Dorm rooms are incredibly small, and college kids are incredibly messy. Put the two together and what do you get? Clutter. Lots and lots of clutter. This is something that you really can’t avoid while living in a dorm room, no matter how creative you are with your organization. You can stash most of your things away under the bed or in the closet, but there will come a time when you just have too much overflow to contain. What do you do then? You get creative. There are plenty of ways to make clutter look purposeful and even cool. You just have to think outside the box. Here are some tips to help you turn your messy dorm room into an artistic expression that people will be talking about.

Hang Stuff on the Walls

If you have a hard time finding space for your shoes or clothes, start hanging it up on the wall like art. No, this does not mean to cover your walls in thongs and boxer briefs. It just means that you may want to put your shirts, shoes, or pants on display as if they are pieces that people should look at. This gets the clothes off the floor, and it allows you to store your things away with ease. You can get as creative as you want with this, just as long as it looks like you meant to put stuff on the walls. You should be able to pull this off with a decent eye for design.

Create a Sculpture of School Supplies

Your textbooks will inevitably start to pile up in your room, so why not make a piece of art out of them? You could turn them into a topsy turvy pyramid of sorts that has papers scattered around it. As long as you keep everything functional, you could make a really funky piece of art for your dorm room. This saves you from having to find space for your bookshelf or cabinet because you can just leave your books on display. They will become a conversation starter, not a big pile of crap in your room.

Establish Organized Clutter

Sometimes all you need to do is organize your clutter to make it more presentable. You can buy personal organizers to hold your pencils, hair supplies, notepads, receipts, or anything else you need to organize. The clutter will still be there, but it will look well put together. I have an organizer on my desk that holds all of my office supplies. It is filled to the brim, but it looks nice because it is well organized. When people can see that there is a method to your madness, they will react positively to your clutter.

Cover with Class

If you cannot find a creative way to display your clutter, try to cover it. You could put decorative panels around your desk to shield it from the world, or you could try to hide everything in a special cabinet. If you have a desk with empty space below it, you could put a cloth on top to hide anything underneath. This may not be the most creative option in the world, but it does work. You just have to find the right cover for your needs.

Try to minimize clutter as much as you can, and then organize whatever is left over. I know this can be hard to do at times, but it will make a big difference in the experiences people have in your room. If you can make your space look like it is still clean and well organized in the end, you will have a great looking dorm room.