University, while it has its many perks – like living away from home – it also has some downsides, like unbearably tiny bedrooms. If you’re wondering how the heck you’re going to fit all of your stuff into your shoebox of a dorm room, this article is for you.

First, let’s start with the essentials: clothes and shoes. It’s pretty much a fact that you’re going to bring way too many clothes (but you need it, right?) and far too many pairs of shoes. If this sounds like you, your bedroom runs the risk of being disaster central. For your clothes, put as many away in drawers and wardrobes as possible. Chances are, you’re going to have out-of-season clothes, costumes, and togas in there as well. For the clothes you don’t wear all the time, grab some under-the-bed boxes and store your extra clothes under there; it’s not like you will be using the space for anything anyways. For shoes, run to a nearby department store and pick up an over-the-door shoe rack. I bought one for less that 20 bucks and it holds 36 pairs of shoes … that’s 72 shoes that are no longer littered all over my floor.

If you love jewelry and dolling yourself up from time to time, like myself, you probably have too many accessories and too much makeup as well. For the sake of your sanity, and to avoid untangling your favourite necklaces come party time, I’ve devised a few tricks to keeping your accessories organized. First, necklaces are probably the hardest accessories to keep organized, so build a necklace holder. I just used a slab of wood, painted it to my liking, and screwed in some cupboard knobs. Ta da! Looks cute and all of my necklaces are in plain view and untangled. For bracelets, I took a plastic tube (paper towel roll works too), set it on a base, and just stacked my bracelets on top of one another; this can also be done for watches. Earrings and rings are easier to store, so I just put them all in a decorative bowl. If you don’t have extra space to store your makeup, I recommend buying a metal sheet (cookie sheet works), covering it in fabric, and attaching magnets to your makeup to stick on to the board. This can be super decorative, and it keeps your makeup contained and off your desk! Another pesky and bulky accessory that is difficult to store are sunglasses. I have about a billion pairs, and until recently, I stuffed them in various drawers and purses. All you have to do to perfectly organize them is buy a frame (a large one) and tie some string from one end to another. Hang the sunglasses on the string, and you’re set! You will never break or lose another pair ever again (in your room, at least). To organize things like purses and scarves, just buy pant hangers and clip ‘em on. Super cheap and easy way to keep track of all your bags and sashes.

For books, mags, CDs, DVDs, etc. use shelves if you’re allowed. If you put the shelves close to the ceiling, you can hold all of your extra stuff without it looking like it’s cluttering your room too much, and all you’ll need is a little step stool or your desk chair to get it down. If you’re allowed to put holes in the wall, put your TV up as well, it will free up some dresser or desk space for more deserving things, like frames and snow globes, if you’re into that kinda thing.

If you want to maximize your tiny space, and jam pack as much as possible without looking like you belong on Hoarders, follow these super easy, super cheap ideas and you will be set for the rest of your time at university!