Living in a small room with another person, plus 40 other people for close neighbors, and using only a public bathroom is a weird way to live. It takes a lot of getting used to and strategy for just about everything. After living for two years in a dorm, I’m so happy to be in an apartment with my own bedroom, our own kitchen, and a private bathroom.

Living in the dorms is definitely convenient for classes, and it’s a lot of fun, but it takes some patience. Here are 10 tips for surviving your dorm room.

1. Communicate with your roommate

This is the single most important aspect of living in a dorm room. It is absolutely critical that you and your roommate communicate about anything and everything. At my school, we would have to fill out roommate agreements at the start of the semester and go over it with our RA. This laid out the expectations for cleaning, noise, storage, sharing things, etc. Make sure if something is bothering you, you and your roommate talk about it. It’s not easy, but it’s incredibly important to address issues as they arise.

2. Stay organized

It’s hard to make room for all of your stuff, even when you pack conservatively. Things like storage cubes and hanging shelves in your closet are essential in dorm rooms. A major perk of living in a dorm room is that you get really good at condensing and organizing because you have so little space to work with. You’ll appreciate this skill later in life.

3. Lock your door at night

You never know when a drunk, confused student is going to wander into your room and pass out on your futon. Seriously, it happens way more than you think. Especially in freshman dorms. Also, I’ve had people throw my door open and take off running—when I was sitting 10 ft in the air in my lofted bed, and our door stayed open. Sometimes parents visit and forget which room was their child’s and they end up in yours. You never know what could happen—just lock your door.

4. Get to know your floor mates

You don’t have to be friends with your neighbors, but you might be. It’s always nice to know people on your floor. You can all hang out in the common area, make meals together, watch movies, etc. Some of your first friends, and maybe your lifelong friends from college will be the people you meet on your floor; so don't be afraid to get to know the people around you.

5. Wear shoes in the shower

I actually never did. I would constantly wish I had flip flops, and yet ridiculously two years later I still never got around to getting them. I was in a newer dorm that had four bathrooms per floor, so I was sharing with less people, but still. This is an incredibly important step in staying healthy in college. Plus if there is a hairball or something on the shower floor you don't have to carefully step around it.

6. Go to hall events

There will always be fun social events, almost always with free food. I certainly didn’t go to a lot of our hall events, but I did go to some each year and they were always a lot of fun. It’s a great way to get to know the rest of the building and make more friends. And, again, free food.

7. Be considerate

Be considerate to your floor mates as well as your roommate, AND the staff that have to clean your floor everyday. Clean up after yourself in the kitchen. Don’t leave dishes in the sink for a long time. Wipe down the counter/floor/stove if you make a mess. Don’t be that person that steals other people’s kitchen stuff. Don’t leave hair all over the shower. Don’t leave toothpaste globs in the sink. Seriously just be an adult. Your mom isn’t there to clean up after you anymore. You need to pick yourself up and take care of your crap, that’s all there is to it. But it’s really easy, just don’t be an a—hole and you’ll be grand.

8. Don’t wait until Sunday night to do your laundry

This is when most people do their laundry for obvious reasons. Try to plan ahead and maybe even make yourself a bi-weekly laundry schedule if you’re really feeling motivated. I often did my laundry in the middle of the night. That’s probably not great advice, but if you’re a night owl like me and you’re up late, not many other people are doing their laundry at 3 a.m. so take advantage of that opportunity!

9. Be OK with limited privacy

It might seem incredibly daunting and scary and miserable at first if your privacy is something you highly value. But I promise you will get used to being around people more and losing some of your privacy. You learn ways around it and form your own little routines. Just give yourself time to adapt to your new environment.

10. Make your room homey

If you make your dorm your home away from home you will be much happier. It’s incredibly important to have a place of comfort to go when your days are crazy. Have a couple lamps and some nice lights for cozy movie nights. And be sure to have some roommate date nights. Add some accent pillows to your futon and have blankets from home. Decorate the walls, add a rug, and get a plant. It will be a happy little home in no time.