College freshmen are getting ready to head off to college, and their Savvy Aunties are right there to lend a helping hand as needed. Of course, a Savvy Auntie first needs to know what is needed. I created my Organized Auntie list so you don't have to:

The first step is to find out what needs to be hauled to college. Dorm rooms have lists of the available furniture and suggested lists of items students should bring. So, first figure out together what your freshman nieces and nephews already have and what they need. Websites that specialize in college dorm furnishings, such as the stylish Dormify which I recently discovered, offer bedding sets, room decoration ideas for either gender, and a host of storage systems. By the way, I have no affiliation with Dormify, nor does SavvyAuntie.com. I just think their selections are cool and perfectly designed for today's college student. If you and/or your niece or nephew have preferences in style or budget found at other retailers and e-commerce sites, go for it! These are simply examples of what's out there since most of us were organizing our own dorm rooms!

Once you have an idea of the room layout and needs, then it’s time to get down to the details. For some first-time college-goers, a room theme or particular color scheme will be the first major decision. Once that’s decided, focus shifts to creating two main areas for organization: study and storage.

By the way, if you’re going to college with your niece or nephew to help set up their room, I recommend having an “Auntie Pack” filled with sticky notes, pens, scissors, removable fasteners, tape, duct tape, and tape measures... and a tissue packet because there may be a happy tear or two.Or three.

STUDY:

Desks need a cup for pens, pencils and markers, a *calendar and corkboard to serve up reminders and due dates, a desk organizer for papers and notebooks, a desk lamp (if one isn’t provided by the dorm) and charging station. *I know students will use a calendar app but a print calendar is a great visual reminder.

STORAGE:

Closet
A dorm closet becomes a mini-laundry room, storage facility, and even as an actual closet for clothing and shoes. Here are a few items to use in dorm closets:

- Over the door hook for hats, belts and bags
- A laundry basket with straps for easy carrying
- A stackable shoe rack or over the door shoe bag
- Slim huggable hangers (they take up less space)
- Storage boxes for supplies and extra clothes (lids keep out the dust)
- Closet organizers come in a variety of shapes and sizes, depending on your needs
- A portable shower caddy if the shower is down the hall

Under the Bed:
Some dorms know space is a premium, and the requisite twin bed in the dorm room can already be a bit higher off the ground than a usual bed. If not, consider adding bed risers to add a bit more storage space underneath.

Use drawers, thin plastic totes or zippered bags to carve out additional storage. This is a great space for off-season clothing and extra supplies.

DECORATING AND FINISHING TOUCHES:

Ah! The fun part! Here are a few quick tips: A few decorations, including a touch or two from home, make a college dorm room a little cozier. Please note that most dorms require the use of removable fasteners to hang art on the walls. The coolness of a bean bag chair or a cute ottoman (with storage inside) adds a nice finish to the room.

Before leaving to college with the dorm room haul, take your new college student niece or nephew to the grocery store to pick up a few snacks. College makes you hungry.

Once the dorm room is all set, hug them, tell them how proud you are, take a deep breath, and leave them to their new adventure.

Just make sure they have Auntie’s Snapchat and Instagram.

PS: If you're on Instagram, use #SavvyAuntie so we can see how their dorm room turns out!

Photo: GeorgeRudy
Published: July 27, 2016