While I may not be the best advocate for organization, I do know how to save space in a traditional dorm room. So take notes and learn from a semi-professional. And please do excuse the mess, it’s lived in.

1. Utilize under the bed storage.

If there is no room for the monster under the bed, then there can’t be a monster under the bed, right?

2. Try a vertical approach.

Imagine your room is like New York City with its tall skyscrapers. Stack your things higher and higher until they reach the clouds.

3. Invest in a shoe rack.

That lonely, smelly shoe pile in the corner has gone far enough. You have beautiful shoes, display them for everyone to see so they don’t trip over them.

4. Command Hooks are the real MVP

Command Hooks can keep your life together even during these stressful college times.

5. Keep your closet clean and orderly.

Cut down search time in the morning by separating all of your clothes by type, color, fit, collar, thread weight, length, etc.

6. Only keep the necessities.

If there is one thing I have learned from Public Speaking with Charlie Krebs, it’s K.I.S.S.: Keep it Simple, Stupid. Do not bring your old prom dress or tuxedo, you will not need it.

7. It’s okay to have a junk drawer.

It’s hard to keep everything in line (as you can see by my pitiful mess of a room), so when in doubt, have a drawer to throw it in. It’s okay to have a slip up or two.

8. Make space for decoration.

Keep a small space for the things that make you happy. Not everything in your room can be textbooks and portfolios.