Speaker 1: Hey what's up you guys, Megan here. Welcome or welcome back to my channel. Today I'm talking about something I am deeply passionate about, which is organization and dorm rooms slash apartments. Today I'm going to be sharing with you guys how I hacked my dorm room, which later turned into how I hacked my apartment to maximize space and basically shove as much shit in there as possible. This is definitely geared more towards college dorms and a lot of those tips go towards that. Obviously you can apply them. However, if it's into your small space, if you guys like videos like this, definitely let me know with a thumbs up and a comment down below and make sure to subscribe for more college apartment organization and dorm videos. I got you. And yeah, let's get right on into this video. First, I'm going to plug one of my favorite videos I've ever done, which is how to decorate your dorm. Because that video, the first step and the same first step for this video is to plan what you're going to do. This is really big, especially if you're moving into a dorm, getting the measurements of the dorm, getting the measurements of the furniture, you will use these, they will be your Bible. You will, you need to know that whether you have to call the apartment office, whether you have to look it up online, Google, stock a Facebook page, do what you need to do. Okay, this is important. It's a little dramatic, but you know, it's good to know. Also like pretty much every dorm in the world has a twin XL bed so you can Google that. It's pretty universal thing and see how wide it is, how long it is for under bed storage reasons. You can kind of plan to how to maximize space in the room with how you're going to lay out the room. So I remember first year I put my dresser underneath my bed to save space, but then I pulled my desk out from underneath my bed because I wanted to have like my little desk space. Start planning to think about where you're going to put things. And that kind of leads into step two, which is bring furniture. This was huge for me first year and I brought three pieces of furniture that changed the game. The first of which was my nightstand and this is a three cube cubicle. I got it from Walmart. I have used this three cube cubicle every single year of college. I'm a rising fourth year now. My roommate Emma also had a three cube cubicle and we kind of did those with the fridge and microwave. So it kind of created this like whole moment. My big tip here is to use the furniture and use your vertical space to your advantage. At least in our dorm room, our ceilings were super high, higher than the ones even in my room at home. I lofted my bed. I used that three cube cubicle, which was probably about here next to me. And I also used a desk hutch. This has got to be my biggest game changing thing of my entire dorm room, which was really dramatic. So in the dorm that I lived in first year at UVA, I lived in Dabney. If any of you guys are rising first years, they only gave us about 30 inch wide desks. They were a lot smaller than all the other ones they had on grounds. So I actually hacked it by using a two cube cubicle. This one's from Target, I think. And I've also used that for years. I will continue to use it for years. I put the desk, the cubicle, and then the hutch on top of it because the two were the same height. In any other dorm, pretty much you can just put the desk hutch on top. It was great because not only did it add vertical storage for like, I've had my makeup in there, college papers. I had a bin with like just random stuff, like deodorant, just like everyday things. And then on top, I actually stored even more stuff. I had my jewelry organizer. I had my mirror for my makeup. And then I also put two pin boards on top, which that's kind of more of a decor thing, but I loved having those because it also continued to bring your eye up. And in the end, it was really just kind of a statement piece and it really just elevates everything. Another way that you can use vertical space is if you have a wardrobe system like I did, I actually got a Scout Rump Roost before college. I got the size large. These things, once again, kind of one of those college staples. If you want to see my college essentials video, I'll also link that down below. Those things are amazing first of all, if you wanted to keep it on the ground, you can actually sit on it. I think it holds up to 300 pounds, something like that. But I just put a ton of like random stuff in there, costume stuff, bug spray, sunscreen, a bathing suit, like random stuff that you're not going to reach for, but you have in this just ginormous bin. You could also easily just put like a decorative bin or something on top of your wardrobe or anything like that. Something that you can kind of grab and throw away and pull down when you need it. Oh, and the last thing, I didn't use this first year, this Madesmart Drawer Organizer. I'll put a picture on the screen and I've used it under the sink for the past two years at my apartment and then my sorority house. It is just amazing. And once again, an example of how you can totally use your vertical space, because if you just had like bottles or something underneath your sink, you would totally be missing like that next level. So things like that, you can also get like plate organizer things that you can use for other reasons, like kind of same idea where you can just like use vertical space. Another crucial thing that I feel like is harped on a lot in these videos is under bed storage, but for good reason. I think that in order to have the most, I would say, efficient use of under bed storage is to really plan what you're going to do. And I know that sounds crazy, but seriously, draw it out either on a piece of paper. I drew it on Procreate. I remember I used a very specific image for my inspiration, but just kind of planning out what you're going to put. If you can loft your bed, I would loft it, not the highest it can go, but pretty high. I had mine like lofted in like a loft style, but I don't think it was the absolute highest it could go. And I got on my bed every night by stepping on my desk. But last year, for example, if you guys have seen any of my sorority house content, my bed was just like a normal bed, like this one. So I actually bought some bed risers, which is a great tip that I have. They were great. They lasted all year, super sturdy. I also kept my shoes underneath there in a weird way. And then I had these two really, really deep under bed storage drawers, which could actually be stacked. I also at one point last year, I had like under the bed shoe organizers, which were really helpful. A big thing out of all of this, like I said, is planning, trying to figure out kind of in advance where things are going to go. That's what worked for me. It just depends on your needs, what you're keeping and what you're trying to store. Another aesthetic thing, if your bed doesn't have guardrails and it's kind of lofted, I actually last year just used the same queen comforter on my bed and just kind of draped it over the side to really cover everything underneath. Just aesthetically, this looked a lot better because you couldn't see any of my storage or any of just like my stuff