There is no need to rush buying all dorm room essentials in advance. Most things do not sell out.
It is often best to wait to buy many dorm and college apartment items after moving in.
On day one, you need clothes, shower shoes, a bath towel, bedding, a mattress topper, makeup, medications, dental care, bath and body toiletries.
You may have discussed things to share with a roommate if you have one, where each one is responsible for certain things, usually space-hogging articles like TVs, rugs, microwaves, or fridges. Even these items can wait until you can measure the room and check out each other’s bedding before buying decorative things like rugs.
Your college town has stores where you can buy anything. In addition, all your items can get shipped to your college or apartment.
Many college students bring a ton of excess and ship it back home. It is like packing for a vacation; you always take too much just because or in case you need it one day!
So What Do You Need, Or What Do You Have Space For?
When you are dealing with a small space, which is the case for most college students living in a dorm or small apartment, which is commonly shared space, you need to buy things that are compact, dual-purpose, collapsing, or wall-mounted or take advantage of dead space by using lateral tower-style organizers or furniture.
Storage Organization Is King
Top Dorm Storage Organizers
The only way everything will fit where it is easy to access and not overtake limited counter space is to strategically plan the space by accurately measuring and buying the proper containers.
As a professional home organizer with kids living in dorms and off-campus apartments, I can share with you what worked for them.
Here is a list of the top organizers for a girl’s space.
1) The wall-mounted magnetic jewelry organizers from CK Organizers hangs all your jewelry from magnets. The organizer mounts to the wall with included command strips. CK Organizers has a miniature version of its magnetic jewelry organizer that hangs from a cinder block wall using the included command strips. You can find this product on Dormify. What is nice about this product is that it holds enough jewelry that one would need in college and keeps it front and center; it is easy to access. The organizer can also have pictures and notes as it doubles as a memo board.
2) Use the Dormify Sutton charging 3-drawer organizer cart to capitalize on lateral space and avoid wide organizers.
Why does this organizer rule, besides being a Dormify best-seller staple for years? Here are three good reasons.
1—It is a dual-function organizer because it stores belongings, has a counter to store lighting and water bottles, and has a built-in A/C and USB outlet to charge all your devices quickly.
2—It is slim and tall, so it can fit in a tight space while taking advantage of lateral space. The counter is high, which is perfect for a loft dorm bed.
3—It is mobile with locking wheels, making it easy to move around.
3) A mini Fridge could be challenging to situate, especially in a small dorm room or if you need a private fridge in your off-campus apartment. A lateral organizer that offers storage above and below is a great way to gain additional platforms to store microwaves, baskets, food, towels, books, lamps, towels, clothes, etc.
The Suprima metal portable mini-shelf organizer is perfect because it has an overhead shelf and a pull-out wire basket below.
A multi-function organizer is the one to purchase. The mini-shelf organizer holds your fridge, plus it can store your laptop, microwave, toys, and all your odd-and-ends while keeping them easy to access and find.
4) Dorm fridges are oversized items in a dorm room, so utilizing their surface is a good idea since why not capitalize on it?
Magnets adhere to small fridges, so using magnetic organizers to hold things is wise.
Here are some excellent magnetic organizers for your dorm’s fridge:
1—CK Organizers magnetic jewelry organizers come with magnets to store jewelry that can transfer and adapt to your fridge. These jewelry magnets can also hold postcards, schedules, and to-do lists on your fridge.
2—The Sprima shelf and paper towel organizer are also great magnetic organizers that fit on the side of your mini fridge. Paper is handy for quick cleaning and dining, and the shelves are great for cleaners, toiletries, beverages, and food.
3—A magnetic mini-fridge caddy can discreetly hold paper plates and napkins, journals, iPhones and accessories, hair brushes and accessories, and many other slim items.
4—A magnetic letter and key holder is a simple yet essential organizer for holding keys, iPhones, and mail.
5—When there is not enough drawer or hanging space for clothes, stackable clear bins from Dormify are great to place under a loft bed or even use as a nightstand next to your bed. You can stack these organizers to use much lateral space the higher you go.
Anything from clothes to food can be stashed here, and these organizers are collapsing, making storing and transporting them space-saving and convenient. The organizers are gorgeous, too.
6—Everyone overlooks bedside organizers, but they are so beneficial considering the number of hours college students spend in their beds, where they use their computers, scroll social media on their phones, or even study or read.
Nonslip bedside caddies by Dormify that attach to beds can store many items, such as reading lights, iPhones, headphones, medication, journals, notebooks, and eyewear.
7—A well-made over-the-door rack for heavy backpacks and a handled shower caddy are necessary. The Pottery Barn over-the-door rack will handle that and capitalize on commonly under-utilized door storage.
