Some very helpful items to organize a dorm room and keep things handy are:
- A Shoe Rack
My son uses a collapsible metal shoe rack that sits on the floor under his hanging clothes and allows him to stack his shoes and boots (he goes to college in Vermont) and thus double his closet floor space.My daughter uses a hanging shoe rack that holds eight pairs of shoes in about 6 inches of closet space.
- Collapsible Wire Shelves
For each of our students, we bought two collapsible shelves, about 24 inches long, 12 inches wide, and 8 inches high, made of nylon coated heavy-duty wire. The students put one on the top of their dresser and one on their shelf in the closet. Believe me, every inch of every shelf will be put to use! - A Plastic Bath Tote
Use this for lugging toiletries to and from the bathroom down the hall. Our son’s is black, our daughter’s purple. The best ones we’ve found have a little rack on the outside to hang their wet wash cloths. There are places to put shampoo, soap, toothpaste, razor, deodorant, cotton swabs, etc. - Removable, Stick-on Plastic Hooks
Each student uses several. Heavy-duty hooks are great for bathrobes, jackets, and all those “half-clean” clothes that would otherwise be on the floor or bed. Lightweight hooks work for posters, calendars, etc.
Both kids go to the same college, and their school’s web site has a scale drawing of every dorm room on campus. The students can check out the dimensions and layout of their room before they arrive, if they haven’t actually seen it. This, of course, can help with things like a rug, knowing whether or not there’s room for a chair, etc.
Special thanks to this very special mom for her great suggestions!
When I went off to college, I knew that I’d be rooming with a friend. We spent quite some time getting things planned, organized, and decorated before we even walked onto campus. We had the best looking room in the dorm, if I do say so myself!
For more ideas on planning, organizing, and decorating a dorm room, use our Dorm Room Resources. Learn about What's Hot for Dorm Rooms, how to Decorate Your Dorm Room With a Theme, and some of the Top Comfort Items for a Dorm Room.