Getting Organized: Dorm Style

How many times have you looked around your dorm, apartment or room and said to yourself, “what a mess,”?

You need to get organized and you need to do it fast. The best way to organize your space is to start by cleaning and THEN organizing.

Face That Laundry Head On.

From experience, you know that pile of laundry isn’t going to wash itself so why not get to it? Gather up all of your dirty laundry and put it into your basket.

Pick up all of the clean clothes and actually put them away in the closet, drawer, or wherever you use to store your clothing.

Once you get all of the clothes out of your room, you will be surprised at how much more space you have to move around and get more cleaning done.

You might as well clean your sheets and bedding too so you can start off with everything fresh and clean.

Get Rid of Stuff You Don’t Need.

If you have books and papers from last semester still lying around or a bunch of clothes that you haven’t worn in a few months, either toss the unused/unwanted items, or pack them up in storage and get them out of your way.

Having all of that extra clutter is only going to stress you out and make it harder to get organized so you might as well remove it from your working/living area.

Don’t forget that the space under your bed is a great place to store books, papers, and school supplies that you don’t use on a daily basis.

Use bed risers to give yourself some extra space underneath and buy some storage bins if necessary.

Organize the Things You Do Need.

If you have your papers and books strewn about your room, it’s time to organize those things!

Pick up a filing cabinet from your local Staples, CVS, or your school store; don’t forget to purchase files, too. Once you label everything, you should be able to store all of your class syllabi, papers, exams, notecards, and whatever else you may need later on down the road.

If you keep track of all your stuff, you will be able to plan better for exams, whip out your study materials instantly, and of course, you will be more organized.

If you have old books, either sell them at your school’s store, online, or donate them; either way, if you aren’t using them, you need to get rid of them!

Give Everything a Good Scrub Down.

You probably have mounds of dust in all the nooks and crannies of your room so once all of your unwanted, unused, and unwashed items are removed, you should give your room a good cleaning.

This means wiping down the surfaces, vacuuming, and getting rid of dirt and things that might make you sick. If you have a mini-fridge, you should also think about cleaning that out to get rid of any germs it may have been harboring; the last thing you need is to get sick right before an exam.

Now that all of your surfaces are clean (both under, over and at eye-level), you can begin the organization of your desk, closet, night-stand, dresser, etc.

Organize Everything Else.

Start with your closet. If it’s a mess, purchase a shoe rack, storage bins, hooks, and hangers and get to work. Once all of your clothes and shoes are in order, you can begin moving other stuff around.

Organize your desk by clearing it off and only putting the things that you use on a daily basis out on top.

Get a plastic stand-up organizer for all of your paper and pens so they aren’t floating around your desk randomly.

Utilize your desk drawers by cleaning them out if they are messy and filling them back up with special space organizers which will help to keep all of your school supplies in order. You can find such items at your school store or on Amazon.com.

Find places for all of the things you don’t use on a daily basis so they are no longer taking up valuable space in your room.

When you feel cluttered or claustrophobic, you won’t be able to focus and get your work done so be sure to stay clean and organized for a happy, healthy semester!