Best Dorm Organization Tips Everyone Needs to Know

I might not be in college at the moment, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be getting all the best dorm organization tips! Now you might be thinking, why write an article about dorm room organization if the school year is basically over?! BUT, this is the best time to learn the dorm room secrets that you want to use next year. If you know how you are going to organize BEFORE you get to your room, you can better prepare for what you need to buy and what you need to bring.

But this time, instead of me giving you all my best tips, I reached out to a bunch of amazing college bloggers to share their personal experiences organizing in college! These dorm organization tips are tried and true practices from real college students, so I can guarantee they are going to help you like crazy.

Note: There are affiliate links included in this article. Check out my disclosure policy for any questions.

Under the bed storage

Of all the dorm organization tips I received, this was by far the most popular. Under the bed storage is so important to maximize the little space you have in a college dorm room!

This gives you SO much more storage space. At the University of Oklahoma, we could elect to have our beds lofted. If your university doesn’t offer you the option to loft your bed, buy bed risers from Target, Bed Bath and Beyond or Walmart. Having a lofted bed gives you so much extra storage space. You can shove your dresser under your bed (that’s what I did my freshman year), drawer sets, tubs of extra blankets or your winter clothes that won’t fit in those small dorm closets.

Avery from coffeewithavery

Use pull out drawers and bins for under the bed storage. In a small dorm, you’ll definitely need to use storage space under your bed. I stored out of season clothes in bins and used pull out drawers to organize supplies. Then I had a drawer for my nail polish collection, back-up toiletries, snacks, and other random things. I would recommend using bed risers or lifting your bed to make even more storage space because it was so necessary!

Kamrynn from kamrynnwithak

My best dorm organization tip is to get bed risers! It provides extra storage for bins underneath your bed and was a game changer to maximize my organization in my room.

chazlyn from chazlyn.yvonne

Make sure you have ample under the bed storage to put away seasonal clothes & other extras!

Nicole from simplynicolethings

So if you didn’t believe me, I hope you believe all the college students that swear by this tip. When my sister was in her college dorm room, I would say about 70% of her clothes were under her bed. Without them, there was no way she would have fit all of her clothes in her tiny dorm room.

For her entire dorm room life, she used these extra deep pull out drawers. They are super durable and lasted her two years in the dorms. Plus, they kept her extremely organized!

Roll your clothes

With such little space, another way to maximize every inch is by rolling or file folding your clothes. Even in my bedroom at home, doing this saves me so much space and is so helpful!

Roll your T-shirts for better drawer organization. Unfortunately, you usually don’t have much closet/dresser space in a dorm. It was so hard for me to leave clothes at home, so I tried really hard to fit as much as I could into my dorm closet and dresser. One tip that I found really helpful is to roll your T-shirts and sort them vertically in the drawer instead of folding and stacking. This actually saves a good amount of space and you’re able to see all you T-shirts in the drawer!

Kamrynn from kamrynnwithak

If you need some help, I’ve got step by step pictures for you to master file folding! This is so helpful to keep everything organized and save so much space! Like Kamrynn said, when you are able to see all of your clothes, it prevents everything from getting disorganized quickly.

Have your schedule close by

Whether your schedule is on a piece of paper, on your phone, or in a planner, have it visible and close by at all times. With class schedules, print it out and keep a copy in your room and on your phone so you always know where you are.

Not only will your dorm be more organized when you follow this tip, but your life is going to be a million times more organized too!

I always tape up all my class content schedules on my wall!!

Carrie from gotcarriedaway

If you keep your calendar on your phone, I will always suggest google calendar! This has helped me keep my calendar so organized and makes sure I’m always where I need to be. Personally, I keep my personal calendar on google calendar and my school calendar in a paper planner.

Bring extra drawers and drawer organizers

Honestly, my philosophy with organization is the more bins and organizers, the better! Now, I am not telling you to go buy out the bin section of Home Goods (even though that sounds amazing!), but plan ahead so you know what organizers you need.

My best tip is to use 3-tier drawer sets! My roommate and I bought a 3-tier drawer set for our bathroom (this helps when you have a suite style dorm where you share a bathroom with the girls next door!) and kept all of our shower products, hair products, makeup, and just general bathroom products in it! It freed up space in our room for other things. We also each had a 3-tier drawer set under our beds where we stored school supplies, laundry supplies, snacks, really anything!

Avery from coffeewithavery

3 tier organizers or bookshelf organizers are great options if you have the space. Not only do they store your stuff super well, but you can also buy cute ones and use them as decoration! For my sister’s room, she got a cubby/bookshelf piece and used it for purses, supplies, and other random stuff!

Drawer organizers are a must – especially for things like socks!

Nicole from simplynicolethings

You also don’t want to forget that you need to account for what’s going into all the drawers and pieces you get. Especially if you buy big under-the-bed drawers, you may want to further divide up your space so everything stays organized.

Use a utility cart to organize kitchen supplies. In my freshman dorm, we used a rolling utility cart to organize our kitchen supplies. We kept our paper goods, cleaning supplies, cups and mugs, and snacks on the shelves. It was really handy and worked perfectly in our tiny space. You could use a utility cart to organize your school supplies, set up a cute coffee station, or even use it as a bedside table.

Kamrynn from kamrynnwithak

This is another amazing idea to keep all of your “home” stuff under control in your dorm room. All of your clothes might be under your bed or in the closet, but you definitely don’t want to forget about all the extra stuff!

Another tip would be to buy matching organizers for your makeup and school supplies. This gives your desk a more clean look and also makes storage simple and easy. I have these ones from amazon and I absolutely love them! Using open storage containers makes things very easy to see. Plus, it makes for a quick clean up because you can put things away easily when you are done with them!

laney from livingwithlaney

Makeup and school supply organization go hand and hand in a dorm room because both are most likely at your desk. If you need more help with these things in specific, click to learn how to organize school supplies and all my best makeup organization tips for dorm rooms!

Make sure to keep up with your stuff

These dorm organization tips are only going to go so far. Once everything is organized, that’s only half the battle! It is not going to actually stay organized unless you keep up with everything.

Keeping everything organized in a small dorm room can be a struggle! My number 1 tip to stay organized it to clean your space up in the morning or at night. Because dorm rooms are so small, it is so easy for clutter to take up your whole room. Spending a few minutes every day picking up the random little things will keep it from all piling up and becoming a disaster.

Laney from livingwithlaney

If you put in even just five minutes each day, you will see the biggest difference in your space. A dorm room is extremely small and your space is only going to get smaller if you keep letting the messes build up. One of my best systems for always keeping organized is using the one touch rule!

I hope these dorm organization tips from all these college students has helped you and given you some inspiration for your dorm room! To check out my more these amazing ladies, click below for all their links!

• Avery from coffeewithavery
• Carrie from gotcarried.away
• Chazlyn from chazlyn.yvonne
• Kamrynn from kamrynnwithak
• Laney from livingwithlaney
• Nicole from simplynicolethings