Starting your life in college can be an exciting and nerve-wracking experience. You’re not just starting a new chapter in your education but also settling in for a new life and a fresh start. Your dorm room becomes your new home and you have the full responsibility of keeping it organized and functional. Life in a dorm is different from how things run at home, so a few choice items will make your stay more enjoyable. Here’s a list of ten basics that will help you turn your dorm room a liveable space.
A calendar or planner
College life can be chaotic. There are classes to attend, books to read, assignments to hand in, exams to get ready for, and an extra-curricular and social life to keep. This might all get overwhelming if you haven’t organized yourself well. A calendar where you plan out the entire semester’s activities should be placed in plain view in your dorm room to keep you on track at all times.
Noise-canceling headphones
Dorms are a noisy place. There are parties, loud students and endless movement in the hallway. If you don’t do anything about it, you might never be able to study in your dorm room or get decent hours of sleep. Noise-canceling headphones will keep out all distractions from without your room walls.
Coffee maker
Throughout your life at college, coffee will come in handy, especially as you pull all-nighters while trying to beat deadlines. Having your own coffee maker in your room will cancel frequent trips to the coffee shop. You can have your drink in the comfort of your room and save a couple bucks.
Blackout curtains
After pulling late nights, you’ll need to make up for your sleep-debt during the day. This might prove impossible if there’s light streaming in through the windows. Blackout curtains will create the perfect atmosphere for you to catch up on important sleep.
Trash can
In order to keep your dorm room orderly and free of used paper and wrappers all over the place, keep a trash can in your room. You can empty it into the dorm trash bins once it’s full instead of making trips outside each time you have a piece of trash to dispose of.
Fan
A fan is a crucial item to have in your dorm room, especially when summer strikes and there’s no air conditioning available. It will create a fresh environment for studying and resting year round.
Full length mirror
College life will require you to get ready and dressed up for a lot of events, so you might as well keep your own full length mirror. It doesn’t have to take up space as you can place it on the back of your door or on the closet door.
Laundry basket
This is another way of keeping your dorm room neat and organized. Keep all your dirty clothes in the laundry basket while they await laundry. Having them lying all over the place or stuffed under the bed is definitely not a good look.
