32 Dorm Hacks You Need to Know as a College Freshman

This post is all about dorm hacks.

If you're anything like me, you are all about making life as easy as possible. Living in the dorms is sometimes hard,especially in the beginning.

Throughout my freshmen year, I've found so many different hacks that make dorm life ten times easier. From storage ideas, to ways to make friends on your floor, these hacks are everything you need to know to have the best freshmen year.

This post is all about the best dorm hacks.

Best Dorm Hacks:

1. Get a Door Stopper!

Living in the dorms is honestly the best way to meet people when you get to college. The first few weeks it's kind of awkward to just go to people's rooms and say hi. But it makes it even worse when you have to knock.

Having a door stopper is such a game changer. It makes you seem so much more inviting and people will be more likely to come and say hi if your door is open than if it was closed. Trust me, get one of these and I promise you'll have people coming to your room all the time!

2. Blackout Curtains (life-changing)

This dorm hack is seriously life changing. The blinds in the dorms are horrible and block out no light. If you're a light sleeper, I highly recommend getting black out curtains.

I got these ones from Amazon and I still use them 3 years later. They work sooo well my room is pitch black in the morning!

3. Use These Hangers to Fit More Clothes

It's so sad how little space you have in the dorms... especially for girls that love clothes. I struggled so hard to fit all of my things in my closet but this trick helped me fit so many more items!

Copy This Dorm Hack:

4. Get a Laundry Bag with Straps or Wheels

When you're living in dorms you have to drag your laundry bag a while to get to the laundry room. The worst thing is when there's no easy way to carry it and it's just even more of a struggle than it needs to be.

Laundry bags with either wheels or straps make it 10x easier to get all your dirty clothes to the laundry room. Such a small dorm hack that makes such a big difference.

5. User Dryer Sheets to Freshen Up Your Room

Dorm hacks like these make life so much easier because this one uses things you already have! Using a dryer sheet and putting it on a fan or air vent makes your room immediately smell so much better.

6. Have a Bedside Caddy / Shelf

This is soo helpful for night time when you have all your stuff in your bed but don't want to get out of bed to put it away... you feel?

Having a shelf or caddy to put your stuff before you go to bed is so helpful especially if your bed is lofted!

7. Scrambled Eggs in the Microwave

This dorm hack is genius.

I love making eggs in the morning for a healthy breakfast and this makes it so much easier! You can make it in seconds and don't have to go to the dining hall before class. This seriously makes your morning routine 10x faster.

8. Keep Binder Clips to Keep Chargers in Reach

In such a small dorm room, you have to use the same outlet for pretty much everything. There are cords everywhere and it gets really annoying when you have to dig through them on the ground to find the one you need.

This dorm hack fixes that problem and organizes all your cords while keeping them in reach!

9. Use a Keurig to Make More Than Just Coffee

I love when you can use things for multiple reasons and this is one of them!

Keurigs are awesome for your morning coffee but did you know you can make things like pasta or oatmeal with it too? Seriously genius.

Copy This Dorm Hack:

10. Lap Desks to Do Work in Bed

I love my bed way too much to not do my homework in it too.

Make it easier to do work in bed with a lap desk. It actually makes you a lot more productive than you think!

Copy This Dorm Hack:

11. Good Quality Slippers

Seriously dorm floors are disgusting. From the communal bathrooms to the dirty hallways, you do not want to be wandering around with bare feet.

These Ugg slippers are seriously the best. I've had mine since freshmen year and still wear them every single day.

12. Long Bed Skirt to Cover Up Extra Storage

If you're obsessed with making your dorm room look perfect, this dorm hack is perfect for you.

If you plan to loft your bed and store things underneath, long bed skirts can hide the clutter and make your room look 10x neater.

Copy This Dorm Hack:

13. Brita Filter

I use my Brita literally every day. Tap water always tastes a little funky and I don't know if I always trust it. Brita's filter your water and make it taste so good and fresh. Highly recommend keeping this in your dorm!

14. Place Clothes Vertically For More Space

As I've said, dorms are small and you've got to find ways to maximize space as much as possible.

Another dorm hack to save space is by placing clothes vertically in your drawers (saves sooo much space). It also makes it easier to find what you're looking for since you can see each item.

15. Tape a Laundry Cheat Sheet to Your Laundry Bag

I hope it's not just me that forgets what laundry symbols mean.

Placing a cheat sheet on your laundry bag saves a lot of time (and definitely from ruining some clothes) when doing your laundry.

