Use furniture in your dorm room for more than one function. For example, you can raise most dorm beds high enough to provide plenty of storage space underneath. Keep anything that you do not need to use on a daily basis under the bed. Use your desk as your dining table when you eat in your room. For women, keep a mirror somewhere on the desk and use your desk as a vanity to do hair and makeup when the bathroom is being hogged. Share things with your roommate. You do not need or have space for two televisions and two printers, so discuss who will bring what before you arrive.
Stacked crates, storage bins, space-saving hangers and over-the-door hooks are essential tools for helping to organize your dorm room. You can hang several articles of clothing on space-saving hangers, allowing plenty of space in a closet you likely have to share. Vertical shoe hangers keep shoes from crowding the closet floor, leaving room for your laundry bag. Place bulky coats on the over the door hook to save closet space as well. Slide a storage bin with separate drawer compartments underneath your desk to hold toiletries and hair and makeup products. Keep a shower caddy nearby that you can fill up with the things you need for the shower, then neatly put them away again. Use magazine holders on your desk to divide your folders and books by subject on your desk. Use stacked plastic crates to organize storage under your bed.
Talk to your roommate about ways to avoid adding too much stuff to the room, making it cluttered. One good rule to make is "One In, One Out." For every item you bring into the room, take something out. Send it home or put it away if it fits in your current storage. This is especially important for closet space as well as any large items that may take up floor space, such as more bins or crates to hold more items. Keep your desk clutter-free as well by getting rid of papers and books from the last semester unless they are relevant to another class or if you are sure you will need them in the future.
Be vigilant about staying organized or your room will quickly become a crowded, messy room with no space for you to study or relax. Put your dirty clothes in the laundry basket right away instead of throwing them down and hopping into bed, no matter how tired you are. Clean up your desk after a study session. Don't save it for later because you may end up just piling more stuff on top. Re-evaluate the organization of your dorm room regularly to see what needs to go and what needs to be rearranged.