The time has finally arrived when you can say goodbye to your old childhood bedroom. Student life is on the horizon. You’ve packed the entirety of your old bedroom into your parents’ car minus the wallpaper you’ve had since you were 15, and you’re ready to start a whole new chapter. You finally arrive at student halls and open the door to your brand-new shiny residence for the next four years of your student life and what do you see? That’s right a box room barely big enough to swing a cat never mind fit a bed, study desk and the ten boxes of worldly belongings you own. Fear not though as this is pretty much what every student moving into halls experiences and luckily for you, we’re here today with 10 of the best space savers for student halls.
Under the Bed is a Godsend
We’ll start off with an easy storage hack – under the bed. Now we don’t mean stuffing as many bags as possible under there in an ‘out of sight out of mind’ style. Trust us this will only cause you a headache in the long run. Instead, invest in some actual under-the-bed storage boxes. These don’t have to be expensive. In fact, you can pick them up from your local Tesco or Asda and they cost less than £5. You can store pretty much anything in these plastic lidded boxes too but they’re particularly useful for books, study materials, shoes or clothing!
Wall Shelving
A great storage hack is wall shelving if you’re permitted to do this. Just think about all that extra space you could make use of. Not only does this allow you to add some character and personal style to your room but it’s also great for storing books and study materials without cluttering up your floor space.
Door Hooks
Since wardrobe space will be limited another great hack is to make use of behind the door storage options. A simple rail hook which easily sits on top of the door will allow you to hang up coats, bags, umbrellas and any overspill clothing from your wardrobe without taking up much space.
Door Storage Organiser
While we’re on the subject of door storage another great option is shoe organisers – the ones that again clip on top of the door. The great thing about this type of storage is that they’re multi-purpose so you can use them for a variety of different things – toiletries, socks, underwear, as well as shoes of course. These come in a variety of different colours too so choose an opaque one to hide the contents if you wish! This 16 pocket shoe organiser from IKEA is one of our favourites.
Multi-Purpose Storage
In small spaces, it’s a great idea to choose multi-purpose furniture items where possible. A great example of this is seating. This shoe storage ottoman from Dunelm is perfect for storing shoes as well as doubling up as seating. Another great example again from Dunelm, is this tall mirrored shoe cabinet. Chances are you’ll be wanting a floor length mirror so why not choose one that doubles up as storage?
Clip-on Table Lamp
With all those late-night studying sessions you’re probably going to want a good table lamp but again these can eat into your limited table space, so a great option is a clip on table lamp. The brushed silver clamp lamp from Habitat is not only purse friendly but can also be easily clipped onto shelving or even the headboard of your bed for some pre-bedtime reading.
Wardrobe Organisers
We’re sure you already know how to fill a wardrobe pretty well but don’t forget to make use of all the wardrobe organisers available. IKEA is a great place to start. They have every type of wardrobe storage you can think of so be sure to check out your options. Trust us this will make your life easier when choosing outfits in the morning and it might just also give you an extra five minutes in bed!
Drawer Organisers
It’s easy to clutter up drawers so get some drawer organisers to make better use of the space available. We also recommend trying out the Marie Kondo method of folding – look it up, you can thank us later!
Beauty Organiser
This one might be aimed more at the ladies although gents don’t discount this one as you might find this equally as useful. Skincare, makeup and toiletries can take up a lot more space that you think and it can be quite difficult to store. Investing in something like this rotating makeup organiser can make your life a little easier. Products can be stored upright, and the best part is that if you don’t have your own bathroom, it can be placed on a desk or shelf and rotated for easy access without taking up too much space.
Cork Wall Board
Lastly, to save paper clutter on your desk a cork wallboard is the perfect solution. They’re easy to hang and can be decorated to help bring some of your personality into your living space as well as being used to pin study notes and materials. What’s not to like about that!
And that’s 10 of our best space savers for student halls. Your student accommodation might be small but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for all the necessities with a little space saving hack…or 10. If your parents have already started kitting out your old bedroom as a fitness room then fear not because for everything else we’ve got you covered with our storage units. Don’t start listing your ski wear on eBay just yet!