My roommate and I just moved into our dorm on Sunday and then classes started immediately the following Monday. So in between finding books and entering school mode, my roommate and I have been trying to unpack, settle in, and make our room feel more like home. We just finished sorting out our things, but we haven't had a chance to personalize just yet. We plan on adding photos and DIY crafts to personalize the room once we find the time.... and motivation.
As a student who is entering her third year in the dorms, I completely understand the challenge of trying to efficiently fit a year's worth of precious crap, along with another person's precious crap, into a small little space that is comparable to a shoe box. I know. It sucks. But over time, I've picked up a few tips and tricks along the way to maximize space and personalize it, too. I thought I'd quickly share ones off the top of my head to any freshman reading this. And I'll do that by showing pictures of my current room.
Again, don't mind the bare walls just yet. (;
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This is the view of our room when you first open the door.
TIP ONE: Bunk the beds. I know this may be awkward in certain situations, (AKA if your roommate is a stranger and you want to establish boundaries), but bunking beds, as opposed to mid-lofting both, takes away a lot of space. Utilizing vertical space is very important when the horizontal space is limited. If you do not feel comfortable bunking beds with your roommate, you could high loft both beds. High lofting is when you treat both beds as if they would be the top bunk, so there is free space under it. *Check with your housing board because most dorms do offer this option, but do not publicize it. Last year, my roommate chose the latter to set up our room. Doing this gave us room to bring in a futon for guests, too. Under my bed went the futon, and under hers we fit her desk and dressers.
TIP TWO: Store things under your bed. That space under your bed looks like awkward, useless, trapped space, at first glance, but it is actually really spacious for things that are low in height. In this picture, you see a storage container and a suitcase under the bottom bunk. In the storage container, I put all my hoodies and zip-ups in there to save closet space. I thought this was the most practical because the weather is still warm out and I'm not always reaching for a hoodie. In the suitcase, I just threw all my extra closet hangers and winter jackets that I don't need quite yet, but probably will in a few months.
TIP THREE: Put your jewelry on display. Personally, if my jewelry is not on display, I will never wear them. So I bought a T-Stand to hold all my necklaces cannot get tangled, and I bought a hardware storage container to keep my earrings.
Home sweet home. (:
I'll add more pictures once our room is finished.
As a student who is entering her third year in the dorms, I completely understand the challenge of trying to efficiently fit a year's worth of precious crap, along with another person's precious crap, into a small little space that is comparable to a shoe box. I know. It sucks. But over time, I've picked up a few tips and tricks along the way to maximize space and personalize it, too. I thought I'd quickly share ones off the top of my head to any freshman reading this. And I'll do that by showing pictures of my current room.
Again, don't mind the bare walls just yet. (;
-
This is the view of our room when you first open the door.
TIP ONE: Bunk the beds. I know this may be awkward in certain situations, (AKA if your roommate is a stranger and you want to establish boundaries), but bunking beds, as opposed to mid-lofting both, takes away a lot of space. Utilizing vertical space is very important when the horizontal space is limited. If you do not feel comfortable bunking beds with your roommate, you could high loft both beds. High lofting is when you treat both beds as if they would be the top bunk, so there is free space under it. *Check with your housing board because most dorms do offer this option, but do not publicize it. Last year, my roommate chose the latter to set up our room. Doing this gave us room to bring in a futon for guests, too. Under my bed went the futon, and under hers we fit her desk and dressers.
TIP TWO: Store things under your bed. That space under your bed looks like awkward, useless, trapped space, at first glance, but it is actually really spacious for things that are low in height. In this picture, you see a storage container and a suitcase under the bottom bunk. In the storage container, I put all my hoodies and zip-ups in there to save closet space. I thought this was the most practical because the weather is still warm out and I'm not always reaching for a hoodie. In the suitcase, I just threw all my extra closet hangers and winter jackets that I don't need quite yet, but probably will in a few months.
TIP THREE: Put your jewelry on display. Personally, if my jewelry is not on display, I will never wear them. So I bought a T-Stand to hold all my necklaces cannot get tangled, and I bought a hardware storage container to keep my earrings.
Home sweet home. (:
I'll add more pictures once our room is finished.
