Are you moving into university accommodation this year? Will you be in halls, or a room in a shared house? You’ll probably have to share communal areas like the kitchen and bathroom, but your room will be yours alone - a place to store your belongings, study, work and relax.
Keeping your uni room tidy and clutter-free might be difficult as student bedrooms don’t usually come with much in-built storage for students. Never fear, though - we’ve found some great uni storage ideas for students that might help you settle into your term-time home!
1. Get the most space saving storage from your wardrobe
The bulk of the belongings you take to uni will probably be clothing, so you’ll need to make the most of the space available inside and outside your wardrobe.
Inside, hang loads of dresses, skirts, shirts and trousers by investing in some
space-saving hangers. These allow you to make the most of the available vertical space while saving space on the rail. They only cost a couple of pounds and you can buy them online or from most homeware and DIY shops.
You can store shoes, extra blankets and bags in
lidded boxes at the bottom of your wardrobe, and
hang additional shelves from the rail to store folded t-shirts, jumpers and jeans.
A well-appointed wardrobe can mean you don’t need a separate chest of drawers, so it really is space saving storage if you organise it well.
On the exterior of your wardrobe door, hang a
door storage organiser to store things like hats, gloves and scarves, toiletries, underwear or shoes.
You can also hang a mirror on the inside of your wardrobe door rather than use a freestanding full-sized mirror, to save even more floor space.
If there’s a gap between the top of your wardrobe and the ceiling, you could store your suitcase (perhaps filled with winter or summer clothes out of season) or, if there’s a large space, you could add a shoe rack to effectively create a double shelf to store whatever you like. Anything that goes on top of your wardrobe will be an effort to get back down, so only store things up there that you won’t need to access frequently.
2. Under-bed storage ideas
There are loads of good under-bed storage ideas you could use. Your bed takes up a large amount of floorspace, so using the space beneath your mattress is a great student storage idea. Don’t just stash things under there with no order, though, or there’s a good chance you won’t see it again until you pack up to leave next summer.
Instead, invest in some
under-bed storage drawers, ideally on casters so you can pull them in and out easily.
You could also store excess (out of season) clothing, blankets and spare pillows under your bed. Beware, though, that the space under your bed can get extremely dusty, so if you’re using under-bed storage space for materials or soft furnishings, put them inside a sealed plastic box or bag first. Even better, buy some
vacuum storage bags and suck the air out of them to save even more space.
Most student accommodation is at least part-furnished but if you do need to provide your own bed, consider using your headboard as space saving storage. Storage headboards are true uni room essentials, especially if your room is too small for a bedside table. You can opt for a style that provides extra
shelves at the side of the head of your bed, or
shelves above your head - great little spaces for storing books, glasses, a lamp, tissues, fans, or a cup of hot chocolate!
3. Organise your work area
Keeping on top of your work and assignments is much easier if you know where everything is and don’t have to keep hunting for notes or equipment. When packing or buying your uni room essentials, make sure you include a noticeboard or pinboard and plenty of pins to stick reminders and lists up where you can see them easily.
You could also screw cup hooks to the side of your wardrobe or the back of your door, and hang clipboards from them - clip different sets of notes or spare pads of paper to them so you can always find what you’re looking for.
Double up on workspace by buying a
shelf organiser for your desk so that you can store, say, folders underneath and stationery on top. Measure your desk and find a small
set of drawers to fit beneath it, making sure you leave enough space for your legs of course!
For your stationery, mini drawers may look cute and stylish, but they can be a nuisance to open and close every time you need a pencil. Instead, a
desk storage box with open compartments in a range of sizes is more practical and will keep everything just as organised. The best kind of student storage is free, though - so you could always reuse clean jam jars to store your pencils and pens!
4. Other uni room essentials
When thinking about student storage, we can’t neglect the fact that once you’ve worn your clothes you’ll need to wash them - and dirty laundry takes up a huge amount of space! Keep your bedroom free from strewn clothing by choosing a hanging laundry bag. Hang it up on the inside of your door, or on the outside of your wardrobe, or maybe even on the back of a chair.
Keeping your books and files tidy and accessible can be a challenge, but if you’ve saved some space by getting rid of the need for a chest of drawers and/or bedside table, do you have room for a
small bookcase? Or could you use a
cube storage unit at an angle across your room - perhaps next to your bed? These can be accessed from either side, and can double as room dividers if you like the idea of separating your room into mini zones for work, sleep, relaxation etc.
5. If all else fails…
If you’ve used all these uni storage ideas and still find that your room feels too cluttered or disorganised, think about whether there are any belongings that can be stored externally for a few weeks. We offer
student storage at our self storage stores..
You can keep things like winter duvets or bulky clothes, sports equipment or old text/notebooks in a locker for however long you need to.
You can even move your stuff into a larger unit during the holidays so that you can store all your belongings safely whilst you go back home.