With only a few weeks left on campus, I’m sure many of you are left in some messy predicaments, literally. I still have winter boots taking up valuable space in my closet and chunky knits hogging the hangers that should be housing tank tops. While my hoarding is due to the fact I forgot to send these items home with my mom after Mom’s Weekend, many of us probably have much more than winter gear piled up in our dorm rooms or apartments.
It’s the perfect time for spring cleaning, the weather is finally getting warmer, so coming back to a stuffy old dorm room isn’t the best way to ring in spring. Getting rid of stuff you don’t need in a responsible fashion is not only a great way to physically clean your room, but there are other pay-offs as well. So follow these steps, and let’s see if you can keep it up until Finals Week.
Sort your Clothes
Start pulling out items you haven’t worn in ages, or just have no idea why you even bought it in the first place. This isn’t just for clothes, either; look at your belts, scarves, sh
oes and accessories too. Make respective piles for donating, tossing, keeping, and an optional “sell” category.
The pile for donated items is reserved for apparel that’s in good condition, but you just have no interest for it anymore. You can donate your clothes to The Salvation Army, 2212 N. Market Street. The toss pile should contain clothes that are no longer wearable, whether they have rips, tears, stains, etc. Go ahead just throw these out. The keep pile is obviously meant for everything you plan on stashing away.
The sell pile can basically be the more fashionable or trendy pieces from the donate pile that you can try selling to Plato’s Closet, located at 29 E. Market View Drive. Plus, it’s not just for you girls – try raiding your boyfriend’s closet, too.
“I got over $40, but they didn’t take everything. A couple of shirts with tags they definitely took, as well as a few button-ups.” Chris Jump, senior in Business said.
We all know how it gets at the end of semester; most of our funds are running a little low, so try to get a few bucks out of your unused clothing. If you want success, though, make sure
Throw on some Rubber Gloves
Once you have cleared all of the unnecessary clutter of your wardrobe, you’ll notice a complete difference in open space. Now is the time to actually clean. Put on some of your favorite music (Britney Spears, anyone?), and I promise it won’t be so bad. If you need to take a trip to the store, pick up paper towels, Clorox or Lysol wipes, Windex, a dusting spray or cloths, a broom, a mop and any other cleaning necessities you may have forgotten on your last grocery trip.
Dust every surface in your room. You’ll be surprised how much probably has collected if you haven’t touched it all year; your allergies will thank you. Be sure to move everything from your desk or dresser too. If there are any stains or residues, use a disinfecting wipe to clean it up. Shake out any floor carpets, and remove them from your room. Vaccuum the floor, and if you have tile or wood, sweep the area then mop it afterwards.
While much of this seems obvious, you know you probably haven’t done all of these tasks at one time during the school year. It makes such a difference.
Donate your “Junk”
After thoroughly cleaning, you may have accumulated a pile of what you consider trash donate jewelry and other items to The I.D.E.A Store, located at 28 E. Springfield on the 2nd floor. This shop is a dream for when you’re doing some sort of creative project. They house a slew of random household materials that can be used for anything the shopper wants.
Kendyl Lyons, a senior in LAS, heard about The I.D.E.A. Store in one of her classes and thinks it is a useful place to go to shop or donate.
“I think it’s a great idea to take things that you don’t want or need anymore (like your Illini lamp that you don’t want after graduation),” Lyons explains. “It’s more environmentally friendly than just throwing them in your dumpster.”
If you’re an underclassman, don’t forget about this shop when moving back to campus in the fall.
“They would find some fabulous things at The I.D.E.A. store, and they’ll be cheaper than the normal prices,” Lyons said.
Inspect Damages
Dorms and apartments can charge you if you leave the residence in less-than-suitable conditions. Most of the time, you can fix these problems on your own. The sooner you get it done, the less likely you will forget to do it at the end of year.
If you can bear to part with your beloved Justin Bieber framed poster, you may want to consider doing so. Holes in the wall caused by nails will require a spackling job to cover them up. This goes for any other damages done, mainly in apartment complexes. If you notice something is off and are worried you may get charged for it come move-out day, call the maintenance of your building to get it fixed ASAP.
The dorms can be tricky. I remember moving out freshman year, and everyone was freaking out about random things we had to make sure we’re done so we didn’t get charged fees. As long as you leave the dorm the way you came into it, (i.e. no broken furniture, no holes in doors) you will be fine. Just make sure to get everything off the walls, including the sticky adhesives you used to secure that Biebs photo up there.
The end of the year will be here before you know it, so let’s help out mom and dad by getting some of the preparations to move out done a little early. Happy Spring, Chambaners!