The start of a new fall semester brings new faces, challenges and possibilities to maximize room space in Eastern’s residence halls.

Some upper-class students said their experience living in the residence halls has trained them to best utilize the buildings’ space.

Tyler Vollmer, a third-year resident assistant, and senior mathematics major, said the best way to use the given space is to check with a roommate and keep everything organized.

Vollmer said he has seen many room styles during his time at Eastern, such as the L-shaped room, and students who placed one bed in the closet vertically.

Most of the furniture in the residence halls is stackable, so there are many different ways of setting up each room.

The L-shaped style consists of one bed placed horizontally against a wall, and the other bed facing the opposite direction at the foot of the first bed.

Vollmer explained that when he had a roommate, they decided to split the room in half with one bed on each side of the room with an even amount of furniture on both sides. He also said communication is important in order to use what space is given.

Jarvis Buchanan, a second-year desk assistant and junior English major, said one of the best ways to maximize room space is to store things under the bed and use the shelf space provided—rolling clothes is also another good trick to save space.

Buchanan said when it comes to seasonal clothes, saving the fall and winter wardrobe for when it really is appropriate will help free up space.

“Take out the important stuff; nothing else matters,” Buchanan said.

He added using the space given is crucial so that each student is not invading each other’s personal space.

Buchanan mentioned having seen some interesting room styles, one of which is similar to the L-shape but instead of the horizontal bed being against the wall, it is bunked across the other bed horizontally.

“It actually freed up a lot of space—I might do that,” Buchanan said.

Erin Kirkpatrick, a sophomore family and consumer sciences major, said un-bunking the beds and placing them on top of dressers is also a great way to save space.

Kirkpatrick shared the same views as Buchanan on how to maximize space.

“Don’t over-clutter yourself, and know what’s most important,” Kirkpatrick said.

She said her advice for those with fridges in their rooms would be to only buy what will be eaten and not to purchase food that needs to be cooked unless there is a kitchenette on the floor.

“Buy what you need, not what you want,” she said.

One student who has lived in Pemberton Hall multiple times set her room up in the L-shape and she has kept that design from previous years, making slight alterations.

Claire Doiron, a junior elementary education major, said this year she and her roommate decided to place their fridge on top of a dresser so to create more floor space.

“It’s easier to move your room around if your stuff is not in it yet and you can play around with the furniture,” Doiron said.

Roberto Hodge (@Bertohodge) can be reached at 581-2812 or rlhodge@eiu.edu.