Dorm rooms are tiny, but are used for everything. This means college students have to be creative when organizing their room, to make the best use of the limited space they have. Here are 10 space saving tips to help you de-clutter and organize your dorm to your mom’s standards.
Lofting your bed is one of the easiest space saving tips that instantly gives you a bunch more room to work with. You can put anything from a bookcase to a futon underneath your bed and still have space to spare. The downside to lofting your bed is that you probably won’t use your bed as a couch, but hey, you’ve got a futon instead!
Bed risers are an amazing invention for college students to use. They lift your bed just enough where it’s still easy to climb onto, but provides ample space underneath. For a double whammy – purchase bed risers that double as an extra outlet – less extension cords cluttering the floor. Bed risers are a great option for people who go to schools that don’t allow you to loft your bed. Sure, you won’t be able to place a futon under your bed, but at least you can hide some drawers.
By lofting your bed or using bed risers, you have given yourself more space to store things, but you don’t want to just throw things under your bed, unprotected. I recommend getting a couple sets of plastic drawers to use. I use them to store clothes that don’t fit in my tiny closet, as well as my dishes and collection of cups. It is a great way to keep things out of the way, yet organized. They are also a huge help when moving in because you can pack them ahead of time.
If you are like me, you have a lot of shoes, and as you know, they take up a lot of floor space. This is why it is vital that you have a way to organize them. I use a shoe organizer that hangs in my closet, but there are other options if you don’t have the necessary hanger space. They make shoe organizers that can hang on your door and also make shoe racks that you can store on the floor (like under your bed that has risers). If none of these work for you, then you might need to consider leaving some shoes at home.
Clothes are another thing that take up a lot of space. I brought my whole wardrobe to school my freshman year. Boy was that a mistake. Don’t be like the freshman me, and only take what you need. Now I pack the clothes that I am actually going to wear between the time I go to school and when I will go home. I started out the year with my shorts and tanks, and then when I went home for fall break I switched them out for sweaters and my winter coat. This way I didn’t have the bulky winter items taking over my room months before I would even need them.
Now this is one of my space saving tips that probably won’t apply to everyone, but hopefully it will help some of you out. I rarely wear jewelry, yet somehow I have managed to acquire a lot of it over the years. And for whatever reason, I feel compelled to bring it all to school. This, of course, takes up valuable space in room, usually my desk. This year I decided to try something new and organize my jewelry. I have a jewelry tree that takes up less space than my jewelry box and only put the jewelry that I actually wear on it. It makes it easier to access which means I actually wear it and don’t get let it sit in a box taking up precious space.
You accumulate a lot of papers as you become more of an adult in life. I recommend getting an accordion file to help keep that stuff organized and out of the way. It is a great place to store your car paperwork, credit card bills, insurance information, and any other miscellaneous papers that aren’t for class. It is also a way to guarantee that you won’t lose important papers and won’t spend a lot of time searching for them when they are needed.
Receiving mail is always exciting, and one way we make sure we have a constant supply of mail is by obtaining a magazine subscription…or five. If this sounds like you, than this is one of my space saving tips you’ll want to listen to closely. You can’t easily shelve magazines on your bookcase, so they end up sitting in piles on your desk or even the floor. Luckily they make these amazing inventions called magazine holders that you can use to easily store those magazines that you just can’t get rid of. If you don’t want to buy one, you can make one. All you need is a cereal box and some scissors!
Now when I say a foldable chair, I don’t mean those hard plastic ones that you sit in at a family reunion. I mean comfortable chairs like butterfly chairs that you can easily store. I have one of these chairs, but only use it when I have friends in my dorm. I don’t use it for myself. When I am not using it, I simple fold it up and store it in a corner or under my bed.
I think we have already established that your dorm room is more than a place you sleep. It is also your study, kitchen, and living room. This is why it is great when one piece of furniture can be used for multiple things. An example of this is a hollow ottoman – it can be a place for people to sit when they are hanging out in your dorm, and also a place to store things. Another multi use item that I have is my desk lamp. It doubles as a pencil holder and has an outlet that I use to charge my phone.
Hopefully these space saving tips have helped you out. I encourage you to use them so that your mom is amazed at how clean your room the next time she comes to visit.
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