Tips and tricks to reduce pre-move in stress and make dorm life a breeze.
Anyone who really gets to know me will soon find out that I am a person who enjoys their alone time. So, when I began to tour my share of college campuses and saw the shoeboxes that my tour guides called dorm rooms, one thought kept entering my mind: I am going to have to live with another person and share a small space with them for a while.
You too, may have fears about moving in and making everything work.
The top 3 mistakes I made while moving in:
1. I packed way too many shoes:
Think about the three shoes you wear most: for me, its my Birkenstocks, my converse and my tennis shoes. You will also want some sort of rain proof shoes because you will definitely walk in puddles on a rainy day to class. You will also definitely need shoes that you don't mind getting dirty if you plan on attending... social events ;) or football games, because unfortunately, people spill drinks or track in mud from outside. Buy a shoe caddy and only bring enough shoes that will fit in them!
2: I chose style over comfort:
I brought way too many pillows for my bed and ended up bringing them home, and also bought a bedskirt....LADIES: a bed skirt is a scam! I ended up taking it off my bed because I was tired of pulling it back while on my bed to grab a t shirt or tampon. Its annoying, and no one really looks under your bed.
3. I didn't invest in a good dehumidifier.
I had witnessed waking up in a sticky sweat many times before I decided my $20 dehumidifier just wasn't cutting it. I broke down and bought a nice one on amazon that held a gallon of water and ended up dumping it TWICE a DAY! The towers are old and crusty, and this made living in them a lot easier.
OTHER THINGS TO BRING:
2 Full length mirrors (I command stripped it to the dresser/closet and it was so helpful when getting dressed in the morning)
Extension cords!
An over the door hanger for backpacks, towels, jackets, etcetera
An XL Twin Mattress topper
Outfits for themed parties! (If you are in Greek Life, this is a great one!) I invested in an OU jersey and was able to wear it to both football games and jersey themed events! Other essentials like cat ears, a cowboy hat, neon/camo/patriotic anything can be used a lot too! Keep it simple.
A Tapestry! It took up lots of wall space and I got this one on Urban Outfitters on sale! It really tied my room together and was a great alternative to a bunch of canvases and pictures that may fall off the wall.
How to navigate living with a roommate:
I had heard some tales of awful roommates: stealing clothes and food without asking, locking their roommates out of the bathroom, and heard horror stories of musty rooms with black mold. Luckily, my roommate and I get along very well, and have navigated sharing a small space. But we did these things that helped living together run more smoothly.
1. Talk about pet peeves before you move in together.
Do they like studying in their rooms until the wee hours of the night? Do they like company coming over? What about boyfriends/girlfriends coming over? Do unmade beds or unfolded laundry drive them mad? Talk about expectations of how clean/messy the room can be before hand! Bonus tip: Make cleaning the room a fun bonding activity! Talk about a day you are both free, put on some music, and clean the bathroom/ dorm room for 30 minutes.
2. Come up with a cleaning schedule with your roommates and suite mates!
This can be in the bathroom with a check sheet! Also trade off buying toilet paper! you will go through it faster than you think! Bonus tip: invest in Poo Pourri spray and thank me later! Also: OU services will plunge a toilet or unclog a drain for free, you just have to put in a maintenance request.
3. Talk about groceries:
My roommate and I liked having apples, bananas and granola bars in the room (these are pretty expensive at Etcetera and they don't always have healthy or fresh options), so we would often talk about going to the store and trading off paying for food. Talk about shared food, like coffee, coffee creamer, tea, etc! Venmo is a great app to get to make sharing costs a breeze as a broke college student!
