: a sleep mask, wax earplugs I cut down to fit, and mouth tape for the nights I know will be hard.
My phone sleeps face down on the floor, out of sight if I wake.
At 3am I try not to reach for anything. If I need help, the Clementine sleep band is in the drawer.

Kim Palmer, founder of Clementine, smiling, with dark hair and gold earrings — Hello, that’s me.

We’re starting a new series on the journal called Her bedside table. The idea is simple: I want to see what’s really on women’s bedside tables. Not the magazine version. The real one, tonight, with the hair bobble and the half-drunk glass of water.

It seemed only fair to go first. So here’s mine. Well, here are two of mine.

What I wish it looked like, and what it looks like now

Kim’s bedside table looking tidy on shoot day: a Jilly Cooper novel with a pot of night cream on top, a dropper bottle, a phone with a session card on its back, and session cards laid out — What I wish it looked like

Kim’s real bedside table on an old leather trunk: a sleep mask, a children’s football book, Yoto cards, a pen, night cream, a packet of painkillers and a lamp — What it looks like now

On the left, my bedside table when it looks good, on the day of our photo shoot. A Jilly Cooper, the night cream sitting neatly on top, session cards fanned out like a magazine. It has never, ever looked like that again. That makes me sad.

On the right, my bedside table tonight. No tidying allowed. Arghhhhh. Grim.

What’s on it

Kim’s grey sleep mask lying on the bedside table — Every. Single. Night.

My sleep mask. Every single night, absolutely religiously. I cannot sleep without a sleep mask. Even in the depths of winter.
Wax earplugs. I started using them maybe six months ago and realised I sleep so much better when I can’t hear anything. I don’t need fancy ones. Plain wax ones are the best for me, because I can cut them up to be the exact size for my ears. I’ve got quite small ears. They also block out the sound of the kids, so I don’t immediately jump. I know that sounds really bad, but it means when they come into our room, they now often go to their dad, and not just me. I would say that is an absolute result!
Mouth tape, from kip&glow. I need to buy some more, I’m running out. I don’t use it every night, but on a night when I kind of know I’m not going to sleep that well, I will.
Not my book. Not my Yoto cards.
Panadol. I’ve had some bad headaches recently.
My kids’ Yoto cards and a book of theirs. No idea why they’re here. I wish they weren’t.

What used to be on it

I used to buy sleep sprays, which were really nice. But when push comes to shove and I think about what really, really helps me sleep, the spray was a lovely part of the ritual, not the thing that did it. And I’m being tight with money at the moment, so it’s gone. I’m just trying not to spend too much on stuff.

There used to be a book too. I go in and out of reading.

And I used to have a really pretty sleep mask. I lost it. Classic me, really, because I lose everything.

Not on it, but underneath it

The crossword. I’m finding I can’t concentrate well enough to read at the moment, but I’m really, really enjoying doing a crossword, or a word puzzle, or just a bit of journaling.

What’s in the drawer

Kim’s bedside drawer, open: a pink tiger-print bag, a box of kip&glow mouth tape, an oil bottle, a tissue and a small spray — The drawer. The tiger bag holds the gua sha and my sleep band.

A little bag with a gua sha in it, and my Clementine sleep band. My HRT. And more oil, in case I want to do some hand massage, or if we didn’t watch TV that night and I’m doing my face massage in bed.

It’s a weird thing. Some people might think, why have you not got it on your bedside table? I think it’s a mental thing. Keeping it in the drawer is me telling myself I’m going to sleep well. But it’s there if I need it.

Where my phone really sleeps

A black plug extension on the carpet beside the bed, with a charging cable trailing across the floor — The plugs and adapters I’m not happy with. My phone sleeps down here.

On the floor. I’m not very happy with my set-up of plugs and adapters, so it lives on the floor, face down, next to my bed. Which is actually really good: if I do wake up, it’s not in my eyeline.

What I reach for at 3am

The first thing I try to do is not reach for anything. I just tell myself I’m a good sleeper, and keep saying it like a mantra. I am a good sleeper. I am a good sleeper.

If I really need help, I reach into the drawer, pop on the Clementine sleep band and press the middle button once. It plays the session we made for exactly that moment, Wide Awake At 3am?. No phone, no screen.

My wind-down

Kim lying on an acupressure mat in a pink hoodie, eyes closed — On the mat, while the telly’s on.

It starts when I stop working, and I do work late most evenings. My husband and I watch TV together, and while we watch, I do my neck stretches, then a facial massage, which I adore. Then I move to the floor and use the foam roller, because my neck and shoulders are often tight. Two or three times a week I lie on the acupressure mat.

That sounds like quite a lot. It isn’t. And I love it. (More on it in my wind-down routine.)

What’s keeping me up right now

An overriding feeling that we’re heading to the end of the year. I can already feel my anxiety rising with everything that’s going on: work, family stuff, school stuff, Christmas stuff. I don’t like it. It just feels like too much.

I’m not the only one. In our 3am Report, women in the UK listened about 20% more in November and December than in an average month, and January, just as dark, was only average. It isn’t the dark. It’s how much is on.

What I’d say to a woman lying awake at 3am

Three things, from me:

Try mouth tape. On my bad nights, I find it really helps me get back to sleep.
Say the mantra. I am a good sleeper. And don’t think or worry too much about getting back to sleep. Don’t lie there telling yourself, oh, I can’t get back to sleep. Don’t do that.
Keep the Clementine sleep band within reach, so you can just grab it, press play, and stop worrying about it.

“I am a good sleeper. I am a good sleeper.” Say it, and don’t beat yourself up for being awake.

Show us yours

Next in the series: a founder we love. And we want yours too. Send a photo of your bedside table, exactly as it is tonight, to hello@clementinerituals.com with “My bedside table” in the subject line. The grimmer the better.

Questions

What should I keep on my bedside table for better sleep?

Only the things you actually use at night. Mine are a sleep mask, wax earplugs and mouth tape for harder nights, with the phone face down on the floor, out of sight.

Where should I keep my phone at night?

Out of your eyeline. Mine sleeps face down on the floor, so if I wake, I don’t see it light up and I’m not tempted to check it.

Are wax earplugs good if you have small ears?

They work well for me because I can cut them down to fit. Plain wax ones mould to the shape of your ear, so you don’t need a special size.

What should I do when I wake up at 3am?

Try not to reach for anything at first, and don’t tell yourself you can’t get back to sleep. A calm voice to follow, like a hypnotherapy session, helps if you need more.