Your parents may come over, your partner may drop by, or you may just want to take your room to have more space to work or study. Sometimes, though, even the smallest area can seem to contain a huge mess. How can you clean your dorm quickly and efficiently? Lucky for you, you’re in college because you’re smart. So take your educated brain and put it to work! So, without further ado, let’s dive into this blog and learn some of the best tips to clean your college dorm.
Put away the clothes
First of all, put clothes and large items in their proper place. If you have clothes on your bed, a jacket on the back of your chair, a blanket spilled on the floor, and a scarf or two hanging from the lamp, your room can look incredibly messy. Spend a few minutes picking up clothes and large items and putting them away where they belong (closet, laundry basket, hook on the back of the door).
And if you don’t have an assigned place for large items in your room, make one; that way, in the future, you can just put it there to begin with, and have one less thing making your room messy. (Five-minute cheat correction: throw everything in the closet).
Make your bed
Sure, you don’t live at home anymore, but making your bed will instantly transform your room from neglected to stellar. It’s amazing how much a clean bed can improve the look of a room. Make sure you do it right, too; it only takes a few extra seconds to smooth the sheets, straighten the pillows, and make sure the comforter covers the entire bed evenly (i.e., it doesn’t touch the floor on one side and barely covers the mattress on the other).
If one side of your bed is touching a wall, spend an additional 10 seconds pushing the covers between the wall and the mattress so that the top surface is still smooth (Five Minute Cheater’s Fix: Don’t smooth anything out, and don’t worry about the pillows; fix the comforter or top cover).
Put other things away.
Put things away as much as possible. If you have a bunch of pens on your desk and shoes piling up by the door, for example, put them out of sight. Put the pens in a small cup or desk drawer; put your shoes back in your closet. Take a moment to stand still, look at what’s left after you’ve made the bed, and put away the big stuff. What can fit in the drawers? What can fit in a closet? What can slide under your bed? (Five-minute cheat correction: throw items in the closet or drawers and deal with them later).
Dealing with the garbage
Fill the trash can. The key to emptying your trash can is to fill it first. Take your trash can (or pull one from the hallway to the front of your door) and walk around your room. Start in a corner and spiral around the room to end up in the center. What can you throw? What don’t you need? Be ruthless, too: that pen that only works once a while has to go, for example.
You might surprise yourself by how much you can throw away in a few minutes and how much it will improve the look of your room. Once you’ve put things in your room’s trash can, take 30 seconds to empty them into a larger trash can down the hall or in the bathroom. (Five-minute cheater’s correction: there isn’t one. Trash is trash and must be thrown away immediately).
Tidy up
Put away the little things that are left. Close your eyes for a moment, take a deep breath (yes, even if you’re in a hurry), then open them again. Repeat the spiral you did with the trash can, this time organizing things as you go. That pile of papers on your desk? Make the edges a little neater; you don’t have time to go through it, but you can make it a little neater.
Line up the books, so their edges are even. Close your laptop, straighten photos and other decorations, and ensure nothing is sticking out from under your bed. (Five-minute fix: make sure things are relatively organized and try to put them at right angles or parallel to each other. Turn things with the tags to the front).
Take a fresh look
Step out and into your room as if you were a guest. Take a step out of your room, walk away for 10 seconds, and then walk back into your room as if you were a guest. Should the lights be on? Did the window open? Room air freshener sprayed? Chairs cleaned, so there’s a place to sit?
Walking into your room as if you were doing it for the first time is a great way to notice small details that may still need to be taken care of. After all, when was the last time someone’s room smelled too good? (Five-minute fix: spray your room with room sanitizer. Assume a small spray bottle will help and do it automatically).
Relax!
Last but not least: take a deep breath! After trying to clean and pick up your room, you’ll want to spend a moment calming down. Grab a glass of water or something else to refresh yourself so that your visitors see a beautiful room and a calm and collected friend or family member casually relaxing inside!
Sound off in the comments section below, and tell us what you want to read next and if you want to read more about cleaning your college dorm.
