College Spring Cleaning
How to Declutter a Dorm
During the months leading up to my freshman year move-in day, I anxiously organized and reorganized my childhood bedroom in preparation for moving out. Cleaning has always helped me deal with stress and anxiety, but no matter how many times I cleaned my room, I did not feel ready to pack up and leave. Since then, I feel far more comfortable living on my own, but I still love cleaning and organizing my space, especially when I’m feeling stressed or anxious. Living in a dorm is far different from living in a house, so here are my tips for keeping your space clean in college!
Sharing your space
Having a roommate can drastically change the cleanliness of a dorm, so whether your roommate is clean or messy, it’s important to communicate how you both can comfortably share a space with one another. If it bothers you when your roommate does not pick up after themselves, sit down and have a conversation with them. Although gossiping about your roommate to other friends might sound fun, it benefits no one and their messiness continues.
The Power of Organizing
My biggest advice for keeping a dorm clean is to organize everything. When all of your belongings have a specific place, it will be much easier to clean and tidy up later on. Storage space is crucial when orgazning, and I like to utilize my small amount of space as efficiently as possible. For example, I loft my bed so that I can use the space underneath. I also love finding unique ways to utilize the storage spaces that come with the dorms.
Clean Daily & Weekly
To make sure your room stays clean, complete daily and weekly cleaning tasks. For me, my daily tasks usually consist of doing dishes and putting clothes away. Your daily tasks might look different from mine, so come up with your own cleaning tasks based on what aspects of your dorm needs the most attention! For weekly tasks, I usually do laundry, water my plants, and vacuum. I’ve noticed that the laundry machines get super busy on the weekends, so try doing laundry on a weekday to make sure you can get a load in. I like to vacuum and water my plants on Sunday, but you can complete the weekly cleaning whenever it works best for you!
Deep Cleaning
Every few months, I like to deep clean my room. I usually wipe down every single surface, clean out the fridge, re-organize spaces that get messy like my food bin, reorganize clothes, ect. This does not have to be a long process, and I usually can deep clean my dorm in an hour or two! It depends on how disorganized my room got from the last deep cleaning session.
Mindless Cleaning
While organizing and decluttering, you might find yourself getting bored with the repetitiveness of it all. Here’s some ideas for what to do while mindlessly cleaning.
Put on a podcast or audiobook
Create a fun playlist for cleaning
Call a friend or family member
Watch a TV show or movie
Let your mind wander
I hope this inspired you to get started with your college spring cleaning! Remember, you don't need to put pressure on yourself to be neat and clean all the time. As with everything, take your spring cleaning one step at a time.
Sending you my light and love!!!
xoxo Leah
