Yes, we've all had that morning, that afternoon, that night—you're in a rush and none of your clothes seem to fit right. Every tank top that you pull of the hanger gets tossed off of your body and onto the floor. The clothes pile up until a cotton, denim mountain has erupted in the middle of your floor. And of course you don't really notice until you are back in your room, tired from a long day (and perhaps a longer night). Instead of cleaning up right away, you pretend not to notice and snuggle into the mess—who knew that jeans could make such a great blanket?

The truth is, I used to be the worst. The floor of my room was barely visible most days and secretly I kind of loved it. I would scoff at anyone who mentioned my messy room and say, "It doesn't matter if it's messy as long as I know where everything is." But in reality, I wasn't able to get from the door to the bed without stepping (and sometimes tripping) over the boots, sweaters, socks, strewn across my floor. So what changed?

Well, living with another person in a dorm room can make your imperfections glaringly more apparent. It started to become clear that my side of the dorm room was the "messy side.” It was as if an earthquake had erupted in our dorm but only my belongings had gotten caught in the disaster. See, my roommate's side was consistently pristine.

She would get dressed in the morning without wondering where that purple J. Crew shirt was, whereas it took me 10 minutes to find any specific article of clothing. Not to mention that my clothes always looked as though I had balled them up and stuffed them under my bed. And although my roommate by no means forced me to become cleaner, she was my inspiration.

After a month or so, I started to pick up her habits. I don't think I even noticed that she was rubbing off on me until later. I started hanging up my clothes after I was done wearing them, and I began folding my shirts instead of stuffing them into drawers. Yes, I still relapse on occasion but now, it's gotten easier to get organized because I'm not starting from a disaster stance. Like any resolution, once you make the decision to start, sticking to it is the key. So friends, I advise you to take the plunge, the leap, the journey to becoming a cleaner, more organized person. It can only make your life easier.

Here are seven reasons to keep your dorm room clean:

1. You feel so organized after cleaning.

2. You can meet cute (and clean) boys while doing laundry.

3. A clean room means less germs.

4. You can actually find what you are looking for.

5. Your roommate will like you again.

6. Your clothes won't be wrinkled anymore.

7. Your room feels absurdly bigger.