Student rooms are notoriously small! As a result, you will need to be resourceful in order to make the most of the limited space on offer, whilst ensuring your room still feels homely.
This blog breaks down some tips to help you, from being selective with what you bring to university; to making the most of every corner of your room and keeping on top of any clutter. Although you may not have a lot of space, this should help your room to feel bigger and more organised and make it a better place to live in!
Be selective with your packing!
Although it can be tempting to pack up your whole room when you move to university, this should be avoided where possible. Your uni room will likely be a lot smaller than your home room, meaning you might not have space to store everything you bring, and your things will just end up creating clutter. Instead, you should be selective when packing, thinking about what items you will actually use on a daily basis, and avoiding any which seem unnecessary.
You should also try and start packing early, since you’re more likely to panic and throw things in that you don’t need if you leave it to the last minute. Remember that you can always buy any items you forget in your new uni city.
If you plan to visit home during term-time, you could make use of this to swap your clothes, giving you variety, whilst avoiding over-filling your uni wardrobe. It’s also a great chance to swap any books, ornaments or anything else you thought you might need, but discovered you don’t.
As it got towards the end of the semester, I liked to start bringing some things home anyway to reduce the amount I had to bring when I came back for the holidays. You’ll find you get better at knowing what you need as you spend more time at uni, so don’t worry if you do end up taking too much to begin with!
Use each space in your room effectively
If you have a standard uni box room, it is important to make the most of every single area. For example, the space under your bed is one of the biggest in your room and enables you to store things without them being seen. You can use it to house anything you need, but don’t require access to very often, such as any luggage or boxes you used when moving up. You could also use it to store spare bedding, towels and room decorations, although you might want to buy a storage box to stop them getting dusty!
You’ll also want to make the most of your wardrobe space. Using organisers can help to separate your clothes into different categories and make it easier to find what you’re looking for if you’re in a rush. Similarly, you can use command hooks to hang any handbags, tote bags or shopping bags on the sides of your wardrobe. You might also want to buy a shoe rack or some over-the-door hooks for your wardrobe or elsewhere in your room to prevent your shoes and jackets from going astray. In general, ensuring everything has a place will keep clutter off the floor and make your room feel bigger.
Although the amount of furniture you have may be limited, you can use each piece for a few purposes. For example, you can add comfy cushions and a blanket to your bed to turn it into a sofa during the day. Similarly, by adding a mirror, some good lighting and a make-up organiser, your desk can double up as a dressing table. Adapting your room in this way will help it to serve all the purposes you need and prevent you having to buy extra furniture which may take up a lot of space.
If you do buy extra pieces, you should try and make sure they also have some space to store things. For example, you could buy a chair which comes with built-in storage, or invest in a chest of drawers.
You should also try and keep your surfaces clear where possible. Although you might want to decorate your room with fairy lights, posters and photos, these could be hung on the wall rather than placed on surfaces. This will help to create the illusion of more space, but still means you can personalise your room and make it feel homely. If you do want to have some ornaments on surfaces, try and keep them grouped in one area (e.g. on your bedside cabinet) so you still have plenty of empty surfaces elsewhere.
Keep on top of any clutter
If your room is small, it could become messy very quickly, making it more important than ever that you try to stay on top of the clutter. Although you don’t have to do a deep-clean every day, taking five or ten minutes to put away some things every morning or before you go to bed can make a big difference. This will also help you to feel more refreshed when you wake up, reduce stress, and benefit your mental health.
You could also have one day each week or fortnight where you do a more in-depth clean, such as a Sunday reset. Doing this with flatmates, or whilst listening to a podcast or music can turn it into a fun break from your uni work, and the end result will be extremely satisfying.
You could also declutter at the end or beginning of each semester since you will have more time and more of an idea of what you actually need by this point. You should also do this if you plan to stay in the same accommodation for more than one year, since you might find you accumulate a lot of stuff you don’t need.
A final note on space saving:
Whilst you might not have a lot of space to work with in your uni room, being organised and using some of these tips can help you to make the most of it. By packing less stuff in the first place, there will be fewer things to clutter your room. Similarly, using every space in your room effectively and having a good cleaning schedule will help your room to feel bigger and ensure everything is kept in order. Making the most of your space in this way will help create a homely environment which you can enjoy living in!
