Organizing a dorm room is a challenge for everyone at first. Most people over-pack, mainly because they have no clue what small space living actually means. Guess what? Most things won’t fit in, so the first thing you need to remember is to set priorities.
There are things you need and things that are nice to have. Two different categories. Prioritize essentials and add some extras later on. All in all, let’s go through a few useful storage hacks for your dorm room to ensure maximum efficiency in your organization.
Use Shelf Dividers
Dorm room furniture is usually basic. Don’t expect anything big. Also, don’t expect too much common sense. You’d think those in charge would actually give you something with lots of compartments for a good organization. No, that’s not going to happen.
You’ll have a bed, a closet, and a desk, as well as some drawers. Given this design, you’ll have loads of empty rooms, even after you fill up the storage. Dividers make a good choice at this point because you can break up the available space. You’ll take advantage of the whole volume.
Shelf dividers are cheap and if used correctly, they can even double up your available space. They can be used for closet shelving as well, so you can use the whole height of a piece of furniture. They come in all kinds of shapes and sizes.
Find More Uses for Current Furniture
Each piece of furniture you have in a dorm room has a designated purpose. Most people simply use it for what it’s supposed to do. It feels like common sense. However, the truth is you can store food in the closet if you want and stick your socks in the fridge. Why not?
When dealing with small space storage, you have to give up on these temptations. You should also stop trying to make the room look perfect because it won’t work. You have way too much stuff.
A sock divider, for example, can be used to keep a long table neat and tidy. You can use a shelf in the closet to store some snacks or maybe your notebooks.
The idea isn’t to do something unusual but to prioritize space. If something’s too small for a large space, fill that space with something big instead, even if it doesn’t always make sense. You have to be practical at this point, as the idea is to fill up the empty space.
Standing Shelves on the Desk
How far can your vertical approach go? Exactly. You can get shelved fitted into a wall (if you’re allowed), for example. But then, things can go even further. A standing shelf on the desk provides lots of storage without really affecting the desk surface.
Make sure there’s room under the bottom shelf, and you’ll only have to worry about the four legs and nothing else. Ideally, the height of this new piece of furniture should be just enough to fit between the desk surface and the ceiling.
It makes the desk more practical, but it also offers plenty of storage space. You can make such a desk yourself, but you can also find adjustable shelves in commerce. Consider the stability of the desk before filling the shelves.
Look Under the Bed
The space under the bed is extremely important. You can usually store a lot in there, yet most people overlook it. Some dorms allow purchasing or renting loft beds, which provide plenty of space. If this option is not there, you can still transform the space.
Check if you can lift the bed first. You can’t store things on top of the bed, so focus on what’s under. Bed risers can usually be fitted under the frame and they’ll give you a decent clearance. You might be able to store small things, as well as big containers.
If the space isn’t tall enough, you can find low-profile containers. Super wide, but low in height, ideal for clothes and small bits. Seasonal clothing, extra bedding, and study materials can all find a home under your bed, freeing up other areas of your dorm room.
Multiple Use Furniture
If you have the option to bring some extra furniture into the room, make sure you plan it accordingly. You need to look at a piece of furniture from every possible angle in order to maximize everything. It should cover the available space, but also be as close as possible to the ceiling in height.
Height isn’t always mandatory or the place may look too crowded. For instance, an ottoman will give you the option to stash all kinds of things, while also offering a comfortable place for sitting. Unless you have guests, you can store other things on top too.
Cube shelves are popular in dorms too, mainly because they can be optimized and organized for maximum efficiency. From the same point of view, rolling carts are a trend as well these days. They can be nightstands or help in the kitchen.
You get the point. Multipurpose furniture is a must.
Don’t Overlook the Windowsill
While everyone’s trying to maximize the purpose of furniture (a priority), don’t overlook small bits here and there around the room. For instance, no one looks at the windowsill, which offers a generous amount of space for storage.
Some places have narrow windowsills. They’re still alright for a lamp, a small basket for storage, books, notebooks, you name it. If you’re lucky enough to have a very deep place, you can go even further and even get a standing shelf.
Sure, a shelf would mean you’ll have to compromise on the natural light, but you should be able to find a middle solution.
Cord Organization Does Help
You wouldn’t think a cord organizer could actually improve the storage in your dorm room. Wrong! In fact, cables take up a lot of space when they are all over the room, whether around your desk or on the actual desk itself. For example, if you do get a standing shelf on the desk, you need cords to be well organized.
Keeping your desk in good condition is, therefore, extremely important. For instance, you don’t want to place any heavy stuff on the cords, such as furniture. Therefore, a lack of organization will limit your available space.
Cord organization indirectly affects storage. Also, you can invest in a charging station, which will keep wires organized in one simple place.
Drawers Over Shelves
Each type of storage has its own place. You can’t have hanging drawers because it’s not effective. Instead, if you have an empty wall and you want to get some floating shelves, that will be better. Of course, you may need approval when it comes to drilling walls.
But at floor level, make sure you choose drawers over shelves. Drawers are excellent for storage, meaning you can keep everything out of the way while also squeezing things in. That extra wall of a drawer is a massive plus in terms of keeping things together.
From this point of view, storage cubes are much more effective.
Hanging Clothes Under the Bed
This sounds like a weird idea. At the end of the day, you’ve never seen a bed frame tall enough to have hanging clothes underneath. Wait a minute, it’s actually a genius consideration. Sure, if you have a tall frame and you can store boxes underneath, that will be better.
But if the space under your bed is limited, you can get a tension bar between the posts. This way, you can hang up clothes horizontally, meaning you won’t need to touch your closet. It’s an effective idea that gives you the opportunity to use tight and limited space.
Of course, you need to ensure you clean the space daily under the bed, you don’t want all your clothes covered in dust and dirt.
Buy Things After Moving in
Most students know exactly what they want or where they want it before they even move into a dorm room. Indeed, there might be some essentials you can’t do without. But if you’re planning to bring in other things or even pieces of furniture, you should try to wait for a week or two.
After a few days in your dorm room, you’ll be able to see everything clearly. You’ll know precisely what kind of stuff fits in or whether it will fit or not.
Taking things with you before even seeing the room is a terrible choice that can make organization a nightmare. You’ll have to move stuff around while organizing, making the job time consuming, but also ineffective.
While it could be daunting to move twice, it’s totally worth the wait.
Final Words
The bottom line, organizing a dorm room is all about being creative and practical to use every bit of space wisely. Start by focusing on the essentials and then add extras if you have room. The key is to think outside the box and adjust things to fit your own dorm room.
With the above ideas, you can turn even a tiny dorm room into an organized and comfortable place to live. Just for your info, the images you see here are for illustration purposes only.
