Clean your room regularly. Throw away things that you do not and will not need. Remove trash from your room. Keep your clothes of another season at home or in your suitcases. Put things back to the location where they belong to. Put your books on the shelves. Fold your clothes or hang your clothes in the closet. Avoid putting too many items on any surface area, such as desks and coffee table. Do not leave any dirty laundry and/or trash on the floor. Clean the floor and any surface area as often as you can. Make your bed daily. Your bed is not a storage unit.
Make use of the furniture and storage unit your college residence halls provide. Put your beds, desks and chest of drawers against the walls. Make use of the corners. If your items overflow, consider buying additional storage units or shelving. Use vertical units to create more space. If necessary, you can also store things under your bed and use bed-skirts to cover it.
Avoid duplicate items, such as vacuum cleaners and TVs. It will be ideal if you can meet your future roommate before move-in to discuss items that you can share. Try to purchase items that you will share together to avoid conflicts. Use laptops, flat-screen and light items if you can afford them.
Be creative in using space. Create bookshelves on the desk by using book stoppers. Put a bulletin board for displaying important paper, receipts, fliers and art work. Hang your shoes by using hanging racks against doors. Use your fridge as your kitchen or snack area by putting the toaster and coffee pot on top of it.
Decorate your dorm room with mirrors, posters and full-length curtains. Allow sun light into the room. This will make the room look bigger and more pleasant.