Make Room to Revise - Tips for Decluttering Student Digs Before Exams
If your student accommodation is cluttered and full-to-bursting, it can be very difficult to stay motivated and focused on your uni work. By this point in the academic year, you’ve probably acquired an awful lot of stuff - you’ll have all the things you brought from home and a load more things you’ve bought throughout the year. All that clutter can add to your overall feeling of being overwhelmed, and can also make it very easy to get distracted.
So, as exams loom and revision ramps up, there’s one thing that can really help clear your head — a tidy space to work in. A clutter-free environment can really help you to be more productive and make your revision purposeful and effective.
Whether you're living in a tiny room in halls or a shared student house, here’s how to make space to study and store your belongings like a pro — without losing your mind (or your notes).
1. Start with a thorough declutter
Take a good look around. Are there things you won’t be using between now and the end of term? All these things can be packed up and stored away out of sight and out of mind. For example:
- Out-of-season clothes,
- Spare kitchen bits,
- Random decor you impulse-bought in September,
- Extra bedding,
- Travel bags and suitcases,
- Sports gear or hobby supplies,
- Textbooks you’ve already finished.
A decluttered room will go a long way towards a decluttered brain!
2. Make the most of small spaces
Student halls and shared accommodation ought to be kitted out with a wardrobe, desk and bookshelf as a bare minimum. You might need to add some extra storage to make the most of the space you have, though, so that you can stash excess belongings out of the way.
For instance, you could use:
- Vacuum bags for soft items like clothes or duvets,
- Underbed storage boxes for books and stationery supplies,
- Over-the-door racks for bags, towels or coats,
- Plastic drawer units under your desk or at the bottom of your wardrobe for excess kitchen equipment you don’t have room for elsewhere (you’ll probably have less time and energy for cooking this term!).
You’ll be surprised how much room you can reclaim with the right storage equipment.
3. Consider a self storage unit
If you’ve maxed out your storage space and there are still belongings cluttering up your workspace, self storage could be a game changer.
Renting a self storage unit on your own or with other students is a great way to keep everything out of the way until after your exams. Our self storage units can be rented for 2 weeks at a time, for as long as you need, and they come in a wide range of sizes.
So, you could rent a 10 sq ft unit (about the size of a car boot) for a few weeks until after your exams, then empty it and move everything back to your parents’ home over summer. Or, if you don’t want to lug everything home only to have to bring it back again in autumn, you could just keep your unit to store anything you won’t need over summer - you can easily move to a larger unit with us if you need more space.
We offer student discounts for our self storage units, because we know money is tight when you’re studying. If there are other students interested in using self storage for a few weeks during exams, you could rent a larger unit together and split the cost to save even more!
4. Label everything
Whether you're putting things in a storage unit or just under your bed, label boxes clearly. Try colour-coded stickers or a simple numbering system with a checklist on your phone. That way, if you decide you really do need that extra duvet (because British summer isn’t very reliable, after all), or that textbook you thought you’d finished, you’ll be able to find it without adding to your stress levels.
5. Go digital where you can
If your desk is drowning in paper, your room will look an unappealing mess and you might spend more time hunting for your notes than using them. Now is a good time to digitize what you can - scan old notes, upload key resources to your preferred cloud storage, and keep things tidy with folders and colour-coding.
This will also help you get to grips with exactly how much there is to revise and remind you of topics you want to brush up on as you come across them in your notes. It might even give you a sense of control by reducing the number of unknowns or uncertainties - and using digital search functions will be much easier than rummaging through handwritten revision notes at midnight!
6. Do all this early (seriously)
Don't wait until exam week to start tidying. The earlier you clear your space, the quicker your brain will switch into revision mode — no distractions, no excuses, just results. Creating a calm, organised environment before exams isn’t just about tidiness — it’s a legitimate study strategy. So whether you’re boxing up belongings under your bed or arranging self storage, take the time to sort your space now. Your future exam-ready self will be glad you did.
Can we help?
If you decide that a self storage unit will help you, you might need to know a bit more about how it all works. We have some really useful video guides showing the sizes of our units, with information about how much you could store in them; we also have plenty of other information on student storage to help you make a decision about whether this is the best option for you.
We have stores all over the country and so whichever uni you attend you’re sure to find one close by. Our friendly team is on hand to answer any questions you might have via our online chat service, by phone or in store. There’ll be no obligation to book and no high-pressure sales techniques, just helpful information and advice if you need it.
