One of my favorite things about college — aside from the usual college experience things — has got to be decorating a new living space. Whether that living space is a dorm room, apartment or anything in between, decorating my living space has always been a fun, relaxing experience. Decorating has been the key to making my short term place of residence a home for myself and my roommates.
However, after a while, that lovely college living space that started off so clean and cute at the beginning of the semester is bound to be a little dirty by the time spring semester rolls around. You might have piles of clothes, knick knacks on knick knacks and all sorts of things lying around, cluttering up a space that was already small enough from the start. You’re probably starting to get tired of looking at the same pictures on the wall that feel like they’ve been there for an eternity. In only a few short months, your sense of style and aesthetic may have changed — and that means it’s time for a little spring cleaning (and spring de-cluttering and spring redecorating…)
Grab a broom, find a vacuum and do a little cleaning. Go ahead and clean up those floors, vacuum the months’ worth of dirt off the carpet and find some dish soap to clean any dishes. Get a trash bag and fill it up with anything you might not need anymore (or any gross trash or food wrappers that have been super casually chilling on the floor).
After that, it’s time to de-clutter. Go through your stuff and take down anything you don’t need or anything that you’re really just tired of looking at. If your bed isn’t lofted, you can shove all these things in a box and stick it all under your bed. If not, fill up a box that you can take home next time, put in your closet, donate or simply throw away, if need be. Your room might feel a little empty at first, but it will feel a whole lot cleaner once you get used to it.
After that, it’s time to redecorate! Decorating a college dorm room or apartment (at least, for me) always starts with some good, old-fashioned Pinterest perusing. I love to look through pictures of ideas from others, look at my favorite college combinations and get a feel for the type of space I am trying to recreate. After that, I usually head over to Youtube to look up DIYs so I can recreate some of my favorite looks for less money. We are college students after all — we have to decorate on a budget, right?
Once I find some neat DIYs, I love doing a little thrift shopping. It’s such a fun way to find items at discounted prices, but also to grab some super cute things that you otherwise might never have found. Thrift stores are home to all sorts of cute, unusual and super adorable items that could be perfect for a college living space. Find something that screams you, or find something that you can DIY into something beautiful for your space.
Clean, de-clutter, redecorate, and you are sure to liven up your college dorm room or apartment — and have fun doing it.
How do you plan on turning your college living space into a home?