10 Honor Roll-Worthy Dorm Room Storage Solutions

College life is filled with organizational challenges — how to manage your schedule, what foods to avoid at the dining hall, and how to cram your sleep, social, and work life into highly cramped living quarters. We found some of the best (and easiest!) storage solutions to help you sort it all out, at least the storage part.

With closet space at a premium in dorm rooms, most belongings are out and about in plain sight. Try appropriating stylish storage solutions to ease the eyesores of commonplace items like toothpaste, shampoo and other bath items. Vintage drawers add to your décor while providing mobile storage for your toiletries when it’s time to move them elsewhere.

In small quarters, you’ll come to rely on items that perform double duty. Storage that serves as seating is one such elegant solution. With wheels, you can easily move it around for late-night cram sessions with classmates. Add a cushion or throw pillows for extra comfort.

Basic chains from a hardware store let you showcase and store your baubles for just a couple of dollars. Coordinate this with your clothing storage by securing a (stronger) chain from the ceiling to the floor, creating tiered hanging for clothes or jackets on hangers.

Resourceful college students look forward to the end of each school year – and not just because finals are over. On major moving days, salvageable cast-offs can often be found street side, free! Spruce up repurposed dresser drawers for shelving in your space. Stacked vertically and filled with your favorite items, they’ll add a homey feel to your living quarters.

Off the floor and onto the wall! Free up valuable closet space for bulkier shoes by installing painted strips of crown molding to display your heeled shoes. Ladies also get the bonus of showing off their prized stiletto collection!

A small room accumulates dirt fast, especially when everyone traipses all over wearing their shoes. A clever way to deal with this is by storing shoes–yours and your friends – in stacked drainpipes near your door. Secure the pipes together with adjustable tight straps for easy dismantling when it comes time to move. With your shoes contained, your floors will stay cleaner and you’ll feel a bit more organized.

It’ll take up space on your desk or bookshelf, but the hours you’ll save detangling cords or searching for your misplaced phone make this breadbox-turned-tech-station worth creating. With a designated place for every item, this converted breadbox offers a simple solution to a vexing organizational challenge. Not to mention, the secure storage should ward off that accidental charger theft from a prowling roommate.

If you’re short on closet and shelf space, simply add wheels to a bookshelf the approximate size of your closet door. Place it in front of your closet and push it aside when you need access to your wardrobe. Paint it a dramatic color for extra effect.

Many dresser or desk tops double as a vanity space, but you can clean up the sight of appliances by setting up your own in the inside swingable doors. Hang PVC pipe corresponding with the width of your hairdryer, curling iron, and brush. Add a hanging mirror above and voila!

We love this stylish multi-purpose solution – attach strips of leather to the wall to make the perfect home for magazines, scarves, and other small items. If you’re feeling thrifty, skip the trip to the fabric store and carve up some old belts. 

If you’re looking for more on small-space storage solutions, consider:

10 Ways to Live Comfortably in 400 Square Feet or Less

Get Organized: 20 Clever Ideas for Repurposed Storage

15 Ways to Make a Small Bathroom Big