Plastic Totes: The Dorm Students' Best Friend

As September quickly approaches, it is a familiar scene on college campuses across the country: students lugging their belongings from their parents' vehicles into their dorm rooms. And come May, they'll be doing the same thing, only in reverse.
Cardboard boxes get the job done, if their bottoms can hold up to all the weight, but all too often they just end up in the recycling bin only to have to start all over with new ones when the next move-in or move-out day arrives.
Plastic totes are a better solution all around.
Not only are they stronger and more durable than boxes and bags, but they are also reusable.

In fact, these totes don't even need to be stored between uses. That is because they can function as storage space in the interim, a side benefit that is nothing to sneeze at by college dorm students who are short on space.

Indeed, as the "Seattle Times" recently reported, one of the easiest ways of "making the most of a small bedroom is with plastic totes.
"Storage containers in the bedroom can make a small space seem larger.
" Under the bed is a great place to stow several plastic totes containing all those items one would like to keep hidden, and a set of inexpensive bed risers can help you get even more room underneath the mattress.
Plastic totes, however, can also function as decorative furniture and storage themselves. In a three-part series on college dorm room shopping, CollegeFashion.
net devoted a whole segment to storage.

Therein, they answered the question "Why are storage containers so important to shop for?" with "you're going to need to find ways to store all your stuff in order to maximize your space.
" The collegiate experts at the site went on to give some dorm room storage tips.

In addition to the under the bed idea they also suggested going vertical.
Stackable plastic totes are an ideal way to take advantage of a corner or other dorm room nook and cranny that would otherwise prove wasted space. That's because they come in a wide variety of sizes and depths to fit almost any space.
And because stackable plastic totes nestle securely on top of each other, college students can stack their belongings up rather than having it strewn all over the room or their teeny tiny closets.
The College Fashion website also offered this storage tip: "Get portable storage.

" Specifically, its experts recommended taking the portability of the plastic totes you use into account. Why? Because "ideally, you want to be able to move without unpacking much stuff.
If you can find durable containers with handles, it will make moving in and out of your dorm so much easier.
" And don't assume that if it all fits in on move-in day that you'll have plenty of storage throughout the year.
College students are notorious for collecting stuff.
While you're out shopping, why not invest in a few extra nestable plastic totes or collapsible plastic totes.
They won't take up much room even if you don't need them, but they'll sure come in handy when you eventually do.