How to Fit a Million Things into Half of a 15’x12’ Room

I grew up as an only child and never had to share a bedroom, so I always had plenty of space to my store my things. I knew it was going to be difficult to split a tiny dorm room in college. My roommate and I were both overpackers. If we could do it, you can definitely too.

Yes, I brought wayyy too much stuff with me. I do suggest putting a lot of thought into what essentials you will need and the things you want to bring. Don’t wait to pack last minute. You will definitely want to pack with organization in mind beforehand. You won’t have too much time to move in if you were planning on reorganizing everything after you unpack during the morning of WEPO.

Something you can do ahead of time is go on Penn State’s website https://housing.psu.edu/housing-areas to view pictures and floor plans of what your room layout will look like. You can also call housing over the summer and ask if the provided bed will have built in adjustable risers or if you can loft the beds. Some dorms will, some won’t. I purchased extra tall bed risers (that you can find cheap on Amazon (7 inches)) and my roommate lofted her bed. This allowed so much extra storage space to be used underneath the beds! 

My mother and I made sure to make a Target shopping trip to find a few things to help organize my mass amounts of stuff. I liked having a 3 drawer storage bin that had wheels. I was able to keep it under the bed, and then easily pull it out when I needed it. It worked out nice to store food like cereal bars, crackers, and chips in these. I suggest placing the items you believe you will use the least often in the farthest corner/side of the bed. (make sure to read online carefully since the bed heights are different in each dorm so you do not want to buy too tall of drawers if you plan on putting them under your bed)

I suggest purchasing a desk organizer so you can keep your desk neat throughout the semester. It helps organize loose smaller things and papers. If you have a lot of clothes you like to hang, a double hanging closet rack might be your best friend. This allows another rack that you can hang from, and it simply hooks onto the provided rack in the room already.

Hope you can fit everything into your dorm rooms!

~Devyn Brielle Kirban

Mentor for Team L