After back-to-school shopping, college students are being tasked with storing everything they bought.
However, dorm rooms are known for being small, and the limited space often has to be shared with roommates.
It's an issue that college students and parents talk about all the time. Thankfully, there are a few tips you can follow to make the tiny dorm room life easier.
"When you're living in a dorm room, you really have to be creative of how you fill your space and what you bring with you to school," Anna Kocharian from Consumer Reports said.
Planning ahead can prevent major headaches on move-in day.
"Chances are, if you're not using an item at home, you're probably not going to use it at school. So just be really intentional about what you're bringing with you," Kocharian said.
Instead of packing extra towels and bedding, one set that is washed regularly will take up less space.
Also, connect with roommates to decide who's bringing what to avoid doubling up on things like a coffee maker or hair dryer.
"And then once you get to school, your closet is going to be your number one storage space. So you're going to want to maximize that the best that you can," Kocharian said.
Hanging longer clothing on one end of the closet and shorter pieces on the other leaves room for a freestanding storage unit underneath the shorter items.
More clothing will fit when using slim hangers instead of bulky ones.
Outside of the closet, create more space by using bed risers to lift up the bed.
"It's going to provide you with a few extra inches of storage space underneath your bed. And what you can do is get rolling bins that you could throw in under, and you can use it to store everything from books to clothing to shoes and anything else you may have," Kocharian said.
