5 Ways to Keep your Dorm Room Lookin’ Fresh

This post covers 5 ways you can keep your dorm room (or any room, really) lookin’ fresh!

If you’re living in a tiny dorm room and wondering, “how am I gonna keep this place clean?”, you’re not alone. 

Or maybe you’re thinking,

“Emma, why are you writing about how to keep a dorm room clean anyway?”

Well… a tidy room can help your college experience in a few ways:

1. It’s your home. No one wants to come home after a long day of classes to a messy room. Keeping your room in order will help it feel like an oasis!
2. Efficiency. You’ll know exactly where things are and won’t waste time looking for them. 
3. Roommate(s).  No one expects your room to be spotless 24/7, but when living with and sharing such a small space with others, it’s polite to keep things lookin’ nice, especially in shared spaces. 

Keeping your space in order doesn’t have to be as stressful or complicated as we make it out to be. 

Here are 5 tips for maintaining a tidy room:

1. MAKE YOUR BED EVERY MORNING

This is step one to maintaining a fresh lookin’ room. It’s crazy the difference a made bed makes. It seems like if your bed is made, half your room is clean!

It’s also such a good, refreshing way to start the day. I like to pray and thank God for the day as I make my bed.

2. PUT THINGS AWAY AS SOON AS YOU’RE DONE USING THEM

I know, I know, “Thank you, Captain Obvious”. But seriously, this is the secret weapon to staying tidy!

Everything has a home and you put it back in its home when you’re done using it.😂 It truly is that simple!

This means your flat iron goes back with your hair stuff. Your clothes go back in the closet or in the hamper. Dishes get cleaned (or put in the dishwasher if you’re in an apartment or somethin ;)) as soon as you’re done using them. You get the gist. 

Trust me, you’ll be thankful you took care of messes as they came rather than having a heaping pile of things to take care of when you’re already busy with classes and and the craziness of college. 

3. BASKETS BASKETS BASKETS!

If you’re not super into organizing but you want to keep a tidy space, baskets and bins are your best. friend. 

Especially in a dorm room. 

They double as cute decor AND they’re super functional. 

Hair accessories all over your desk? Throw em’ in a basket!
Snacks that are just for you? Basket!
Random stash of free college stuff you’ll figure out what to do with at the end of the year? (me😂) Basket. 

I kept bins under my bed for extra blankets, medicine, sheets and pillowcases, etc. and it was super functional. 🙂

4. STAY ON TOP OF LAUNDRY

I don’t know if someone else did laundry for you at home, but it’s on you now. And sometimes laundry is the last thing you think about in your busy week of classes.  

Rather than letting clothes pile up, get into a routine of doing laundry about once a week. 

Living in the dorms got me in the habit of doing my laundry (washing, drying, folding, AND putting away) all in one go and I’m not mad about it! I loved (and still love) doing laundry in one fell swoop while watching a movie or doing homework. 

As soon as my clothes were done washing, I moved them to the dryer. As soon as they were done drying, I took them out and folded them. 

This meant no clothes getting musty after forgetting about them in the washer, no clothes getting wrinkled left in the dryer, and no piles of clothes lingering in my room until I finally found time to fold and put away everything.

If you can find time once a week (i.e. Sunday afternoons) to get it all done at once, I highly recommend doing so!!

Staying on top of my laundry made it easy to keep a tidy room and go through the week never wondering if I would have enough socks. 🤪

5. LET’S TALK ABOUT SHOES. 

They gotta have a home, y’all.😂

This goes with Tip #2. It really is that simple: you put them back as soon as they come off. 

Don’t leave them out for your roommate(s) to trip on. Whether it’s by the door, under your bed, or in your wardrobe, give them a home. 

Read 5 random things I wish I brought to college to find out why you need a shoe organizer of some sort!

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Those are my 5 tips for keeping and maintaining a tidy room!

Let me know how these steps work for you and if there’s any more you would add!💬