CollegeCandy » James Dean

Dorm life is a double-edged sword. Getting along with your roommate is amazing…letting her get away with a filthy mess isn’t. When your room is messy, your life is messy.

I remember freshman year when I was stressed beyond all belief, had 2 midterms a day for 3 days, and basically stopped sleeping. By the end of day 2 my bed turned into a dumping ground for everything from clothes to empty food containers to looseleaf papers and textbooks. With nowhere to even entertain the idea of sleep, I very nearly had a mental breakdown.

So, while you may think it’s totally worth it to let the mess grow until it’s time to go home for Thanksgiving, these quick and easy organizing tips will keep you sane enough to get through midterms, finals and (most importantly) those Friday night impromptu pre-game sessions!

Step One: Get a (big) garbage can and USE it!

I don’t think you’re stupid but I am going to assume you’re lazy. So, this is why I say you must get a big garbage can and throw away everything you don’t need. Old notes, papers that are cluttering your desk, old chinese food containers. Get it out of the room!

You live in a virtual shoebox, right? It’s time to accept the fact that you only have room for the essentials: a bed, desk, that handle of Georgi that you’re hiding from the RA in the back of the closet. That’s it. Then? Take the trash out (regularly)!

Feel better yet?

Step Two: Everything has a place…keep it that way.

While it may seem like a daunting task, it’s time to organize your closet.

Unless you’re made of money and consider the girls of Gossip Girl to be fashion amateurs, this won’t take you more than an hour or two. You know why? Easy! The Great Closet Overhaul of 2007 doesn’t involve color coding your closet and labeling your shoe boxes, it simply requires you to gather up all of the piles of clothing around the room and make a place for them.

Buy some cheap hangers and start hanging! This means dresses, sweaters, blouses, belts, and dress pants. All of your t-shirts, sweat pants, underwear and jeans can go in drawers. And when it comes to laundry, use that pop-up clothes basket I know you own! FYI: dousing your dirty clothes in Febreze and letting them air out for a few hours doesn’t count as doing laundry (although it totally works in a pinch).

Step Three: Make your dorm your own.

This may sound contradictory to the whole de-clutter thing that I feel so strongly about, but in order to feel good about your dorm you have to make it feel like your home. What to do?

Read up on Feng Shui and make some simple adjustments to your room set-up. Find some novel ways to hang things on your wall (and I’m not talking about that James Dean poster everyone else has…). Hit two birds with one stone (clutter and decoration)!

When it comes down to it, what matters most is that you feel comfortable and clear-headed when you are in your room. Considering your dorm acts as a bedroom/living room/kitchen, it’s important to utilize the space and feel good about being there!

Not to mention, you’ll want to be ready when your hallmates come over for an unexpected visit.

Now tonight, take a few hours and make your room your own! You’ll thank me when you’re knee deep in Biology notes and all you want to do is take a nap!

Dorm Decor on a Budget

CC Staff — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 16:50:44 +0000

You could go to pbteen.com for a dorm room like this…or follow our time-tested advice!

It’s a dorm. Not an apartment, not a studio, and not a tiki hut. Keep that in mind whilst decorating.

In fact, one of my closest guy friends constantly mocks those girls who go all out on a simple dorm room, exclaiming, “GiRlzz! Letz do a BeaCH ThEmE! Lolz!”

That aside, it is your home, and your own personal residence for an entire school year, so it’s important you like it, want to be in it, and it’s presentable for guests at uh, any hour of the night.

So yeah, there are those crazies who have the money (and stupidity) to pimp out their dorm rooms, but what about you? What about poor, busted-my-ass-at-Ruby-Tuesdays-for-this-paycheck? you, who likely can’t afford a single Johnny Depp poster, let alone an entire room’s worth of decoration.

I’ll let you in on a little secret chickies, it’s all about the bargain shopping. And knowing where to find that.

Flea Markets. Every single flea market high and low is bound to have those cute little tin signs that say ‘Cold Beer on Tap’ or something clever and college-appropriate like that. Not only are you beating out those dumb girls down the hall that have a lifesize David Beckham cut-out (Isn’t that kind of creepy anyway?) but now you’re all vintage and cute! You classy broad, you.

Thrift stores. I had a couple friends back in middle school that wouldn’t let me flip through sale racks when we’d go to the mall. There’s a reason that I’m happy and fabulous and they’ve fallen off the face of the earth five years later. Thrift stores are the perfect place to find cute picture frames and other cool little doo-dads for your bare empty desk.

As for bedspreads and rugs? They always tend to run semi-expensive anywhere you look, but this is when you raise your hands in the air and thank God for Sweden! IKEA has some of the best (and cheapest!) shit out there, and I’ll let you in on a little secret. The children’s duvets are cuter than the adult ones, and run conveniently in twin- just for your little pathetic dorm bed. Yippee!

It’s really not that hard to find bargains if you’re willing to dig and rummage.

Isn’t it better to be the chick with all the unique decor rather than the FIFTEENTH girl on your floor with the same James Dean poster above your bed?

Sure, it takes a little extra energy and time, but is that so not worth the extra dollars you’ll have for booze this Friday? Frugal & fuckin’ wasted, what’s better than that?