10 Best Dorm Organization Ideas You Need to Survive Freshman Year

We're sharing the best dorm organization ideas.

Going to college is so exciting, but it can also be overwhelming — trying to make sure you have everything you need for your dorm, your classes, and everything in between.

Thinking back to our freshman year, we were so excited to decorate our space, but we were equally as excited to keep it super organized. After all, you don't have a lot of space to work with while living in a dorm room, so the space you do have must be used wisely. That's where organization comes into play!

Keeping your space organized and tidy will not only help you have a clean space, but it will also help clear your mind as well — which is super important to survive your freshman year. Here are 10 best dorm organization ideas to keep your dorm room neat all year long.

RELATED POST: Super Cozy College Apartment Living Room Decor That'll Make You Feel At Home

This post is all about 10 best dorm organization ideas.

10 Best Dorm Organization Ideas

1. Maximize Storage with a Multi-Drawer Nightstand

We love how sleek this IKEA drawer unit looks as a nightstand. It maximizes storage for books, makeup, and other personal belongings. Plus, it gives you enough space on top to add a small table lamp, an alarm clock, and a cute picture frame.

Recreate this dorm organization idea:

2. Create a Pantry Organization System

Living in a dorm, you have to learn to get creative with your space. If you have an additional shelving unit or cubby in your dorm room, use it as a pantry. Add under-the-shelf basket units to store dinnerware and use clear food canisters (we love these affordable canisters from Walmart) to store snacks, cereal, and other food items.

Recreate this dorm organization idea:

3. Use a Cart as Doctorate Storage

Small carts are such a great way to add storage that you can move around. We love the idea of adding a small lamp and other decorative items to the cart to make it match the aesthetic of the dorm room. Use the bottom two tiers to store books, hair products, or other personal belongings.

What makes these so convenient is that you can roll them out when you need something and roll it right back in place when you're not using it.

Recreate this dorm organization idea:

4. Add a Shelf Unit to Your Desk

We wish we had known about this shelving unit in college. It would have provided us with so much more storage. We love how much character it adds to your dorm room!

Decorate the shelves with cute baskets, picture frames, and faux plants to give your desk a more curated look.

Recreate this dorm organization idea:

5. Mix and Match Under-Bed Storage Bins

Mix and matching the storage options under your bed, will give your space a cozier feel. We love how the idea of mixing the drawer units with the baskets. So functional and cute!

Recreate this dorm organization idea:

6. Use Hanging Storage in Your Closet

We used hanging storage units in your dorm room closet and still use them to this day. They are such a great way to store pants, sweaters, sweatshirts, and jeans that you want to make easily accessible.

You can even use them to store accessories and shoes. It's totally up to you!

Recreate this dorm organization idea:

7. Add an Over-the-Toilet Shelf in Your Bathroom

One of our best purchases for our college dorm and apartment bathroom was our over-the-toilet shelving unit. It gave us so much more storage to hold towels, bash cloths, and other toiletries.

Recreate this dorm organization idea:

8. Maximize Vertical Space for Bathroom Storage

Adding a narrow, tall shelf unit to your bathroom is a great way to add even more storage. It gives you and your roommates plenty of room to each have a shelf for your items and gives you room for items you may want to share.

Recreate this dorm organization idea:

9. Repurpose Furniture for More Storage

Dorm room decor and organization have certainly leveled up since we were in college, but we are 100% here for it. We love the idea of repurposing a wide nightstand or chest to use for storage that's functional and aesthetic.

Recreate this dorm organization idea:

10. Decorate with Storage Ottomans

Pro tip: decorate with storage ottomans. Whether you have one or two ottomans in your dorm room, they can function a few different ways:

Recreate this dorm organization idea:

This post is all about 10 best dorm organization ideas.