How to Send Your Child Off to College the Right Way

It’s here. The day you never thought would come: your child is going off to college! While this is an incredibly exciting milestone, it can be overwhelming without the right preparation in place. One of the biggest aspects of going off to college is moving into the dorms, which notoriously have limited space. As professional organizers, we’ve worked in thousands of small spaces over the years and we’ve learned a thing or two about maximizing space and coming up with clever storage solutions! Here are a few hacks for getting creative with your dorm organization, and making the most of the space:

Make Command hooks your new best friend

Nails are typically not permitted in dorms, which is why Command’s adhesive hooks are a dorm staple. Aside from hanging curtains & pictures, though, you can get creative with these to maximize any blank wall space. If you share a bathroom with suitemates, consider using hooks on the wall for towels.

Use a wire shelving unit for above-the-fridge storage

These are great because you can customize where the shelves fall, meaning you can tailor it to the height of your fridge and whatever items you want to store. Keep all your food-related items on the shelves above the fridge!

Create hanging storage in the shower

If your shared shower doesn’t have much room for storage, add a tension rod to the side opposite the curtain and hang hooks from it. Use these hooks to hang your shower caddies.

Go vertical with your desk storage

One of the greatest add-ons you can incorporate into your dorm room is a desk hutch. Adding storage shelves on top of the desk maximizes the space above your desk, giving all of your schoolwork essentials a home.

Create new uses for storage organizers

You can use an over-the-door shoe organizer for shoes, or you can use the pockets to store smaller items like underwear, scarves, washcloths, or even umbrellas!

Storage on wheels

For makeup, toiletries, or even snacks, bringing in a 3-tier rolling cart is a great way to keep like-items together. The cart is on wheels, which is optimal for a dorm room as you can bring it with you to the bathroom, your mirror, or the area where you keep your dishes.

Double your closet space

If you’re tight on hanging space in your closet, add in a second hanging rod! These hang from the ends of the primary rod and create an entirely new hanging rod below. They’re usually adjustable too, so you can size them perfectly to your inventory!

Try stacking and concealing

Oftentimes dorm closets have a shelf above the hanging rod, instead of leaving it bare and stacking things one on top of the other, try using bins to a) stack and utilize more vertical space and b) conceal all the things!

Utilize underneath your bed

Your dorm might not have a lofted bed, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do it yourself. Underbed storage is essential in a dorm. If your bed sits low, add bed risers onto the bottom of each post of your bed so you can fit stacking drawers underneath!

Don’t let anything slip through the cracks

Because your bed is likely one of your top spots to relax or do homework, it’s easy for things like your phone, laptop, books, or cords to pile up on it. If you don’t have a nightstand, the best way to keep things from falling through the cracks of your bed is to implement bedside storage organizers onto both sides!

There are lots of ways to get crafty with storage and organization in a dorm. The most important thing to remember as you move in is that this space is only going to serve you for a year. As you choose products, try to think cost effectively—what is going to work in this space that could also work in a new one next year? If it’s for this year only, will it serve you enough to justify buying it now? Above all, you need to make sure that you’re setting yourself or your child up for success. Make sure that the systems you create now will make sense for your (or their) lifestyle throughout the year. This is your new home after all! For all the dorm essentials and products mentioned above and more, check out our dorm essentials Amazon Storefront here!

And to make sure you stay on top of getting it all, download our dorm move-in checklist below.

Wishing you all the happiness as you enter into this next phase. The best is yet to come! If you have any questions about dorm organization, DM us on Instagram!