Making The Most Of The Small Space:
It is no secret that dorm living is difficult. Sharing a 12 by 15 foot area with another person can be tricky. Even though the space is tiny, you can make it feel larger by simple organization tactics. For some, organization is a scary word; however, having your home life in an organized fashion will make it easier for you to locate things during a rush, spend less time cleaning, and overall make your day easier. Here are some tips on how to keep your dorm closet organized!
What To Bring To College:
Most students tend to over pack when they attend college for the first time. This is one of the worst things you can do. Your tiny dorm room has to become not only your bedroom, but your closet, kitchen, and living area. Trust me, you only have room for the essentials.
Here are some tips for packing for college:
- only take seasonal items: you do not need a parka in August.
- only bring clothes/shoes that you will actually wear: if you have not worn it in a year, leave it at home.
- limit quantity of each item: if you have 20 scarves go through and pick your favorite 5 to bring with you.
*** Traveling with hanging clothes HACK!
Key Organizational Items:
Having certain organizational items will help to make the organizing process easier, as well as your life. All of these items can be found at Walmart or Bed Bath and Beyond for relatively cheap prices.
Hanging organization:
This item is amazing and can be used to store whatever you want. Here is used it to store some of my smaller shoes as well as my wash cloths and hair towels.
Cascading hangers:
These clothes hangers with save you tons of space in your closet. Since you are limited on bar space it utilizes the vertical space you do have.
Foldable bins:
These are cheap and can be purchased in various styles and patterns. You can use these to store just about anything. I use mine to keep all of my cups and tumblers since I do not have a kitchen.
Clothes, Shoes and Other Items:
Clothes:
Your clothes are going to take up the majority of space in your closet. The cascading hangers will help to limit the amount of space used. Some tips for sectioning your clothes in a smart way are:
- color coordinate: this will make it easier for you to find that pink shirt you are looking for
- organize by type: put all of your hanging pants to the right of your rack, then moving left include skirts, shorts, vests, sweaters and then regular shirts
Shoes:
Shoes can take up a lot of space in a closet, especially boots and other fall/winter shoes. Try placing your smaller shoes such as flats and flip flops in your hanging organizer. This helps to keep them out of the way and in an easily reachable location. As far as boots and other bulky shoes, line them on the bottom of your closet to keep them away from your hanging clothes. If you wish you can also try a small shoe rack at the bottom of your closet.
Other Items:
For my jewelry I use a cheap hanging organizer that I got from Bed Bath and Beyond. It has tons of separate pockets for all of my needs as well as hooks for longer items. If you do not have a kitchen like me, then you’ll need to keep your reusable water bottles, bowls and other eating utensils somewhere. I keep mine in a foldable bin on the top shelf of my closet. This keeps them out of the way until I need them while still being easily accessible.
Keeping your small closet organized will make it easier on you and others. Enjoy these helpful tips and get to organizing.
Positively Organized 