Moving back to university or moving, in general, tends to be a very chaotic process. Here are a couple of tips to make your room feel more organised and homely.
Although I have linked in this article places to buy these organisational items new, sometimes you can find much better deals on Facebook Marketplace, and in charity shops. Lots of students at the end of the year try to sell a lot of things that they can’t take with them, so then is the best time to buy furniture etc (plus it is way better for the environment to use second hand).
Organisation
Most university rooms are small, box-like, and very unwelcoming. Some come with massive amounts of storage space and others…not so much. Being organised means that everything you own has a particular place in your room. This makes it so much easier to keep your space clean throughout the year, and fingers crossed tidying becomes less of a chore.
Things that I have found that have helped with getting my room organised are:
Wardrobe
A wardrobe hanging organiser (try this one from IKEA). I am a lazy person and sometimes hanging things back on a hanger is just a little bit too much effort, so these hanging organisers are ideal. They fit in every wardrobe I have ever had, and they are perfect for t-shirts, socks, pants and other bits and bobs. I got one in my first year at university and now I’m in my fourth year, and I’ve brought the same one with me!
Under bed
Make use of the space under your bed (out of sight out of mind). You can either just shove things underneath or you can invest in some big boxes that fit under. I got these ones from IKEA, they allow for easy access, and I use them to store my shoes and jumpers, but are ideal for anything! They are also very convenient when it comes to packing up at the other end of the year, because they have lids you can just keep them as they are and no ‘packing’ is needed, just load them into your car!
bathroom
If you are at university then the chances are that at some point you will have to share a bathroom with other people. Depending on how much you trust the other people you’re sharing with you can leave your products in the bathroom or you can keep them in your room. Either way, I suggest getting something to keep all your stuff together, for example, this storage basket from Amazon. This makes carrying all your bits back and forth from the bathroom a lot easier.
Laundry
Make sure to invest in a laundry bag with handles! Sounds silly but especially in first year, you don’t know how far away your closest laundry room is going to be! Something like this one from H&M, it also closes shut which means you don’t have to worry about your dirty laundry flying out of the top when you’re carrying it.
Makeup
I normally designate one drawer in my desk to makeup and other toiletries, however, this drawer can very quickly turn into mayhem unless organised properly. I like to get pots to keep my brushes in and then small storage boxes for everything else. I got my makeup brush holder from a charity shop, I’m sure it was meant to be a plant pot but it does the job for me! For my other boxes, I just got the cheapest in Wilkos but they make such a difference.
finally…
The most important part of organisation is making sure that everything has a home in your room, this is essential to keeping your space neat and tidy. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how you do it, you will figure out what works best for you (by third year you will be a pro at the packing and unpacking required to move to university, I promise!)
Happy organising!