Student Zen...?

Are you living at home or in a dorm/apt?

Funny you should ask...I just got into a dorm, about two minutes ago! Yay. So, yes, I'm in a dorm, and quite pleased about it.

A couple things I've learned from college, that might come in use for you:

- Lay down the law concerning guests with your roommate, if you have one. Make it CLEAR as possible, especially concerning staying the night guests.
- Since you're moving in, find a place for things and make sure that they always go back to that place. This REALLY helps if you're looking to keep a clean side of the room. This especially goes for laundry and dishes. Dirty laundry into the hamper, clean laundry put away right away.
- Keep a clean desk space. So, you know, you won't have to dump a lot of stuff onto the floor constantly when you need to do homework or use your laptop. This is a nice article to look through and take ideas from.
- Finally, make sure you keep your time organized. This is a good article for that. A lot of people have problem with time management when they get out of high school (I did) so its a good idea to make sure you don't get into too much and aren't able to do what you want.

As a general rule, take care of yourself. Responsible drinking, eating properly, etc are good because they'll help you get through college and they won't screw things up for you. While you already know this, its a good idea to keep an eye on what you do. Bad things happen to people. :(

Good luck in college! I hope you enjoy it! :)

I was a resident assistant in the dorms for the past two years, and a resident for one more. I believe I already posted some advice to someone on dorm living, but I'm sure I can come up with some more!

The best tip in terms of decluttering is really to ONLY BRING what you're sure you'll need. My mom was convinced I needed to make meals in my dorm room. We have a great cafeteria though and I hate cooking, so, leave the "microwave bacon cooker" and "microwave egg cooker" and billions of utensils at home. I only ever needed one or two bowls, one or two plates, one or two cups, etc, etc. If you keep it all rinsed it really cuts down on clutter. Don't forget a can opener and a knife though heh. Scissors too. These are the little things you can so easily forget that are SO necessary.

Also, and the environmentalists might hate me for this, but disposable cups are a real nice thing to have in a dorm setting. You just don't have the facilities to do dishes all the time. HOPEFULLY you have a kitchen if you're lucky, that'd be way nice. So definitely look into your dorm's facilities and provisions.

Whatever dorm you're living in probably has dorm-specific advice as well for what you'll need.

Regardless of all else, just try your best to eliminate what you bring. 90% of the stuff I brought freshman year was never touched. Try to leave sentimental items at home. Sure, bring stuff to put on your walls and remind you of home, but "that piece of gum I chewed on graduation day" can stay. In terms of storage, plastic storage drawers and bins are really nice. Don't forget a shower tote if you have a community shower.

The book Dorm Room Feng Shui was really nice for me to read. It's amazing how something like a potted plant can completely change a vibe to a dreary brick room. It changes the air quality too. You can always search dorm room decorating for good tips too.

I could really go on and on lol. Make sure you contact your roommate before you both show up with area rugs, multiple TVs, fridges, and micros when you can really easily share.

Very helpful! Thanks guys.
That's a great tip, to only bring what I'm positive I need...and seeing as my house is only about an hour away from the campus, I can really get to anything I forget or decide I need...I hadn't even thought about a can opener though. Dur. Thanks. XD We have five at my house, but only one works...I'll have to buy me one...and throw out the others, lol.

One thing I must admit I'm worried about is which of my art books to bring...I don't use them often, but when I need them, I need them NOW, or it bugs me nonstop, because I often can't finish a picture without their help...But I have a rather large stack of them, and I'm not sure my dorm will have enough room for them. (Other than those books, I'll probably just bring a few that I'm sure I'll want to read, ones I re-read often.)

Any advice on that sort of quandary?

OH! And my favorite dorm item to have: A FAN. People are loud in dorms. There's chatting and giggling, maybe traffic you might not be used to having, squeals every once in a while. Having a fan makes enough noise that it drowns out 80% of the things that might wake you up that shouldn't. It was a lifesaver for me.