These storage essentials can help you organize a small space.
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This post is all about college dorm organization tips and hacks to help you organize your room.
When you first go to college, you may at first be shocked at how small college dorm rooms are. The second surprising thing is that you may have to share this small space with at least one other person.
The college dorm room is the ultimate small space living situation, and we’re here to help you organize it.
Many students soon find out that when you don’t organize your belongings, things can quickly get out of hand. Whether it’s papers, books, clothes, snacks, or towels, there are plenty of things that can clutter a dorm room.
We found some of the best college dorm room organizers and made a list that you can refer to, to help when deciding on the best dorm organizers for your new room.
Here are some college dorm storage essentials that can help you organize your dorm room.
This post is all about college dorm essentials that can help organize your dorm room.
Bed
One of the best college dorm organizer ideas is to maximize storage space around and under the bed. Here are some tools that can be helpful for organizing a dorm bed.
- Bed Shelf
- Wall Mounted Shelves
- Under the Bed Storage Bags
Bed shelf.
Bed shelves are great for keeping lightweight items, like pens and highlighters, coffee, and your phone nearby when you study. A bed shelf can be indispensable when living in a dorm.
Wall mounted shelves or caddies.
Wall mounted shelves or caddies shelves can be great for keeping small, lightweight things like your cell phone, charger, and glasses easy to reach.
Under the bed storage bags.
Under the bed storage bags are great for storing bulky items like blankets, comforters, duvet covers, sweatshirts, and sweaters.
Bath
- Mesh Shower Caddy
- Plastic Shower Caddy
- Shower Slides
- Hair Styling Tool Organizer
- Lighted Makeup Mirror
- Makeup Organizer
- Clear Plastic OrganizersÂ
- Cosmetic Bag
- Room Spray
Mesh shower caddy.
A mesh shower caddy is great for holding your shower items, like body wash, shampoo, and conditioner. It also dries faster than plastic.
Plastic shower caddy basket.
Sometimes you need a plastic caddy to hold things, and this one features a compact design that makes it easy to store, plus it comes in great colors like blue, grey, and pink.
Pillow Slippers / Shower Slides
These aren’t really a storage and organization item, but pillow slippers or shower slides can help to protect your feet from the shower floor. Shower sandals are a must have for a dorm room situation with communal showers.
Hair styling tool organizer.
A hair styling tool organizer is a must for keeping things like hair dryers and styling combs organized and all in one place. This is the place to store your hair dryers, flat irons, curling irons, and brushes so that they are out of the way, and easy to find.
Lighted makeup mirror.
This isn’t really a storage or organization essential, but it can be good to have on hand. Dorm rooms don’t always have the best lighting, so it can help to have a lighted mirror for putting on makeup.
Makeup organizer.
A makeup organizer is a must have item for keeping makeup ready to use and organized.
Clear Plastic Organizers
Clear plastic organizers are great from storing everything from beauty products to school supplies. Plus, they make it easier to see what you have stored.
Cosmetic Bag
A cosmetic bag is great for keeping small items that you use frequently all in one place.
Room Spray
Again, this isn’t an essential storage item, but odor busting room spray can make communal living a lot easier.
Closet
College dorm room closets are notoriously small, and it can be a challenge to find the space to store all your clothes, shoes, bedding, and other items. Closet organizers can help you maximize the storage space in your closet.
- Over the Door Mirror
- Space Saving Hangers
- Space Saving Hangers
- Small Hanging Closet Organizer
- Hanging Shoe Shelves
- Over the Door Shoe Organizer
- Hanging Closet Organizer
- Rolling Utility Cart
- Slim Rolling Utility Cart
- Drawer Organizers
- Hanging Purse Organizer
- Fabric Storage Baskets
- Shoe Rack
Over the Door Mirror
When it’s important to know how you look before you leave the room, an over the door mirror can help to make that happen.
Space Saving Hangers
Space-saver slim clothes hangers are great because they reduce the space needed to hang clothes in a closet. If you have a lot of clothes, these can be great for saving precious space in your closet.
A space-saving hanger for pants or skirts is another must-have for the dorm room closet. You really don’t have a lot of space in a dorm room closet, especially once you add other items like storage bins and a hanging closet organizer for sweaters, so anything that gives you an advantage is a plus. Space saving hangers do just that.
Pants hangers with clips are great for hanging pants, shorts, and skirts vertically in a closet or on a clothes rack.
Small Hanging Closet Organizer
A hanging closet organizer is perfect for storing sweaters, t-shirts, towels, and other items that you would rather fold than hang. A 3-shelf organizer is short enough to fit over furniture or storage bins in a closet, plus it is collapsible and folds for storage. These come in different colors like ash grey, beige, black, blue, green, pink, and white.
Hanging Shoe Shelves
A hanging shoe shelf is great if you have the space for one in your closet, and you have a lot of shoes to store. You can also use the shelves to roll and store sweaters, towels, and other lightweight linens.
Over the Door Shoe Organizer
Over-the-door shoe organizers make great space-saving organizers for storing things like shoes, toiletries, snacks, and other small items in your dorm room.
Hanging Closet Organizer.
A large hanging closet organizer is great if you have a lot of clothes, or want to combine storage for things like sweaters, t-shirts, towels, and shoes. Side pockets are great for holding small items, too. These often come in different colors like beige, black, grey, and light grey.
Rolling utility cart.
A rolling utility cart is a great way to organize things like books, bins, plants, and decor. You can also use it to store things like a coffee maker, kitchen tools, shower caddies, and more. A rolling utility cart makes it easier to move the cart around in case you come up with a new design idea, and you want to change where it’s placed in your room.
This rolling utility cart features a slim design that is great for small spaces.
Drawer organizers.
