Dorm Room Organization: Five Tips to Keep You on Track

Are you or someone you know headed back to school? If “back to school” actually means “moving to a dorm for college,” then it’s likely that you’re feeling overwhelmed by the prospect of having to fit all of your belongings in a small dorm room. The good news is that it can be done! Having a plan and sticking to it as you unpack can go a long way toward helping you to achieve good organization in your dorm room. Here are five tips to get you on track, and help you stay that way:

• 1. Less is more I know; it’s hard to decide what to leave behind when you’re packing to go away to college. Think about it this way, though: You will still have a home to go to on holidays and maybe on occasional weekends. So the stuff you leave behind will still get used, just not every day. It’s likely that your dorm room will come equipped with a desk, and maybe even a night table, so you can leave those items at home. Choose just one or two special and nostalgic things to bring with you. A teddy bear and your lava lamp are great to bring. Your entire stuffed animal collection and every poster ever made of your favorite band would be overkill.
• 2. Put your heads together if you’re sharing a dorm room Some universities pair up roommates, particularly during freshman year. If you’re sharing a room, talk about furniture placement. Some roommates choose to put dressers back-to-back and put one bed on each side of the room in order to make separate spaces. Others like to put the beds together against one wall and the desks and bureaus on the opposing wall in order to open up space. Decide on a strategy and go with it.
• 3. Hide the clutter Since dorm rooms usually don’t have much space in the closet, you’re going to need to get creative. Hat boxes stacked on your bureau can hide some of your more personal items that you don’t want out in plain sight. You can also hang a little curtain over any alcove or cutout in the room. This can allow you to stash some of your stuff without anyone seeing the mess.
• 4. Decorate with some of your necessary items Who says that scarves and umbrellas can’t adorn the walls? You can make your dorm room look cute and quirky if you hang your hats, literally, or if you fill a basket with your rolled socks. If you don’t have a place to hide it and it’s not ugly, just leave it out in some type of organized fashion.
• 5. Make liberal use of accessories Go to any discount or home store, and you’ll see a wide variety of bins, boxes baskets and drawers of all types and sizes. Think about what you have and go ahead and buy them up! You can stack bins in order to make a night table or even a stand for your laptop, if it’s sturdy enough. Over-the-door racks can hold a wide variety of little things; don’t be limited to only keeping your shoes in there. Magazine racks can be lined up on a shelf to hold folders, looseleaf paper and more. Use your imagination when it comes to storing your items!

Moving into a dorm room can feel stressful and overwhelming, but once you move in, it will be feeling like home in no time at all. Take the time to get organized now and reap the benefits all year long.