You’re home for winter break.
That means good food, sleeping in, seeing friends, and taking it easy. But it’s also a time to reassess your dorm storage needs—and get anything you need to help you stay better organized for the rest of the school year.
You’ll have the rest of your life to make a statement with your décor. Now is the time to pack stuff in—in as organized a manner as possible. Here’s how to get the job done.
Dorm Room Storage Ideas
1. Think Outside of the Box
A door can do more than just open and close. With the help of an over-the-door shoe organizer, you can store footwear, or course, but also scarves, jewelry, gloves, snacks, school supplies, or anything that fits in those little pockets.
Another favorite hack of college students is to use ordinary soda pop tabs to make more room in your closet. Here’s how it works: Slide one half of the tab over the top of a hanger and then attach another hanger to the other half. You get twice the room—at zero cost. Check out this video and see for yourself!
2. Make Magnets Your Friend
When you’re in a dorm room, you have to make use of vertical space, because there are only so many things you can stack on your desk or dresser.
With the help of magnets, you can turn an ordinary picture frame into a makeup organizer like this one. You can also use this trick from Bob Vila to get pens, paper clips, and other clutter off your desktop and onto the wall.
3. Stash Stuff Under the Bed
The options for under-the-bed storage are almost endless. You can find rolling storage shelves, rolling carts, shoe holders, boot holders, trays, and all kinds of drawers. You can even find lockable safes that fit neatly under the bed.
4. Roll with It
You can’t waste an inch in a dorm room, including the space underneath your desk. A rolling file cabinet will allow you to keep papers and documents organized and out of the way.
Dorm Organization and StorageMart
As small as dorm rooms are, most students manage to pack in a lot of stuff. That’s great—until the end of the school year when you have to cart it all home and keep it somewhere. One great way to avoid all that hassle it to rent a self storage unit for the summer. At StorageMart, we offer affordable self storage units that range from about the size of a closet to the size of a garage—or even bigger. They can be rented on a month-by-month basis and are always clean and well lit. Check out our storage unit size guide or rent a unit online today.
If you liked these college dorm organization tips, you’ll really love our post: Living Large in a Small Space: How to Organize Your Dorm Room. Consider it an advanced “course” in dorm room storage ideas.