Going off to college is an exciting time however organizing and maximizing the space in a college dorm room can be a bit challenging. Most likely you won’t be stepping foot in your room until the day you’re moving in with your belongings in tow. This means planning has to take place without dimensions and feel for the room. Room size also adds to the challenge. Your room will probably (and hopefully) be the smallest space that you ever have to live in. To ease the burden of dorm room planning and organization, I shared tips and tricks on WFMZ-TV’s Sunrise Show. (Click here for TV segment.)

This year while completing my annual “dorm room” shopping trip (I have been staging dorm rooms for the past 8 years) I was pleasantly surprised to find an abundance of innovative and reasonably priced products on the market. Shopping was fun and quick with a large selection of colors and styles to choose from.
My goal was one-stop shopping, saving time and stress. I found all the products below at the local Bed Bath & Beyond store with the exception of the refrigerator stand. The refrigerator stand is from our local and online store All Bright Ideas.

During my dorm room shopping spree the following items caught my eye:

Grommet Totes –Totes are great for storing smaller items. Toss items in and store more vertically. The sides of the tote enable you to maximize vertical storage space. The grommet on the front of the bin provides the ability to easily “grab and go.”

Bedside Caddy – This caddy keeps all your bedside needs (water bottle, iPod, tissues, eyeglasses, remote, etc.) within reach. It secures under the mattress. The bedside caddy is a must for a loft or bunk bed dweller.

Backpack Laundry Bag – This laundry bag allows you to easily transport laundry to and from the laundry room. Just slip your arms through the backpack straps. A large compartment holds laundry detergent.

Mesh Shower Tote – Finally a shower tote for the college guys out there. This masculine style tote stores and transports shower needs.

Day/Night Shower Caddy – This innovative caddy includes an insert which can be used separately allowing you to decide how much you need to tote to the bathroom. The middle section pulls out reducing the size of your tote – ideal when you don’t need to take all of your showering items with you.

Bed in a Crate – Similar to Bed in a Bag, this 11-piece crate set was created for residence hall living. You get 11 color coordinating essential items including an XL twin comforter.

Rise n’ Store – Create more storage under you bed by adding bed risers. These unique bed risers have storage compartments built in for your iPod, remote, tissues, etc. Check with your college or university to find out if bed risers are permitted in your residence hall.

Slimline Hangers – The ultra-slim design of these hangers maximize closet space so you can fit more in less space. These hangers are flocked so they hold clothing in place. Hang sweaters and other knits without getting shoulder bumps.

Desk Lamp Organizer – Organize your workspace while illuminating your desktop. The lamp base has built in compartments to store office supplies or items you would like compartmentalized.

Dorm Space Saver Shelving – Make the most out of your small space. Add freestanding shelving to your room with this behind-the-bed unit.

Refrigerator Stand – Add convenience and storage by placing your refrigerator or Microfridge on a refrigerator stand. Gain storage space underneath and you’ll no longer need to kneel to see what’s in the frig.

Large Plastic Drawers (available in store-in at Bed Bath & Beyond) – Maximize the space under your bed by adding drawers or a wire basket system. Store sweaters, sports gear, blankets or off-season clothing.

Command Hooks (available at office supply, grocery, hardware, and craft stores) – These hooks and poster strips are a must for college bound students. Command provides damage-free organizing and decorating. Easily hang a curtain rod with Command hooks. Get a Command coupon.

Most colleges and universities provide a checklist of recommended items to bring. Check your college’s website to see if they offer a checklist. Here’s a packing list for college to get you well on your way.

Wishing you a wonderful college experience,

Muhlenberg College, Allentown PA

If you are an incoming college freshman, the thought of not knowing who you will be sharing a room with for the next 8 months can be daunting. Let’s face it, a dorm room is a small space and sharing it with a stranger can be a bit frightful. A compatible roommate is out there, but finding this person may seem like finding a needle in a haystack. First, check with your college to see if they permit freshmen to select  roommates on their own. If so, the following tips should help make the process easier.

A great way to find other incoming freshmen looking for a roommate at your college or university is by “liking” the Facebook page that is dedicated to the year your class will graduate from the college. For example, you would search for and “like” Penn State University Park Class of 2015 if you were entering college in 2011 at Penn State. Then, in the spring before you enter college other incoming freshman will start posting about themselves and the happenings in their lives, and many will also make posts regarding what they are looking for in a roommate.

Another roommate search technique comes in the form of a website. This site, specifically designed to help you find a roommate, is www.roomsurf.com. Roomsurf allows you to communicate with other incoming freshman at your chosen college or university. You can also find the Facebook page for your college and graduation year here.

