How to start a business in your college dorm room with these organizational tools
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Are you ready for college yet?! Ready to organize and decorate your college dorm room with your new roommate?
Most college students are getting ready for their new lives away from their parents. It’s a great feeling.
But, do they need to have an income while going to school? Will their hours be accommodating with their school schedule?
There are so many factors when considering employment while attending college, especially as a new student. Suppose you are looking at starting a business or finding remote work while in college. In that case, you might need a few other essentials to keep your college dorm room organized while you start your business.
When you start a business in your college dorm room, things can get overwhelming pretty quickly. It can help to organize your college dorm room in a way that separates your business and your schoolwork.
This separation doesn’t have to be drastic. Just having a few organizational tools will help you organize your college dorm room to know where everything is and possibly give you more space to work within a smaller and shared college dorm room.
While you determine what you might need, here are a few college dorm room organizational tools to help you keep track of your business and college:
College Dorm Room Organization Tool 1: A multi-tier cart or drawers
These drawers are great as a dorm room organization tool for various reasons. Not only will it help you organize your items, but it will also help you keep track of any equipment you might need to help start your small business.
Are you planning on starting a photography business? Keep a drawer dedicated to your equipment. Maybe you plan on writing? Keep all your research tools together and out of sight.
These drawers don’t have to be big, but they should be large enough to separate your work from your personal or school supplies.
College Dorm Room Organization Tool 2: Dry-erase board with calendar
In addition to a dry-erase board, I would recommend a portable planner or agenda. However, a dry-erase board will help keep appointments and deadlines at the forefront of your to-do list.
A dry-erase board is an organizational tool that can add a bit of style to your college dorm room. I’d recommend a calendar that is part of the dry-erase board, but it’s not a necessary add-on.
Also, liven it up! Get a pack of fun colored markers and magnets to show your personality with this organization tool. Maybe get a bigger one for you and your roommate to share!
College Dorm Room Organization Tool 3: Desk Bookshelves
As an English major, I needed my fair share of bookshelves to organize my college dorm room. To some extent, my college dorm room supplied a few spots for potential bookshelves. That said, I would have appreciated a few more to maybe keep some of the knick-knacks I accumulated over the years.
I wouldn’t suggest drilling holes into the wall for hanging shelves in a college dorm room, and some colleges might not even allow you to do so. I would look for bookshelves that can stand on a flat surface or exist independently, like a small 2- or 3-level bedside table.
Having a few bookshelves will help your college dorm room organization to keep your files or reports for your business separate from your schoolwork. I’d recommend keeping work and school in different areas so you can divide your mindset when working on each in your college dorm room.
College Dorm Room Organization Tool 4: Bedside Caddy
I never had one of these when I went to college. I figure it is a reasonably new invention. Still, one I would have greatly appreciated when working on my bed in my college dorm room.
I’ve seen a few different bedside caddy’s, so I would determine what type of work you might do near your bed before getting one. Having a laptop pocket might be the most essential. However, you might also include a pocket for notebooks, pens, highlighters, and other miscellaneous office supplies.
This organization tool is more of a suggestion than a necessity. I strongly recommend it based on experience. Working at my desk or the library was not always ideal for various reasons, so it would have been nice to be within reach of my laptop from my bed.
College Dorm Room Organization Tool 5: Desk Organizer
Like the bedside caddy, a desk organizer varies greatly depending on your specific needs. As a college student, I probably didn’t need a very elaborate desk organizer for my college dorm room.
At the most, I would suggest getting an organizer for your pens, pencils, and highlighters for your college dorm room. I needed these the most during my college classes. However, they became frustrating to sort through, whether in my backpack during classes or in my college dorm room.
If you’re starting your small business, it can be nice to know you have some small spots for smaller equipment too. You might store batteries for equipment, office supplies for paperwork, or business cards for business contacts in your desk organizer rather than a spare pocket of your backpack. Desk organizers help make your organization look more professional than juvenile.
College Dorm Room Organization Tool 6: Bed Risers
Bed risers are another suggestion that I base on seeing many new first-year college students use for their college dorm room organization. While bed risers seem a bit excessive, they will allow you to create more floor space within your college dorm room.
With the added space beneath your bed, you have more freedom to organize your college dorm room. Most of my college friends who used bed risers could make nooks underneath their beds and create alternative spaces to relax or work on their schoolwork.
Bed risers can come in various materials, mostly plastic or steel, sizes; and colors. Take a look at a few different varieties before making a choice. I’d also recommend a step or a ladder to get onto your bed when you use the bed risers in your college dorm room.
College Dorm Room Organization Tool 7: Tiered Wall Unit Set
I highly recommend a tiered wall unit set. If you don’t want a tiered wall unit set, consider getting magazine file holders or desk trays to keep schoolwork separated from other business files.
Like many of these organizational tools, a tiered wall unit set can come in many different formats and designs. Let your personality show through or find a cheaper version until you know you’ll use it throughout your time in your college dorm room.
This organizational system doesn’t need to be extensive. Dedicate one tier for business, one for schoolwork, and the other for miscellaneous files, like invitations or mail.
Keep in mind, you might wait to purchase any of these college dorm room organizers until after you start college. You could realize these organizational tools might not work for you or you might not invest in starting your own business.
These are solely suggested items that I wish I had invested in or saw a great improvement for friends who used these organizers in their college dorm rooms.
No matter how or if you use these organizational tools, have a great college experience!
