Whether you’re stocking up to maximize efficiency for a hell week of exams or you can’t bear the thought of stepping outside your heated dorm to trek through the snow for food, there are times when you need that mini-fridge to reach it’s full potential. Most make an attempt to shove in as many items until it exceeds capacity and just hope their roommate will experience the avalanche of falling food before they do. When cramming in another Vitamin Water seems futile, you can utilize some strategic maneuvers to accomplish the job.

While maximizing this finite amount of cold space, the freezer is often overlooked as a means to keep things fresh. You can go all out on frozen boxes of breakfast muffins and soft pretzels that stack two-tall without the worry of an impending expiration date.

Trying to fend off the freshman fifteen? Storing fruits in the freezer will allow these perishables to remain edible for longer in order to power you through a busy week or keep your immune system up after a sleep-deprived weekend of THON.

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Photo by Sophie Najjar

As for the available space in the refrigerator section, there are tactics that come with each storage compartment inside. Try to keep the unhealthy items, ranging from pudding cups to energy drinks, to a minimum by only storing them in the tiny rows along the door.

Even that drawer that never seems to open all the way and you suspect to be lined with a suspicious sticky fluid can still be used to your advantage by providing a home for larger fruits (like bunches of grapes), jugs of orange juice, or cups of yogurt.

Then to the renowned top shelf, where the potential for storage seems limitless in perspective. This area is ideal for leftover Styrofoam containers of LateNight, bottles of water, and sandwiches for the next day. Although the enigma of storing food in a tiny dorm fridge may seem daunting and at times startlingly resemble an unbeatable level of Tetris, maximum storage capacity can be achieved with these tips. Happy Hunger Games!