Keeping Your Dorm Clean and Organized

It’s always nice to come back to a neat, organized and clean dorm room at the end of the school day, but it can also be a pain to keep your room that way all the time. Between homework, classes, extracurriculars and sports practices, you might not feel that you ever have time to set aside to deep-clean your dorm room. Good news, however! With the implementation of a few dorm-organizing tips, you won’t ever have to deep clean your room; taking small steps to maintain cleanliness every day will save you both time and the headache of having to clean all at once.  

First: clean up a little every day 

This tip may seem easy, but it can be difficult until you’re able to make a habit of it. Instead of throwing your clothes over the back of your desk chair, collect dirty ones in the laundry basket and fold clean ones to put back in your closet or dresser. Make your bed in the mornings and clear off your desk when you’re done with homework for the evening. If you live in a suite or apartment, clean one part of the bathroom or kitchen each day around the same time. These small tasks will not take much of your time now, but they’re sure to save it overall.  

Make a weekly cleaning schedule, too 

Chances are that you’ll have some extra free time on the weekends, so that makes them a suitable time to complete some slightly “larger” or more involved cleaning tasks. If you use a few dishes during the week but don’t have enough to wash them each evening, make Saturday afternoon your “dish-washing day.” Perhaps you prefer to do laundry on the weekends or can water your collection of house plants. Whatever the tasks may be, weekends are a good time to take care of the ones you don’t want to do during the week.  

Keep your desk and backpack clean 

In addition to keeping your personal space organized, it’s vital that you keep track of everything you need for each of your classes. If your backpack houses a permanent collection of papers both old and new, it’s bound to be easy to misplace a needed homework assignment in the midst of them. The same is true for your desk – having a cluttered workspace can make it easy to lose the small, yet important, things. So go through your backpack at the end of each school day. Maybe you have papers in there that you’d like to keep. If so, place them in a folder or file folder. Either way, keep them from cluttering up your desk as well. Strive to keep your workspace clear of too many items, school supplies or papers, especially if you prefer to work in your dorm room at your desk.  

Power through your least favorite tasks 

Are you thinking about laundry? I know I am. It’s a good example of a task that a lot of college students seem to dislike. It involves lugging a full laundry basket around the dorm, often to another level and waiting around for the machine to finish so that you can clear it for the next person. Then, there’s drying, folding and putting away. It’s a lot. So do it all in “one go.” In other words, don’t save the folding and putting away for another day – because it’s more than likely that it won’t get done. Once your laundry is done drying, take that basket straight back to your dorm room and don’t stop working until your drawers are full and your basket empty. It might seem like a burden but will feel particularly satisfying when you’ve finished.  

Make sure everything has a place 

Even if that place is just tucked away in a bin under your bed! Ensuring that all the items in your dorm room have a definitive “home” is one way to keep your dorm extra-neat. Not only does it help when you’re cleaning up to know exactly where an item can go, but it can also make your things much easier to find later, when you’re rushing to get out the door one morning and need to know exactly where you put your favorite hair clip, pair of socks or belt.  

Organizing your dorm doesn’t have to be a big, all-at-once event. Instead, making a habit of cleaning up a bit at a time can make the process less stressful, less daunting, and satisfying in the long-term. Plus, if you like hanging out in a clean dorm room, these tips should be perfect for you! 

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