Measuring and maximizing the priceless real estate beneath a dorm bed is essential to an organized and efficient dorm room.
If you have questions about this under-bed storage article, want to know when our recommendations go on sale or want to learn about all things dorm rooms, please join us in our Dorm Shopping Recommendations & Deal Alerts Facebook community or Instagram.
And if you’re unsure what type of bed your dorm will have, be sure to do your research first. Every college and dorm has different rules and will offer different furniture configurations. Check out our How to Research Your College Dorm Room Guide for guidance.
Now, let’s get measuring!
Yes! Because a typical double dorm room with 2 Twin XL beds is about 200-240sqft. Your side is half of that, or about 100-120sqft. Your 38″ x80″ Twin XL bed occupies a little over 21sqft of your space, or about 20% of your side of the room.
The best way to create more storage space is to raise your bed and maximize the area below it.
This article focuses on how to plan for that treasured space under a raised dorm bed (the upper right quadrant in the picture below)) using storage solutions like drawers, bins, cubes, and bags.
If you fully loft your bed (to a near walk-under height), you will probably put dorm furniture, such as your desk and/or dresser, below your bed, freeing up other space in your room. This is a great plan too, but that will result in a different storage plan than we’re planning for in this article.
These are the measurements of standard mattress sizes. Many dorm beds are Twin XL, but we regularly see Twin, Full, and more Full XL every year.
You can plan on having the same size space as the mattress – the bed frame should be just outside the mattress perimeter.
You need to determine the height of your horizontal bed rail where your mattress rests in order to determine how much clearance you have below the bed.
An adjustable dorm bed raised to the highest level should have between 27″-33″ of clearance below the bed frame. Please check the exact dimensions with your school to be sure.
If you’re using risers, you’ll need to do the math to determine your below-bed storage height. The math comes by determining your height clearance before putting the bed on risers, and then adding the height of the risers.
If you have a Twin XL bed with 30″ of clearance, you have almost 53 cubic feet of storage space under that dorm bed!
Before deciding what to use to organize this biggest storage area in the room, determine if your dorm provided dresser will fit under the raised bed. (see pic above for example). Not all dorms have these shorter dresser options. My older son’s school had this setup, my younger has a tall 5-drawer dresser that won’t go under the bed, so he has the entirety of 39×80” for storage solutions. But that big dresser has to go elsewhere, as does his roommate’s.
The 3-drawer dorm dressers designed to fit under the raised beds range in size and may be 24”-36” wide, 18-24” deep and up to 30” high. I’m sure there are a few that are outside of this range too. I recommend looking on your housing website for the exact measurements for your dorm so that you can plan around that space.
If your dresser does fit under the dorm bed, it doesn’t necessarily have to go there. For those with open closets, it might work well on the floor of the closet. Or sometimes the roommates decide to stack them one on top of the other and create a TV stand. Not all are stackable, of course.
Once you know how much available space you’ll have (minus the dorm dresser if you’ll put it under the bed), there are several options to consider to ‘front’ the room. You’ll want to neatly organize this area since it will be visible unless you decide to get a larger comforter size for your dorm bed.
Some examples of dorm storage solutions that will fit under a raised bed include:
Here are 2 of the most popular options to consider based on your decor and preferences. These are both solid front, concealing the contents of the drawers.
Sterilite Weave Towers – Woven-look plastic drawer towers.
Target ‘Striped’ Drawer Towers – A little more masculine than the weave towers above. My son uses these wide and narrow towers under his bed, as shown in the picture below.
If you might need an extra flat surface every now and then to serve as a guest table, game space, etc, consider the plastic drawers on casters that you can easily roll around the room as you need more tabletop space. These are clear and don’t conceal the contents.
Brightroom 3-Drawer Carts – This Target brand comes in Wide 15.38″D x 21.88″W x 24.5″H and Narrow 14.62″Dx 12.62″W x 24.5″H sizes.
Sterilite 3-Drawer Cart – This comes in Wide 15 1/4″D x 21 7/8″W x 24″H and Narrow 14 1/2″D x 12 5/8″W x 24″H sizes.
Want to get creative and maximize your storage? Buy two of these units and secure them back-to-back with zip ties. Easily pull the unit out from under the bed and rotate to access the other side! See our back to back rolling cart video to see more!
A few more clear options, but more configurable and without the wheels.
The Container Store Stacking Drawers– 4 large drawers will total 32.5″ tall and are 15.75″W and 19.75″D. These come in various colors, resulting in different levels of opacity.
Sterilite Stacking Drawers – 5 drawers that would total 30″ height if stacked. Each drawer measures 12.87″D x 8.88″W x 6″H inches.
