Many alumni reminisce about college being one of the best times of their lives. However, there’s no hard feelings when you graduate and leave behind cramped dorms, roommate disagreements, communal bathrooms and countless items that were packed and never used. I look back on my first semester and wish I had a comprehensive list of dorm hacks to make my life easier, lucky for you, you can learn from my mistakes.
Step one is investing in a sleep mask and good quality noise canceling headphones or earplugs. I prefer headphones because I can play music or listen to videos as I drift to sleep. Both are a must for when you and your roommate disagree about bedtime or volume level.
No matter how close you and your roommate are, fighting about small things is inevitable given how stressful college is and having these items can stop the argument from happening in the first place.
Another personal must for me is being organized. Everything has its place. One of my favorite methods is the “Cousins or Coworkers” method in which you group things by category or function. For example, pretend I have a pen that is looking for a new home; I could either place it with my other pens (cousins) or with my homework and writing supplies (coworkers). In this case, I would likely place it with other writing supplies so that when I sit down to write, everything is already in order.
I often use the coworkers method for things that require several items in a sequential order, such as skincare, hygiene products, and completing homework. I use the cousins method when an item isn’t often used or requires no other objects to use, such as perfume, makeup and paint.
A classic experience of college is overpacking and not having space for half of your belongings. One of the best hacks for combatting this phenomenon is to utilize the space under your bed. This is a great place for objects that aren’t frequently used, such as spare hygiene products, random cords, extra bedding and seasonal clothing.
Another one of my favorite tips that helps with organization is to have plenty of storage, whether that’s a basket, nightstand, shoe rack or cabinet. You want to maximize the amount of space available to you. As the year goes on, you’re bound to acquire more belongings than when you first moved in, but if you don’t have the necessary storage, your dorm will quickly devolve into chaos.
Even if you don’t use the storage in your first week on campus, I can almost guarantee that it will prove useful by the end of the semester. My mom always said that it’s better to have something and not need it than to need it and not have it.
These tips certainly make dorm life easier but, with or without these tips, you’re bound to flourish at college as long as you put yourself out there, study hard and learn from your mistakes.
