There are clothes everywhere; on the floor, thrown on the shelf and on top of the closet. Books and notebooks piled so high by the desk and bed you can barely stand up when you get out of bed or up from the chair. Scattered papers cover the desk. Headbands, makeup and jewelry sit in piles on the dresser. This is what my bedroom in my apartment usually looks like.
You might be able to relate. It’s not because we’re lazy or don’t care but simply because we don’t have time, and your room at school may be a lot smaller than you had at home.
You may feel like this is bound to happen because you’re a busy college student, but what about those students with spotless dorms and apartments? What are their secrets? Well, I talked to some of these people and some people who have the same problems of not being able to keep their space clean and organized. Then, I tested out their tips to see if they really worked.
Rachel Van, a junior Japanese major, said, “Use drawers, like the plastic dressers. The three drawer ones are good for clothes. The smaller ones work well for pens, pencils and any other smaller items. Also, you can reorganize your room easily, since they are so light weight. For your bathroom, get make up holders. They look like penholders; they have three containers in them. I usually buy them when they’re on sale. I put extra wicker shelves in my bathroom that I bought at Goodwill for a few dollars and hung them and used them for extra things in my bathroom. Use over the door shoe hangers for anything. I put one in my bathroom too on the door facing the bathroom and then one on the other side of the door. I put anything I use in the bathroom in the one in the bathroom.”
Sophomore psychology major, Lexi Barrett said, “Get bins for underneath your bed for dirty clothes. Get a plug in air freshener, so your room will always smell fresh. Use a Swiffer Wet Jet. Split cleaning jobs with your roommates. One person vacuums, one person dusts, etc.”
Perri Konecky, a sophomore journalism major, said, “Don’t create a pile of clothes on a chair; it accumulates and builds up. Vacuum frequently. Use anti-bacterial wipes. Do a little each day so nothing gets out of control.”
Nursing major, sophomore Becky Garthwaite, said, “The biggest thing I do to try and stay organized is after I do laundry, hang and fold my clothes immediately, otherwise you never will. For the bathroom, put things on the bathroom counter in the same place. I make my bed every morning when I wake up. Get a good vacuum cleaner.”
After gathering the tips and tricks, I put these ladies’ advice to the test, and this is what I found.
Using plastic drawers to organize things. This works! You don’t even have to use the ones with three drawers for clothes, but they work really well for any other larger items. They’re great for extra towels and sheets, especially if you live in a dorm where you might not have your own bathroom or space in your bathroom to store towels. Using the smaller ones for smaller items is also a great idea and works. Sometimes, it can be hard to know where to put all the random small items you have; the smaller drawers give you a place for those items. And I definitely think what Rachel said about them being great for moving is true. Last year, I organized my drawers like this before I moved, and then took them home like that. It was really easy.
Use makeup holders for makeup in your bathroom. This can work. This works better than a traditional make up bag, although I do still recommend having one for travel. With a makeup bag, you may have to search for what you’re looking for, or you might end up leaving out the items you use most frequently, which may be more convenient for you but will cause more clutter. If you put your make up on in your room, keep these in your room on your dresser. Another thing you can do with these is buy multiples, and keep the makeup you wear daily in one and the things you wear on occasion in a separate one.
Putting up extra shelves in your bathroom. This is a good idea but might be a little hard to do during the semester. Keep this in mind for the beginning of next semester or next year. Also, if you’re renting an apartment or live on campus, make sure your shelves are removable and won’t leave any damage that could result in you not getting a deposit back or getting fined. Rachel’s idea of buying them at a place like Goodwill or other cheap place is smart because in college, you may only be using something one year, so it’s smart not to spend too much money on them.
Use over the door shoe holders for anything. It works sometimes. Just be careful of which kind you buy because I have had some that have made it difficult for me to shut my door easily. Using them for anything is a good idea. You don’t have to have multiple ones like Rachel. If you have one and only use half of it for shoes, fill the other spots with other items. Just make sure not to stuff each spot full otherwise things can fall out, which can ruin your attempts to stay organized. You can even fit shorts and shirts in the slots.