Metal frame dressers are another option for under-bed storage that is growing in popularity. These do tend to be a bit less deep than the drawer options above (both of these are about 12″ deep), and they also are a bit more awkward to move with the metal frame. If you have the vehicle to move these, these are a good option to last throughout college as a storage solution in off-campus housing, too. You can pack the drawers full and tape them closed for moving.
31″H Fabric 6-Drawer Dresser – It looks tall, but will fit under 32″ of clearance. This is 31.5″ wide, and you can place low-profile shoes in the space between the floor and the bottom of the dresser.
26.57″H Fabric 5-Drawer Dresser – This height should fit under most raised beds. This is 39.37″ wide.
Target Cube Organizers – I recommend the Brightroom branded cube organizers (only at Target) that hold 13″ bins and are a nice study material that will hold up over time. The Room Essentials (another Target brand) hold 11″ fabric bins and are a less expensive option, but don’t hold as much and aren’t as sturdy as the 13″.
Walmart Cube Organizers – Walmart has an extensive selection of wood/wood-like cube organizers as well. I’m a big fan of their Better Homes & Gardens line in general, including their cube organizers.
Wire Cube Organizer – Each cube is just under 12″ per side, so you can easily stack 2 high and 3 across under a bed and fit 11″ fabric bins in each cube if desired. These can always flex into different configurations for future use. The only downside to these over the wood organizers is that they are a little less sturdy.
This also comes in the larger 14″x14″ size to hold the 13″ cubes. Both of these options are currently available in black or white frames.
Fabric & Plastic Bins – Target’s Selection – Fabric is a nice option because it can usually fold away when not in use. Plastic is sturdier and probably best for continuous daily use. Be sure to get the correct size to fit your cube organizer (either 11″ or 13″ typically).
Fabric Bins – Amazon – These are the Amazon Basics brand 13″ cubes that come in a variety of colors.
Looking for a different option? Try a decorative basket for a change of pace (a bit more expensive than fabric cubes).
Have a little extra room on top of your under-bed storage? Consider a shallow storage tray to keep items neat.
Many of the “front” under-bed storage options above are 12-18” deep. Your bed is 38″ deep, maybe 40″ considering the frame, so that means more than half of your space is still available behind your “front” storage. This is a great place to store off-season clothes, shoes, and bedding. Or in my boys’ cases, golf clubs. 
Ugh, they take up so much space! This is also a great place to stash an inflatable mattress if they plan on hosting out-of-town friends for a visit!
For the bedding & clothes, you can use your moving bags, or if you want something with windows, you can use these folding storage bags with clear windows.
For shoe storage, you can use fabric shoe storage organizers or consider the plastic stacking shoe boxes with doors, which have been popular with dorm shoppers.
Another option to consider is locking storage. Maybe your gaming system goes in there when you leave for the weekend, or your favorite jewelry or iPad that doesn’t need to make the trip. This is one of the most affordable larger locking storage trunks. It has wheels and a handle for easy moving – just add a padlock through the center opening. You can also add a cable lock to attach it to the bed frame if you’re concerned it could be removed from the room.
We decided to also add a large catch-all bin under my son’s bed. A place for things to go when you don’t know where else to put them. He said he uses it a lot when people are coming by to neaten up the room a little bit.
My older son is a baseball player, so he kept some extra baseball gear and his golf clubs under the bed, in the back.
My younger one’s bed did not have a wall on the side, only at the head of the bed. So his golf clubs were under the side that you can’t see from the door, but it is easier to access them without having to pull them out from behind the front storage. You can see his bed above under Target Striped Drawer Towers.
Other items I’ve heard stored in the back space under the bed are art supplies, musical equipment, ski gear and the dorm-provided desk chair. Some store that chair there and opt to bring their own more comfortable desk chair. Most schools won’t allow any furniture to be removed from the room, so putting the chair under the bed and stacking storage around it is often the solution.
We have guides that cover closet organization, food/kitchen storage, first aid storage and more locking storage.
You can also find these and more in our Full Dorm Shopping Guide.
There are so many under bed storage options out there, hopefully this has helped you narrow down ideas so that you can put together a plan!
Planning your under-bed storage space is definitely a mix of science (well, math) and art. Knowing your bed height options, dorm rules, and a rough idea of what you’ll need to store below your bed will help you maximize the space specific to your needs. I hope you’ll join our Facebook group and show us your dorm move-in pictures and those under-bed solutions!
Still have questions? Please comment below, or come ask us in the Dorm Shopping Recommendations & Deal Alerts Facebook group or Instagram. So much great info in the group, along with hundreds, maybe thousands, of move-in pictures from previous years to give you ideas and inspiration.
=> Please share this article with your dorm-bound friends and their parents. I would love for everyone to understand all about under-dorm bed storage before they start dorm shopping!
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