These drawer organizers help keep your drawers looking neat and tidy, and they make it easier to find socks, underwear, and bras. These are also great for storing suit ties, handkerchiefs, and other small items like scrunchies, hair ties, belts, and hosiery.
Hanging purse organizer.
A hanging purse organizer is perfect for storing handbags in your closet. The design also makes it great for storing linens, too.
Fabric storage bins.
Fabric storage bins are versatile and they come in a variety of cute prints, like arrows, dots, dandelions, geometric patterns, dogs, and elephants, or feature details like pom poms or tassels. Fabric baskets are a stylish way to decorate a dorm room.
If you are buying fabric storage bins to fit in cube shelving, make sure the dimensions of the storage box fit into the dimensions of the shelf.
Shoe rack
A shoe rack can be great for storing shoes and other items in your dorm room or closet space. It’s like having another shelf available for storage.
Laundry
Laundry can be one of the most complicated things about living in a dorm. Here are some dorm essentials that can help to make the process easier.
- Pop Up Laundry Hamper
- Space Saving Laundry Hamper
- Laundry Bag
- Small Laundry Bags
- Folding Clothes Drying Rack
Pop Up Laundry Hamper
Pop-up laundry hampers are great for dorm rooms and for small-space living because they are often compact and can fold for storage. Some models feature a side pocket, great for holding things like laundry pods, and handles to make it easier to move around.
Space saving laundry hamper.
A space saving laundry hamper is a handy solution for storing laundry in small spaces.
Laundry bag.
A laundry bag is a convenient way to transport clothes to the laundry room, especially for small loads.
Laundry bags.
Small laundry bags are great for washing delicate items in the washing machine, and they also work great for things like keeping underwear and socks from disappearing and preventing bras from snagging other clothes.
Folding clothes drying rack.
A folding clothes drying rack is great to use for drying sweaters, delicates, lingerie, and items that are hang-dry only. Folding racks are a space-saving option for storage.
Desk
The dorm room desk is a place where you’ll do a lot of studying. Keeping it organized can help you be more efficient and less stressed when it comes to finding things.
- Desk Organizer
- Drawer Organizers
- Desk Lamp
- Pen Cup
- Basket Drawer Organizer
- Desktop Charging Station
- Power Strip
- Cube Shelf Storage Organizer
- Storage Cubes
- 3 Tier Bookcase
Desk organizer.
Desk organizers are a great way to organize your desk and save space. Use them to hold things like pens, highlighters, paper clips and push pins, clocks, and other small items.
Drawer Organizers
Drawer organizers are a must have for keeping small items organized. These clear plastic organizers are perfect for organizing everything from pens and pencils to makeup brushes.
Desk lamp with USB.
College dorm rooms can benefit from having extra light, especially when it comes to studying. A desk lamp with USB storage can be used to light your desk and charge small electronics. It brings style and functionality to your room.
Pen cup.
Pen cups are a small but mighty way to keep your pens, pencils, markers, highlighters, rulers, and scissors all together.
2-tier sliding basket drawer organizer.
These are great for sitting on a desk top or mini fridge to hold things like sandwich bags, coffee pods, small packaged items, and snacks. They come in a variety of colors, like bronze, pink, silver, turquoise, and white, to fit in with your decor.
Desktop charging station.
A compact charging station can be used for charging cell phones, tablets, and USB-powered gadgets.
Surge protector power strip.
A surge protector power strip can be used for charging things like your laptop, tablet, and cell phone, and for plugging in lamps and small appliances. Just be sure not to overload a power strip by plugging in too many things at once!
Cube shelf storage organizer.
A cube storage organizer is great for adding storage space to a dorm room or small apartment.
Cube storage bins make it easy to organize clutter, and they also add a decorative look to your room. Check the dimensions of your cube organizer when selecting storage bins to purchase.
Storage cubes and baskets.
Storage cubes and baskets come in a variety of colors and sizes and are great to use with cube storage shelving to organize things like books, magazines, game consoles, and more.
3-shelf bookcase.
A bookcase is good to have for storing course books, binders, and other supplies that are too large to fit on the desk.
Wall
Floating shelves. Floating shelves are great for holding lightweight items that help add personality to your room, like accent decor, photo frames, small plants, and clocks, and practical items like desk organizers, snacks, and toiletries.
Photo grid.
A photo grid is a great way to organize photos for a gallery wall.
Macrame hanging photo display.
A macrame hanging photo display with clips are another great way to post photos for a gallery wall, especially in dorm rooms with boho decor.
Bulletin board.
A bulletin board can help you stay organized by giving you a place to post notes and reminders, and it makes a great place to post a few photos, too.
Command strips and hooks.
Command strips and hooks are a necessity for hanging tapestries, posters, photos, wallpaper, and other items in the dorm room.
Food and Drink
Food and drink are two of the most important things in college life.
Reusable portable stainless steel flatware set.
A portable utensil set comes with everything that you need to enjoy dinner for one, including a fork, spoon, and knife.
Food storage containers.
Food storage containers come in handy for storing leftovers, food prep (like slicing apples for a snack), or dividing up snacks for storage.
Insulated water bottle.
An insulated water bottle is a must have for keeping your water cool for several hours.
Bento box.
A bento box is great for taking lunch or snacks on the go, to eat between classes or when you are studying.
An insulated lunch tote (sold separately) offers a great way to carry your lunch, plus it comes in a variety of colors to choose from. Ice packs (also sold separately) help to keep your food cold.
Miscellaneous
Storage Ottoman
A storage ottoman is another storage solution that also gives your dorm room a cool, classic look.
This post was about dorm room essentials that can help you organize your life.
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Credits
- Photo by George Milton / Pexels
- Photos are for illustrative purposes only.