An important aspect of life, especially when living away from home, is having a space where you feel comfortable and free to express yourself. Moving into a new room at the beginning of each school year gives you the opportunity to start fresh and make your room whatever you want it to be.
While there are many ways to decorate, it is also important to have a calm quality in the place where you sleep. Having a clean and calm space in the room where you sleep every night is important to your sleeping schedule, which every college student should know is very important to maintain.
Decorate in a way that feels comfortable to you.
This is a pretty broad subject, but it is important to not just go with the first dorm idea you see on Pinterest, but to take your room into your own hands and do what makes you feel at home. For instance, first semester all of my small posters on my wall were spread out and there was a lot of negative space on my wall. While I enjoyed the look of it, the white walls piercing through the space made my room feel colder and less cozy. So, this semester I filled up that negative space and got a couple of larger posters to fill the space. Hanging different fabrics and tapestries is also a good way to give a room with bland walls a boost and increase coziness. Plus, fabrics and scarves like that are easily found in any thrift store for cheap.
Don’t study or do homework in bed.
While some may have already made this a habit, it is vital to a comfortable sleeping pattern to keep stressful and work-related activities out of the space where you sleep. Also, spending less time in bed throughout the day makes going to bed at night that much cozier. Break this habit by keeping your desk free of clutter or taking more trips to your favorite spot on campus to do work.
Get an essential oil diffuser.
Essential oils can help relieve stress and anxiety, so having a diffuser in the room is a good way to cleanse your space. Do careful research before deciding which essential oil to use and follow directions carefully on the diffuser.
Clear off your nightstand/dresser.
Having an eyeful of clutter before falling asleep is distracting and potentially harmful to a good night’s rest. This is also nice so that when you wake up you can have a nice view of a clean space. For instance, I keep only my mugs on my nightstand and taped down my goals for this semester so I see them in the morning when I wake up which provides the positive reinforcement I need to start my day.
With these tips in mind, don’t be afraid to really make your space your own. After all, you deserve to come home to a space that makes you feel relaxed, safe and happy — especially with all the stress we face in our day-to-day lives.