• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • ABOUT
    • About Me
    • Policies
      • PRIVACY POLICY
      • DISCLAIMER & TERMS OF USE AGREEMENT
      • DISCLOSURE POLICY
      • COPYRIGHT POLICY
  • CONTACT
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Bloglovin
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ORGANIZATION
    • Organizing Projects
    • Organizing Process
    • Organizing Products & Tools
    • Habits & Routines
    • Productivity
    • Paper
    • Photos
    • Information
    • Kids and Families
    • Holidays
    • Preparedness
  • HOME DECOR
    • Decorating Project Gallery
    • Home Staging
    • Tips & Tricks
    • Home Improvement
    • Tools & Inspiration
    • Shopping Guides
  • DECLUTTERING
    • Decluttering Tips
    • Turn Clutter into Cash
  • CHALLENGES
    • The 40 Bags In 40 Days Declutter Challenge
    • The Organize and Refine Your Home Challenge
    • The 10-Week Digital Photo Organizing Challenge
    • The One Pile at a Time Paper Declutter Challenge
    • The Organize Your Holiday Challenge
  • SHOP
  • PRINTABLES VAULT
    • Become a VIP
    • PRINTABLE VAULT ACCESS
Refined Rooms logo.

Refined Rooms

Organize | Design | Inspire

Home | Organize | Organizing Products & Tools | Maximizing Dorm Room Storage: A List of MVP Tools

Maximizing Dorm Room Storage: A List of MVP Tools

Bedroom, Organize, Organizing Products & Tools

organized Dorm room - text overlay "Must Have Dorm Room Storage Products".

Today’s post builds on last week’s post, which focused on easing the transition to “dorm dwelling”.  A universal truth about dorm dwelling is that you will be living in much tighter quarters compared to what you are accustomed to at home, AND you will likely be required to share your tight quarters with one or more roommates.  

For these reasons, you’ll need to focus your efforts on maximizing dorm room storage space in your small little corner of the campus.

an organized college dorm room.

This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission, but it won’t cost you a penny more)! Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

Tools for Maximizing Dorm Room Storage Space

Luckily, there are some uber-awesome organizing and storage tools out there to assist you in taking advantage of every square foot of real estate within your dorm space. These tools work like magic to help you find storage space you didn’t realize you had in unexpected places, such as:

IN THE DESK ZONE

1.  Rolling Drawer Cart:  One area that you may not have considered when hunting for additional storage space is the area under your desk. Use a rolling drawer cart to store everything from office supplies, electronics, to food.  Simply roll it out and slide it over temporarily when you are seated at your desk.  Sterilite 3-Drawer Wide White Cart

2.  Desk Bookshelf:  An add-on desk hutch (specifically sized for a dorm desk) takes advantage of vertical space above your desk, without the need to fasten something to the wall (which is typically prohibited).  It provides a place to house your textbooks, notebooks, etc. without sacrificing workspace on your desk surface.  The College Cube Desk Bookshelf

3.  Desk Chair Storage Pocket:  When space is at a premium, you need to “think vertical” and store items in creative ways. For example, using a chair storage pocket takes advantage of the “dead space” on the back of your desk chair, which can be used to store small items such as notebooks, pens/pencils, and electronic devices.  Aussie Pouch Chair Pocket


 ON THE BACK OF DOORS

4.  Over-the-Door Shoe Organizer:  The backs of doors are the most overlooked area for finding hidden storage space. One of my favorite general organizing tools is the over-the-door shoe organizer. It can be used to store just about anything…food, jewelry, accessories, electronics, and yes, even shoes. Be sure to opt for one that has clear pouches, since visibility is key. 24 Pocket Shoe Organizer

5. Over-the-Door Towel Holder:  Dorm dwellers need to store their wet towels in their dorm room. What better place to stow them out of the way than on the back of your door!  Over the Door Towel Holder

IN THE CLOSET

6. Double Hang Rod:  New dorm dwellers will likely be shocked to discover how tiny their dorm room closet is. Take heed! There are a number of ways to maximize space in the closet. If you hang the majority of your clothes, you will definitely want to take advantage of a double hang rod. It does precisely what its name implies…it literally doubles the size of your hang space.  Closet Doubler

7. Slimline Hangers:   Slimline or “huggable” hangers are a must in your dorm room closet. Their ultra-slim profile will enable you to maximize the number of garments you can hang in that tiny closet.  Huggable Hangers


IN THE BED ZONE

8. Bed Risers:  My #1 piece of advice for maximizing dorm room storage space is to raise your bed off the floor so that you can utilize the space underneath it. The best-case scenario would be to transform the bed into a loft that’s high enough to create usable living space underneath it. If this is not an option, utilize bed risers to raise the bed high enough to accommodate under-the-bed storage containers. Bed Risers

9. Bedside Storage Caddy:  You will likely need to go without a nightstand as a dorm dweller. The bedside storage caddy is your new place for housing those “nightstand” items, such as glasses, books, reading light, tissue, etc. Bedside Storage Caddy

ON THE WALLS

10. Wall Organizer: Although you may be tempted to use your walls strictly for displaying decor, be sure to earmark some of the wall space for vertical wall-mounted storage solutions, such as a wall organizer. These can do wonders for keeping desktop paper piles at bay! Smead Cascading Vertical Wall Organizer

11. Adhesive Hooks:  An irony of dorm dwelling is that you’ve never needed to use wall space more, BUT you are typically not allowed to use any type of permanent fastener to hang items on the walls.  That’s where adhesive hooks come to the rescue!

