Again, you should try and find out exactly what furniture comes with your dorm room. When you visit colleges, ask to look at a dorm room so that you can get an idea of how much usable closet space exists. Are there shelves in the closets? Are there separate closets for you and your roommate? Is there a dresser?
If you have space savers, such as collapsible closet storage shelves and Yaffa blocks, bring them and make use of empty space. In addition, if you have a significant number of movies or CDs to bring, make sure you pack media holders as well. Items that don’t have a designated location quickly become clutter, and for most students, the less clutter you have in your room, the better.
One item that definitely needs an assigned location is dirty laundry; have a laundry hamper or bag for dirty clothes. In addition, keep detergent, fabric softener, and a laundry basket together so that you don’t have to go hunting for them when it is time to do laundry. Group your toiletry items as well so that everything you need for the shower is in one easy-to-carry basket.