Getting bins for dirty clothes to put underneath your bed. This can work depending on your preferences. It’s definitely smart to have a designated place for dirty clothes, and I think by keeping it under your bed, you are saving valuable space and getting the clothes out of sight, which can make your room look more organized. However, I think putting the bins under your bed might be hard to access all the time. If you’re hurrying to get dressed, you don’t want to have to reach under your bed, pull the bin out, put the clothes in and put the bin back. You want to be able to toss your dirty clothes in in seconds. I suggest keeping at least one bin in the open to easily throw clothes in. Then, when that bin gets full, put it under your bed and pull out an empty one. If you think you’ll always put your clothes in them anyway, then go for putting them under your bed.
Using a plug-in air freshener. This can only help. Just be sure not to use that as an excuse to not clean your room. (I’ve done that before. It’s not a good idea.)
Using Swiffer Wet Jets. Personally, I didn’t find Swiffer Wet Jets that helpful, but a lot of people definitely do. It could be because of the kind of flooring I have though, so you might want to try using them to see if they work for you.
Splitting cleaning jobs with roommates. If any of you have been successful at that, good for you. I tried it with my roommates, and it didn’t work too well. In my situation, one roommate was only home once a week, so making her do a job didn’t seem fair. Plus, with all of the busy schedules people have, it can be difficult to ensure that each job gets done. Also, you might have a roommate who just doesn’t want to do this because they like to do these things on a need to do basis. My advice is to talk to your roommates about this, see what they think and then decide if you guys want to do that.
Don’t create a pile of clothes. This could not be truer! Once you put a shirt and a couple of sweaters on a chair, you’ll keep going until your chair is completely covered in clothes, and you’re searching for clothes you haven’t seen in weeks. Instead, put all your clothes either in a dirty clothes bin or back in your closet, dressers or drawers.
Get a good vacuum cleaner, and use it often. This is something that everyone should have and do. You can even share one with roommates. There’s no need for you and two roommates to all have a nice vacuum cleaner.
Use anti-bacterial wipes. This is always a smart idea. Not to gross you out, but if you only knew how much bacteria there is on door handles, you would never want to touch one again. You can also use these to dust.
Do a little bit of cleaning and organizing each day.This will definitely help you. I know it helped me. Maintaining a clean room is much easier than cleaning a messy one. Do dishes in a timely manner. You won’t mind doing the dishes as much when you only have a few things to wash. Tell yourself you’ll spend five minutes a day straightening up, and you’ll see such an improvement.
Hang and fold clothes immediately after laundry.This is so true. If you wait until the next day, there’s a really good chance you won’t end up doing it. You’ll keep putting it off and putting it off until a week has passed, and you only have half of your clothes left in your laundry basket. By that point, you’ll tell yourself there’s no point in bothering to hang up your clothes, and that basket will sit in your room taking up space, holding only a few items of clothing. If you couldn’t tell, I’ve definitely done that. Also, not hanging and folding your clothes can make them wrinkled and make it difficult for you to find certain things.
Put things in the same place on your bathroom counter.Having a place for everything can only help. It will also make it easier for you when you’re half awake and trying to get ready for class.
Make your bed when you wake up.This can sometimes be a bit impractical, but overall it’s a good practice to get into you. If you woke up late and might miss a test, forget about making your bed that day. In general though, it’s a smart thing to do; you never know if a friend could end up coming back to your dorm with you. It’s always embarrassing if you’re room is a complete mess when a friend comes over.
Perri is a self-described neat freak, but when asked what she does to keep her apartment clean, she had to think for a while to remember what she does.
“I don’t even know what I do to keep it clean, but I clean a lot,” she said.
She’s proof that it’s not as hard as it seems to keep your space clean. There’s hope for people like me and some of you other messy college girls.