Be sure to pack a bucketful of adhesive hooks in a variety of sizes.  You will be shocked at all of the items you can hang on your walls and doors, as well as inside the walls of your closet (robes, jackets, belts, hats, keys, purses, totes, etc.) using hooks. Command Hook

EVERYWHERE – THE MVP OF DORM ORGANIZING TOOLS!

Drumroll please…here’s THE most versatile dorm storage tool on the planet.​

​This rolling cart can double as a bedside nightstand, corral all your coed’s books and office supplies, and even serve as a makeshift vanity area for toiletries and makeup. And it comes in an array of pretty colors!

Rolling craft cart from The Container Store.

 

Got a must-have dorm storage product that you would add to the list? Share it with all of us by leaving a comment!

 

"PIn it for later" button.

organized Dorm room - text overlay "Must Have Dorm Room Storage Products".

 

 

Ready to get epically organized?

Get access to 100+ printable pages to help you organize your home and life!

Welcome, Insider!! Look for a welcome email that includes the password for my free resource library full of organizational printables created just for my subscribers!! ** If you don't see it initially, please check your SPAM folder **

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time. Powered by ConvertKit

13 Comments

Previous Post: « HOW TO HANG DRAPERY PANELS FOR MAXIMUM IMPACT
Next Post: A Simple System for Organizing Kids School Papers & Memorabilia »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comments

  1. Olive says

    September 4, 2017 at 12:39 pm

    Great ideas, Natalie! I have a rolling cart in my small office with 10 drawers that fits snugly right by my desk. Perfect for students too!

    Reply
    • Natalie Gallagher says

      September 5, 2017 at 8:12 pm

      Awesome Olive!

      Reply
  2. Donna @ Modern on Monticello says

    August 7, 2017 at 10:07 pm

    These are some great tips even if you don’t live in a dorm. Thanks for sharing at #HomeMattersParty

    Reply
    • Natalie Gallagher says

      August 8, 2017 at 7:43 am

      Thanks for stopping by Donna! Yep, the tools can be used to maximize storage in any small space. The dorm room is an extreme example 🙂

      Reply
  3. Janet Barclay says

    July 20, 2017 at 6:53 am

    I lived in residence for my last year of university, and I have to say my room was fabulous. Above the desk were several large wall-mounted shelves with enough space for all my books, food, and other stuff. This should be a standard feature in all student housing!

    Reply
    • Natalie Gallagher says

      July 20, 2017 at 2:05 pm

      That’s awesome Janet! I must say that your situation is unusual though 🙂

      Reply
  4. Sherry Nappa says

    August 22, 2016 at 6:33 pm

    Great ideas, Natalie. Thanks for sharing at Funtastic Friday.

    Reply
    • Natalie Gallagher says

      August 22, 2016 at 6:56 pm

      Thanks for hosting Sherry!

      Reply
  5. Sabrina Quairoli says

    August 21, 2016 at 4:23 pm

    Great tips. I like the desk hutch idea. I’ve also seen the free-standing shelving units that go around the bed. The use of vertical space in the dorm room is so important. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
    • Natalie Gallagher says

      August 22, 2016 at 8:04 am

      Ooh, I’ll have to check out those free-standing shelving units Sabrina!

      Reply
  6. J.Martin says

    July 9, 2015 at 9:33 am

    Hey Natalie! I thought you did a superb job on this post for dorm organization. I myself run a website that focuses on organization and time management, and a couple of the items you mentioned are actually on my site as well! Again I thought this was awesome and I would love to use this on a future resource page I’m working on. Thanks and keep up the good work!

    Reply
    • Natalie Gallagher says

      July 9, 2015 at 10:34 am

      Thanks for the feedback! Would love to be included on your resource page 😉

      Reply

Primary Sidebar

LOOKING FOR SOMETHING?

Headshot and About description Natalie Gallagher and Refined Rooms.

BECOME A VIP

GET ACCESS TO MY ORGANIZING PRINTABLES VAULT

PRIVACY POLICY
By opting in, you agree to receive my newsletter and ongoing resources. Unsubscribe at any time.

SEARCH BY CATEGORY

  • Bloglovin
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Footer

DISCLOSURE

This site contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission, but it won’t cost you a penny more). Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

COPYRIGHT

I love it when you share my tips, ideas and inspiration! Please keep in mind that all images and text on this site are the property of Refined Rooms, unless otherwise stated (regardless of whether photos are watermarked or not). Feel free to use one image, provided that a link back to my original post is included. Please do not remove any watermarks, crop, or edit any of my images without first obtaining written permission from me. All free printables are for personal use only. Pinning is always welcome and appreciated! Thank you!

Privacy Policy