Let’s face it: college will do you dirty. Literally. Your room will become dirty. Sometimes there’s just nothing you can do about it. After running to and from class, making food, sports practice, homework, and everything in between, sometimes you come home and it seems like a tornado struck your room while you were away. I am personally a victim of this bedroom massacre, but through many ventures of trial and error, I have mastered (most of the time) five quick tricks to clean your room.
Step 1: Make your bed
Your room will feel much cleaner when your life isn’t balled into a huge heap of sheets on top of your bed. Your bed is also such a huge part of the room that it will be much less visually cluttered once it is made.
Step 2: Put your clothes away
Getting your clothes off the floor will make it much easier for you to walk. Plus the smell of week-old (maybe longer) dirty clothes isn’t exactly appealing. Even if you don’t have time to fold and put them away neatly, you can toss them into the laundry basket. If they’ve been on the floor, they probably need a good wash anyway.
Step 3: De-clutter your desk
When my desk becomes a storage space for leftover foods and randomly accumulated items, that’s when I know it’s bad. Clearing off your desk also gives you a good space to get your work done with no distractions. Trust me, you don’t need that three day old slice of pizza. We college students may be on a budget, but ramen does the trick, too. Just toss it.
Step 4: Close your drawers and doors
After putting everything away, there’s no need to see it any longer. You can shut your closet door and happily put it at the back of your mind. Shutting a drawer or closet can also help you keep a check-list of what has and has not been organized.
Step 5: Open your window and curtains
Let some light into the little hoarding cave you’ve been calling a room for the last week. There’s nothing like fresh air to give you that final touch of accomplishment. You’ve done it! Through the stinky clothes and scrambled sheets, your room is finally clean. It may only last a day, but now you have five simple steps to get it back into shape.
Photos Courtesy of Sophie Crossley