But, before you start searching for that perfect roommate, take the time to contemplate what “the perfect roommate” is for you. Start by writing down qualities or habits that are most important to you when thinking about who you would like to live with (i.e. organization and neatness or balance between academics and socializing). Make one column for attributes you would “like” and one for attributes you would “dislike.” List as many attributes as you want. When you are finished creating “the perfect roommate list,” circle the three most important attributes in the “like” column and any attributes in your “dislike” column that you just simply couldn’t tolerate.

Then, when sharing information with other incoming freshman on your college’s Facebook page or RoomSurf, look to see if anyone mentions the attributes that are most important to you. If you find someone mentioning two of your three “likes” make a note of that person. Begin communicating with the person or people you think might be a match and omit any people that have characteristics ranking high in your “dislikes” column. Perhaps talking on the telephone or “friending” the person on Facebook will help you to get to know the person a little better and aid you further in making a roommate decision.

Once you agree to room with someone, continue getting to know each other so any differences are recognized and worked out ahead of time. Perhaps if you live within driving distance of each other you can spend time in each other’s hometown or attend each other’s high school graduation party. This way you’ll get to see how your new roommate treats his or her friends.

And, before college begins discuss what is and isn’t acceptable while both of you live together. Some colleges suggest drafting a mutual roommate contract or guidelines that explains acceptable and unacceptable behavior. The contract or guideline may include how often you or your roommate can have overnight guests or significant others visiting or how many people are allowed in your room at one time.
After you and your roommate begin living together, continue to keep the lines of communication open. A successful roommate relationship is like a marriage. It takes effort and understanding on both ends to keep a happy and healthy environment.

Wishing you a successful college life,

Don’t stress the next time you or your child gets a pen mark on clothing or other fabric. As long as the item has not been laundered the ink stain is easy to remove. You may already have this “magical” ink stain remover on hand.

The best ink stain remover is hairspray! Just spray the hairspray directly on the pen mark and let the hairspray soak in a minute or two. Next, rub the fabric together and rinse under cold water. You should then see the ink disappear like magic.

Hairspray that comes in the form of a liquid (with a pump application) works better than hairspray sold in an aerosol can. Be sure to first test the hairspray on an unnoticeable area of the fabric.

When my kids come home from school with pen marks on their clothes it doesn’t matter when I spray the hairspray as long as I spray it before I launder. I can spray it immediately when I notice the ink mark or the following Monday when I am preparing to launder clothes. The key is remembering to use the hairspray before your launder.

If you find ink stains often on your family’s clothing, consider keeping a bottle of hairspray alongside ofyour bottle of laundry detergent.

Hope this tip helps with your laundry dilemmas!

With the start of college just around the corner, today on Channel 69’s Sunrise Show, news anchor Eve Tannery spoke with Professional Organizer Diane Albright on how to organize a dorm room. Stores are stocked and ready to for college bound students, so now is the perfect time to begin planning and making selections.

Actual Before and After Picture
at Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA

If you are heading off to college this fall, July is the time to start planning and purchasing the items you need. The first part of the process is calling your roommate to coordinate a possible color scheme and determine who is bringing what to avoid duplicates and unneeded expense.

As far as a color scheme, it is always a good idea to have an accent color that is one of your school’s colors. This way when you want to add a school banner to the wall or some fun items from the bookstore, they will fit right into the color scheme of your room.

When it comes to organizing and maximizing the space in your dorm room (nowadays referred to as a residence hall) it will take more effort and it can be difficult to plan because you don’t have prior access to your room. Some colleges do have room measurements on their website. So do check with your school to see if there are pictures or a layout of your room online. 

Here are some tips to help you make the most of your space:

Under the Bed Storage

Maximizing Vertical Space

Fitting More Clothes in Your Closet

College Walls - A Must Have

Storage Space Under the Frig

 If you still have difficulty planning and setting up your dorm room, consider hiring a Professional Organizer to make a fun and efficient room. If you don’t know of one in your area, visit the National Association of Professional Organizer’s website.

In a college dorm room or any small bedroom storage space under the bed is often overlooked. First, if the bed is not raised, you can consider adding bed risers underneath the legs of the bed (if your college or university permits it). With or without risers, you can use plastic drawers, a wire basket system, containers, or bins to maximize the space under the bed. This space is ideal for items such as dirty laundry, off-season clothing, sports gear, luggage, and extra blankets. You can even have three bins to sort your laundry – white, lights, and darks as depicted in this photo of under the bed storage.

When choosing a storage system for under the bed you’ll need to consider what you are going to store in it, what your budget is, and how you will transport it to your dorm room. Plastic drawers may be less expensive but will not be as sturdy as a wire basket system made of steel. Plastic drawers may end up being too bulky to transport to new living quarters while a wire basket system can be nested and used to carry items as you move into your new room. However, wire baskets will be more costly. Collapsible bins are also a consideration as they fold down for easy transportation, but you may have difficulty purchasing them in sizes large enough to meet your storage needs.

Happy college space planning!