underneath there. You can also get bed skirts and stuff depending on how high your bed is. I know Dorm Co has some for even for lofted beds. So if you're into that, definitely something to check out. I would say the thing I was most worried about going into college was how I was going to store all my clothes. And to be honest, I really don't have that many clothes. So at UVA, we have little wardrobes, at least in the room that I was staying in. And on the right side, there was hanging storage with stuff in the bottom. And on the left side, there were shelves. And then on the bottom part, there were like three drawers. I actually don't have a ton of hanging clothes, but I actually really minimized a lot of space by using velvet hangers. I will never go back. One, for space-saving reasons, and two, nothing falls off of them, which is just so convenient. You can just like shove them in there. If you have doors like I did on a wardrobe, you want to get over the door anything. It's amazing. It's game-changing. So what I did was I got an over-the-door rack for the inside, then I got another hook for the outside, like just an individual hook, I think, from Walmart. And I used that for my winter coat so that it actually didn't take up any space in my wardrobe because it was super thick. That was kind of a temporary thing for the super cold months. And then I also got one for over our main door for all of our towels. You can also get an over-the-door mirror. I've had the same one from Target for years and years and years. And then another thing for organization and keeping like a really low profile is a hanging jewelry organizer. I actually got one for the first time last year because, once again, minimal storage. I just hung it there and kept all my earrings in there. Super thin, great for space saving, and you can fit a ton in there. As for drawers and like dresser drawers, my biggest tip is to make sure that you're folding the KonMari way or like the, you know, file folding way. This is one just so much easier. I think it takes up less space, I'm unsure to be honest, but it's just easier picking out an outfit. Also, huge thing that I use first year, second year, third year, I will use for the rest of my life are these little cloth drawer organizers. I actually got them off of Amazon. I prefer those over the spring-loaded ones that you like put in the drawer just because I think that the cloth ones are easier to move. I will say the only downfall is that they don't always necessarily fit in whatever dresser or drawer set I'm using, but they've worked for me the past couple years and I'm probably going to get another set for this year. If you really were short on space and your dresser drawers were kind of tall, you could actually stack them on top of each other if need be. I just like how they keep everything like nice and confined. Or if you need more folding space, you can get one of those collapsible like hanging drawer sets. I'll put a picture on the screen, that was a horrible description, but I see those all the time in college dorms. You can also get one for shoes, just depending on whatever you have the most of. Whatever you kind of need works for you. Also, if you need more hanging space, I don't know how this would work in a wardrobe and it might work better if you had like an actual closet, which some dorm rooms do. You could get like a second hanging bar. I know they sell those off of Amazon. I mean, if you're seriously that like pressed for space, definitely try it out. Read reviews and like make sure it fits, but like that could be an option as well. Also, I feel like this applies to most dorm beds. If you need a place to like dry your towels or anything, you can also get over the door hooks and put it on the actual bed itself. A lot of them are like thick wood and so you can just put it on there and dry your towels in there. Last thing I'll say about the closet is for shoe storage, you can go so many different directions with this. I had a storage on them in first year, which I loved and I put kind of like my like nasty shoes in there. You can also do under the bed pullout shoe organizers. Those were helpful. They were kind of annoying to be honest, but they were helpful. You can also store them in a shoe rack in your closet. You can also obviously put them in an over the door shoe organizer depending on what kind of space you have. You can also use those like over the door shoe organizers for so many things. They're not the prettiest, but if they're hiding in like a closet or something, you can put like snacks in there or like makeup products, beauty products. I don't know. Get super creative with it. Moving on to desk storage, this is a lot more limited since I only had one drawer of storage. Obviously like I mentioned, the desk hutch was a huge game changer for me. Really got a lot of the stuff that would have been sitting and cluttering my desk off my desk so that I actually had more room to work. On my desk, I really just had maybe like a mirror and a lamp I think. Inside my desk, I had a bunch of drawer organizers, which I still have. I love them. Got them mostly from HomeGoods and Dollar Tree. Those are my favorite two places to get them. Also, another just like logistical thing is this past year, I got cord organizers for my desk. You can just like stick it on and they actually peel right off quite nicely. They are just game changing, especially since I plug most of my things into a power strip and then just kind of don't touch them. Like my computer charger just sits there, so it's nice to just kind of have everything lined up and you can just grab them when you need them. This isn't even like a desk tip, but I feel like most people in college, if you do your makeup, you either keep it on your desk or like do it at your desk. I definitely did that and it was a huge game changer to have all my makeup in this like very contained acrylic organizer. I got it from HomeGoods years ago and I actually love it because it's big enough to wear, it can hold all my makeup, but small enough to where I can only hold the makeup that I have now, so if I want to add something, I have to take something away. I just love that because I could pull it down from my desk, do my makeup, put it back, and it was just like very contained. So great purchase. I feel like I should just add this in to say do whatever works for you because in the end it's your space, you have to live in it. I feel like last year especially taught me you can go in with the best intentions and think you know exactly what to do and I'm just such a huge planner that I feel like I should know what I want to do. Just be flexible, don't spend too much money on things, don't be buying from the super bougie big box stores, you know what I'm talking about. Alright guys, that's it for the video. I really hope that you enjoyed. I got really into it in a couple parts, but that's just because I love talking about this stuff. So if you guys think I missed any tips or have any tips of your own, definitely leave them down below. For everyone, I would love to hear them and love to share them with the group. If you guys are new, subscribe down below. I make new videos about once a week and I'll see y'all in the next one. Bye guys.