16. Use Bed Risers for More Storage

If your dorm doesn't already do this, definitely use bed risers to heighten your bed. It makes room for sooo much more storage.

Copy This Dorm Hack:

17. Nightstand That Doubles as Storage

18. Use Washi Tape to Organize Cords

As mentioned, you're going to have sooo many different cords in your dorm that it's going to get hard to distinguish what's what.

Using washi tape to organize cords (like the picture above) is such a smart dorm hack that will keep all your cords where you want them to be.

Copy This Dorm Hack:

19. Use Hanging Storage for Extra Closet Space

Another great dorm hack to utilize storage space is using hanging shelves.

I love having my things organized in shelves, especially things like socks and under garments, because I can place them in a bin for easier access. If you don't have anywhere else to put things like this, this is a great way to do it.

Copy This Dorm Hack:

20. Closet Curtain

A lot of the time dorms don't have doors on their closets. One way to make your dorm room look a little bit more organized is by hanging up a curtain on your closet that you can easily open or close.

Definitely check out pictures of your dorm online and see if it will have a door or not and then you can plan accordingly.

Copy This Dorm Hack:

21. Use Bins for Above and Below Closet

Bins are a great way to organize things like socks and undergarments in your dorm. Utilize the extra space you may have at the bottom of your closet or above shelves with bins like these!

Copy This Dorm Hack:

22. Buy a Mesh Shower Caddy

Get a mesh shower caddy... not a plastic one! When I was a freshmen I got a plastic shower and caddy and let me just say... huge mistake.

Every time I would shower water would get stuck in the plastic grooves. I would go back to my dorm room, put the shower caddy on the ground, and five minutes later there would be a huge puddle on the ground. Don't make the mistake I did and get a mesh one!

23. Bring Funny Games That Your Neighbors Will Want to Play

Another good way to make friends and bond with them is playing funny games!

These are more Rated-R but really get the crowd going. Seriously I die every time I play these they are that good.

24. Noise Machine

This dorm hack changed my inability to sleep in the dorms.. seriously life saving. If you have issues studying/sleeping around noise, a sound machine will change your life.

25. Get an Electric Kettle if You Like Hot Drinks

I love a good hot tea right before bed to calm me after a long day. If you do too, an electric kettle is such a good item for you!

26. Learn Microwave Recipes

I love any hack that saves me time and energy... especially when it comes to making food.

If you plan on having a microwave in your dorm, these are some easy recipes that you can make. It seriously will save you so much time and so many trips to the dining hall... and you're still getting some gooood meals out of it!

27. Put Your Schedule As Your Lock Screen

This is a simple yet very effective dorm hack.

The first few weeks of freshmen year you are probably going to have no idea what is going on or where you need to go. Help yourself by screenshoting your schedule and putting it as your lock screen until you memorize your schedule.

It saves you from the hassle of logging into your phone, then your school website to find your schedule. And it will help you memorize it faster!

28. Downy Wrinkle Releaser

You will not have room in your dorm / it's unnecessary to have an iron in your room but you'll definitely have clothes that get wrinkly. And this dorm hack will fix that.

The Downy Wrinkle Releaser spray will solve all of your wrinkle problems. It works sooo well. And it's so much easier than ironing or steaming anything!

29. Use Ottomans for Seating and Storage

In the dorms, you need to find space for storage literally anywhere you can. Ottomans are great for when you have people over for some extra seating but ones like this can also fit a ton of things. What a win-win!

In my dorm I had one of these and put all my snacks inside so no one could see them. It made everything look so much cleaner and then no one had to know how much chocolate I eat

30. Desk Shelves

If you need more shelving or storage for your desk, this is a great way to make it look nice and clean. Such a great way to keep your books organized!

31. Create Double Hangers with Soda Can Tabs

This is such a classic dorm hack.

Using soda can tabs on your hanger lets you hang another piece of clothing and use the same amount of space in the closet! Saves sooo much space and uses a soda tab which is so easy and cheap to get.

32. Over the Fridge Shelves

More storage!

Mini fridges are definitely a great thing to have in the dorms to keep snacks and drinks cold. This over the fridge storage is a great way to keep all your eating supplies in one spot and not take up any drawer space.

This post gives you 32 dorm hacks.

Other Posts You May Like:

• The Ultimate List of Dorm Room Essentials for 2020
• 31 College Hacks That Will Change Your Life
• 18 Dorm Cleaning Supplies Every College Freshmen Should Have