College Preparation 101

My daughter is leaving for her freshman year at college mid-August and I wanted to know what we should be focused on getting her for her small dorm room. Thanks.

Wendy L.

Going off to college can be one of the most exciting and most stressful times in a young adult’s life. While the preparation and small living quarters can be overwhelming at first, I can say that I learned some of my best organizing skills moving from dorm rooms to apartments those four years.
The key to maximizing space in dorm room is first assessing what is absolutely necessary to live day to day in the space. While many of our loving relatives and friends send us off with graduation gifts to fill our new space, not all of them are going to be the most essential for the room. With most college dorm rooms barely fitting a bed in the space it is important to use smart space saving solutions to maximize every square inch of storage.
When making these decisions, consider only bringing the wardrobe you will need until the next break when you can come home and get transitional clothing. For instance, don’t rush to bring up all of your winter sweaters and jackets if you are if you are planning on coming home for a fall break. Keep it simple with linens as well. At most you should have two sheet sets and very few towel sets to keep storage needs down to a minimum. I also recommend opting for soft luggage such as large duffle bags instead of bulky suitcases that you will have no room to store when transporting these items to college.
When it comes to making decisions on how to store your items, there are a few things that I believe are essential in a dorm room. First are bed raisers. These inexpensive items can lift the bed anywhere from 5 inches to a couple of feet depending on what you use. Going with a classic cinderblock can easily accomplish this, but I prefer the much lighter weight plastic and wood ones that are available at most stores selling organizational products.
Other essential items are crates. Crates are excellent because they are inexpensive, you can use them to easily transport items, and at the same time use them stacked sideways for instant bookshelves, a night stand or as quick under the bed drawers.
When it comes to clothing storage, closets can be tight in the dorm room. However, you can create more space by using hanging sweater organizers which take up a little bit or rod space but fit far more t-shirts, jeans, sweaters etc. than could be hung in those 10 inches. Hanging shoe holders can be great as well, not only for shoes, but also just to keep scarves, hats, gloves and purses.
Other improvements you can make in a dorm closet is creating extra hanging storage space with a rod doubler. This no assembly second rod just hangs off of a top bar and creates an extra three feet of hanging storage.

I also suggest using pop-up hampers or bags that can easily double as a lightweight laundry basket. What makes these great is that when your laundry is done they can easily be folded up and hidden away. They are also much more flexible to place at the bottom of a closet or in a tight corner of the room.
There are many more great storage solutions for a dorm room. Just remember as you are picking out the items they should be lightweight, multi-purpose and easily transportable. This will make packing and dismantling the room at the end of the year a much easier prospect.

Kristin Mastromarino is a professional organizer and owner of Livable Solutions Professional Organizing and The Organized Lifestyle retail store in Guilford, CT. (www.theorganizedlifestylestore.com). You can e-mail her your questions at Kristin@livablesolutions.com.

Regain Control of Your Plastic Containers

My plastic containers for leftovers keep piling up in my kitchen. I keep losing lids and they are taking up way too much space in my cabinets. What suggestions do you have?

Pam W.


Plastic containers are probably one of the top clutter problems in most kitchen cabinets. Their awkward shapes, disposability and frequent use make them hard to keep up with. There are many ways that you can transform a messy kitchen cabinet or shelf with a few simple changes.
To begin this project you must first take an inventory of what you already have. Pull the containers out of the cabinet and match all of the lids with the bases. If you are coming up with mismatches, toss the extra lids. If you have a need for it, recycle the bases as quick drawer organizers. If you don’t have a use for them toss them. The less mismatched pieces you have, the easier it will be to store and find your plastic containers.
Next, look at the volume of pieces that you have. Do you have too many for what you use? Have you ended up with a lot of containers that were leftover transports from a holiday? Are all the pieces in good condition? Do you have too many of one size and not enough of another?
If you find that you have too many plastic containers pull the extras aside. If you can’t bear to donate or toss them, save a small portion of them for the next time that you entertain. Pull them out before you put away the leftover food and have your guests fill them for doggie bags to take home. You will be getting rid of the extra containers and helping clean the mess from the party or meal.
Now that you know what you are keeping, consider the best location in your kitchen to store the containers and lids. If you open a cabinet and the containers come pouring out, it is time to rethink your storage strategy. There are several ways to accomplish an organized system.
One way to store the containers if you can afford the space is to put the matching lid on the base and pile the like sizes on top of each other. This way, you always know where the lid is and can grab the size you want off of the cabinet shelf or in a deep drawer.
If your space is tight, try to buy the same brand container every time you refill your supply. The more uniform the containers the easier they are to nest in each other. The lids will also be more universal and less difficult to locate. I suggest either storing the lids on top of the nested containers or neatly in a small container nearby. You can even buy sets that come with universal lids for all the container sizes and spinning bases for easy storage. These fit great in lazy susans or pull out cabinets.
For those of you who need an even less detailed system. I suggest using one of your deep cabinets to store the containers. Buy a large plastic bin or basket to hold all of the bases. Slide this in and out of the cabinet as a pseudo drawer. Use a smaller container to hold the lids. Either choose one that will fit on the second shelf in the cabinet or that will nest on top of the larger container. In this case you can quickly throw the plastic containers in their bin and pull out the two bins on a counter when you have to do a search. No containers will spill out when you open the cabinet and you will prevent them from piling all over the kitchen.

Kristin Mastromarino is a professional organizer and owner of Livable Solutions Professional Organizing and The Organized Lifestyle retail store in Guilford, CT. (www.theorganizedlifestylestore.com). You can e-mail her your questions at Kristin@livablesolutions.com.