When my daughter was in a sorority I saw some very creative use of space. The girls bought LARGE plastic storage bins that were 40" long and about 8-10 inches tall. The bins had wheels. They fit under the twin beds (which are 40" wide) and rolled out. The girls could fit an incredible amount of "goods" in those boxes. They could line up three or more under every bed. When my daughter moved into an apartment, she wanted to continue to use the "under the bed" storage for her millions of shoes but her bed did not have enough clearance. She got "bed elevators' and still uses the huge amount of space under her bed for storage. Somewhat like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Range-Kleen-Be...455675&sr=1-16
I have a sewing buddy that keeps a HUGE stash like this.