Simple Habits To Keep Your Dorm Comfortable and Clean

Transitioning to college entails a brand-new territory of dorm life where you will share a smaller living space with another student. It’s likely smaller than any other room you’ve lived in before, and to top it off, you only get one side of the room to settle into. Although it is much smaller and may feel cramped, there are simple habits to keep your dorm clean, comfortable, spacious, and fun to live in.  

Keep it clean. 

First, pick up after yourself. Buying a trash can will be one of your best investments your freshman year. Challenge yourself to immediately place your trash in the designated trash can rather than leaving it on your desk or the floor. The next step, which is just as important, is to take out the trash then it gets full. There’s nothing worse than walking into your dorm room and smelling odd smells of trash and old food. Neglecting to pick up your trash will bring ants in your room and flies, making your room a lot more gross than needed. There was a dorm in my freshman hall that actually had an ant infestation from this problem and the ants began to migrate to other rooms as well, so it’s better to clean up when you can.  

Buy a vacuum. Keeping your floor space as clean as possible will make the dorm room feel a lot bigger than it is. The second tip is to buy a vacuum cleaner you can easily store in your room. It doesn’t have to be giant or take up a lot of space; a handheld vacuum cleaner would work just as well. Vacuuming your floor only takes about five minutes in the space you’re given, and if you don’t have carpet, just buy a broom and a dustpan to apply the same principle.  
 

Pick up your clothes. Another way to keep your floor space clean is picking up your clothes and placing them in the hamper rather than leaving them on the floor. putting your clothes away after a laundry day will make your life ten times easier rather than grabbing your clothes in a wrinkled pile.  

 
Buy cleaning supplies. Buying Clorox wipes, Lysol spray, paper towels, and sponges for dishes will be a lot more helpful than you think. Give the surfaces in your dorm a good wipe down about once every two weeks in order to keep dust at bay and surfaces clean. I suggest you buy a few storage bins for your cleaning supplies so they will be easier to find.  

 
Keep it comfortable. 

Get more storage space. If you haven’t noticed, there’s a trend with organizing compartments for your items. I found a lot of my storage compartments from Amazon and ordered them a month before I left for school. I also asked for storage boxes at my graduation party for gifts so I could spend less money prior to entering the first day of classes. Utilizing storage compartments for books, drawers, toiletries, and dishes will keep your desk space and counters from becoming cluttered.  

 
Loft your bed. Here’s a pro tip for organizing your dorm room and keeping the floor space clear. Dorm rooms allow you to loft your beds to higher heights, by lofting your bed you will have more space for organizing and storage. This will also allow for some opportunity to have a futon or extra furniture. I keep bins under my bed for sweatshirts and sweaters during the warmer months so they don’t take up extra space in my closet. Also, by keeping your move-in day boxes under your bed for storage you’ll have more space to keep things you don’t want to use and save the hassle of finding more boxes to move out of your dorm as well.  

Ask about places to store your stuff. Talk to your resident assistant about storage space to hold furniture you may not want in your room anymore. Or, keeping winter/summer clothes when you won’t be wearing them for that particular season. This will keep your closet and storage space a lot more open and organized.  
 

Open your window. Natural sunlight will give the illusion of your room being bigger than what you may be working with. Try to open your window during the day and the sun rays will provide extra light into your living space, too.  

Establish good habits. 

Develop habits. A lot of these tips derive from developing habits. It takes about one month to turn a new initiative into a habit -the more you can stick to the habit, the more it will come naturally. Another habit to practice every day is making your bed every morning. Not only will this make your dorm room appear put together at first glance, but it will be a great way to start your day. It may feel like an inconvenience, but it will keep the mindset of keeping your dorm clean at the forefront of your mind.  

 
Make it a weekly thing. Make it a habit to thoroughly clean your room every week. Some students clean their rooms every Sunday to start the week off strong. This may feel like a mundane or time-consuming task, but this cleaning initiative will create a strong sense of responsibility that you can take with you the rest of your life. This will bring new habits that make living on your own that much more comfortable and productive. 

 
Persevere through the laziness. The temptation to not clean up after yourself will be hard to break and there will be days when you notice your dorm is much messier than usual. However, take it from a junior in college, a clean dorm will put your mind at ease and make your living space more comfortable as you navigate the stress of college. Entering a cluttered dorm room at the end of a long day will feel a lot more stressful than you may think while keeping a clean dorm room will encourage a strong and stable relationship with your roommate.  

 
Talk to your roommate. Talking to your roommate about wanting to keep your dorm clean is a great way to set boundaries for your future year. Most of the time, a roommate contract will be presented to you at the beginning of the year for both of you to sign, so, make sure you talk to your roommate about this expectation to keep your relationship as healthy as possible. You will thank yourself in the future for learning this life skill and will appreciate having clean dishes, a nice smelling room, and easily accessible organized spaces.  

Find your system. Above all, find the system that works best for you. Everyone cleans differently and wants to work through it in their own way, so, research different methods and make a game plan you know will work for your personality. It’s all about making it part of your lifestyle in the easiest way possible. Good luck! And happy organizing!