Starting (or returning) to uni is an exciting time, but it can be unsettling too especially if it’s your first time living away from home.
Aside from study and curriculum changes, you might be wondering how on earth you’ll fit all your stuff into your student room. This can be an issue whether you’re off-campus or living in halls.
While we can’t really help with your studies, we can offer a few tips on organising your living space so you can be comfortable while you study. From self storage for students to practical space-saving ideas, one or two of these solutions might help.
Maximise Your Wardrobe
Hopefully you’ll have some closet space to call your own, and while it’s small, it can hold more than you might think.
- Hang dresses, coats and jackets, trousers and shirts or blouses. Fold everything else. If you’re short on drawer space for folded items, but there’s some room at the bottom of the wardrobe, grab one of those plastic drawer towers and hide it in the wardrobe. It’s handy for accessories too, or books, shoes, or sports kit.
- Double up on hanging space with hanger connectors. A clever little hack is to use a drinks can ring pull to hang one hanger from another.
- Fit a hook inside the door to hold bags, beads, scarves, or ties. You can get suction hooks instead of damaging the door itself.
- Use a shoe rack in the bottom in place of a drawer tower to keep footwear in one place. A tension rod or two (normally used to hang net curtains) is handy in place of an actual shoe rack. You can customise the size too.
Use Your Vertical Space
You may not be allowed to drill into walls to fit shelves, but if you have a blank wall there’s nothing to stop you bringing in a bookcase or freestanding shelving unit. Go as tall as you’re able to maximise storage space.
Another way to use vertical space is by using hanging storage. Most commonly used for shoes, these can hang over the top of a door (including a wardrobe door) and are useful for lots of different items, from hobby stuff to make up and toiletries. Even basic over-door hooks and hangers can help you save space and offer a place for dressing gowns or regularly used coats and scarves or bags.
Get Space-Saving Furniture
Anything that folds is your friend when space is tight, including folding tables and chairs. If you don’t like folding chairs, look for stackable seats so your friends can be comfortable when they come round.
In halls, a study space is usually included in the room but if you’re kitting out your own room in a privately rented or shared house, consider a desk on wheels so you can place it wherever is most convenient at the time.
Under the bed is a good storage place too, that shouldn’t be neglected. Transparent tubs on wheels that are designed for underbed storage are great as you can see what’s in them and easily roll them in or out. While they’re not exactly furniture, they can certainly house some items that would take up space in other furnishings.
Use Self Storage
Storage unit hire may be less than you think for students and can really help you get organised as you don’t need to try and keep every single item in your room.
Since lots of students study far from home, self storage can also save you time and trouble carting all your things back and forth at the end of term. When you know you’re returning, there’s no need to take home things like duvets or winter coats during the summer holidays. Just pack up what you need at home and store the rest until you’re back. It can also really help when you’re starting a new year and finding new rooms in halls or student rentals.
When you’re excited to start the next chapter in your life and studies, it’s a shame to take the shine off the adventure with worries about how you’ll manage your space day to day. Hopefully we’ve given you a few tips that spark your own space-saving ideas that’ll help you adapt to the exciting, if challenging, times ahead.
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