HOW TO: Make the Most of Your Dorm Room

Let’s face it; when you move in, your dorm room, whether it’s your first or last year of college, looks like a partially furnished mental prisoner’s room. It’s hard to make it feel like home when you know you have to move out in a year, and you can’t repaint or install shelving, but that’s where I come in. Today, you’ll learn how to make the most of your dorm room, temporary as it is.

Step 1: Decor.

I know I’ve made packing lists, and you should still pay attention to them, but once all the essentials are taken care of, you can still do more to make the most of your likely depressing living space. Here’s just a list of (generally cheap) things that can make that mental facility reminiscent space feel like home. Or home-ish, at least.

– Posters (the more the merrier! I have 20!)

-Pictures (framed or not, whatever! Bring home to you!)

-Corkboard (cover it with fabric or a big world map to make it more interesting, then pin away!)

-Art projects (I take a lot of art classes, so my walls and shelves are filled with the projects I’m most proud of, like my ceramic monsters)

-Funky lamp (you’ll probably need extra lighting, so why not make a statement?)

– Fabric or large scarves hung over end tables/ mini fridges (even the smallest splash of color can add life to a room)

 

Step 2: Non-permanent storage

Like I mentioned earlier, it’s not like you can drill IKEA shelves into your dorm room walls, and it would be a waste of time and money since you’d have to take them out at the end of the year anyways (and probably pay a hefty fine). Here are some cheap, handy ideas to at least give your room a semblance of order.

-Hanging shoe organizer (not just for shoes! Although it’s nice to have somewhere vertical to store your shoes so they aren’t lying all over your floor, you can also shove things like yarn, smaller textbooks, birthday cards, extra cords, or really anything into those compartments. Plus, these things are like five bucks. Get two or three!)

-Collapsible shelving (By this I mean floor shelves from Target that you can put together and take down easily. I don’t know how much floor space you’ll have, but honestly, a cheap series of shelves is nicer than a stack of crap in the corner of your room)

-Suitcases/big storage tubs (Because we got a kitchen last year, we had a lot more stuff to cart to and from school, so I invested in one of those big tubs from Target to store our dishes/cooking supplies during the summer. Since the tub, and all of our suitcases from move-in, were empty throughout the year, they were great to use for temporary storage. I put all my move-in bags and various seasonal decorations in these things so they were safe and out of the way until we needed them. The suitcases were there, so why not use them?)

–Duct tape/paperclip hooks (Find a flat surface, maybe on the edge of your desk or on a wall, that you could use a hook on. I use hooks for necklaces, my key lanyard, my sunglasses, and all sorts of other stuff. Instead of buying hooks from somewhere, just make your own with a large paperclip and a little bit of duct tape. Bend the paperclip into a 45 degree angle and tape one end to the flat surface with the duct tape, and voila! Hook!)

–Empty Kleenex box shelves (I go through probably fifteen kleenex boxes a year, and during my freshmen year I realized that instead of throwing these boxes away, I could secure them to a wall using push pins and display pictures or little gifts on top, while using the inside as storage for other little things like camera bags and jewelry. Kleenex boxes come in all sorts of cute patterns now, so they’re perfect as temporary shelves!)

–Goodwill mugs (I love mugs, and I have a lot of pens and pencils, being a writer, a student, and a sometimes-artist. When I got to school I realized I didn’t have anywhere to put all of said pens and pencils, so I bought a cheap mug from Goodwill that matched the color scheme I wanted to go with for my room and stored all my pens and pencils in style! Utilizing Goodwill will save your life. Buy an analog clock for under two bucks, and never be late to class again!)

 

Step 3: Other Stuff

Once you’ve got all your essentials, there are still a couple other things that will make your dorm room a lot more comfy.

-Back Pillow (Great for kicking back on your bed and doing some homework or watching movies on your laptop. Heckofalot more comfortable than just your pillow)

–Mini Fridge (Twenty bucks and a pain to move in and out, but if you don’t have a kitchen, this will be fantastic. Store your water bottle for the gym to keep it cold, maybe keep a carton of milk for morning cereal, or whatever comfort foods from home that have to stay cold. It’s not an essential item, but it sure is nice. Plus, you can use it as a bedside table!)

–Extra [comfy] chair, if room (Both my dorm bedrooms have been too small to bring one of those super comfy butterfly chairs, but if your dorm has the space, use it. The school-supplied desk chairs are the most uncomfortable chairs in the world, so save yourself, if you can. If you have a dorm with a living room space, like we did last year, you can use it for there too!)

–Surge protector (I actually don’t know why I didn’t add this to my essential packing list. A power strip will be super useful for charging your various devices for the day, and it doesn’t take up space!)

–Easy-to-transport hamper (If you read my 15 worst things about college list, you’ll remember that the first item was having to lug laundry up and down four flights of stairs once a week. So when you’re shopping for hampers for dirty clothes, try to pick something that’s easy to move. My mom and I recently found a backpack hamper from Target for me and my brother, which will be really helpful during the year. Just keep mobility in mind, because laundry sucks.)

So there you are! Three steps to making the most of your dorm room! Did I miss anything, or do you have something to add? Let me know in the comments!