The Ultimate Guide To Keeping Your Dorm Clean

We can all agree on the fact that college can be really busy most of the time. Between school work, trying to have a social life, while also getting enough sleep and maybe a part-time job, there’s barely some time left for other activities. College life is a busy life, and sometimes we can just forget to clean our room or just avoid to do so. And while that’s okay, it also isn’t. Always remember that if your room is a mess, that’ll probably reflect on your stay of mind. I’m not the most organized person and I often forget to clean my mess and organize my room, but I’ve managed to pick a couple things in my two years as a college student. So, here’re a couple tips to help you clean your dorm and keep it that way.

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Make your bed

Making your bed daily will make your room look 10 times cleaner and more organized. It is just a simple thing that will make tour room look better. Besides, it’ll set the tone for the day. Am I the only one that feels so much more productive when I make my bed first thing in the morning?

Close your drawers

This is another simple thing that can make your dorm room look messy. Even if the clothes in your drawers are a mess, if you close it, that mess goes away. Just kidding, you should organize your clothes inside your drawers too. But just closing them is a fast & short-term solution.

Vacuum once a week

Vacuuming is essential. It doesn’t matter how clean you try to be, there’s always going to be something on the floor. You’re constantly coming and going and with that, you can be bringing in dirt and leaves in your shoes. Besides, there’s always some dust, food crumbs and hair. So much hair! Try to vacuum once a week or once every two weeks and that’ll make your your dorm look clean.

Wash your dishes

“I’ll just wash it later” – That’s literally the worst excuse and you know you’ll just let your dishes pile up. So, instead of doing it later, do it now and don’t let your dirty dishes pile up. There’s nothing worse than dirty dishes, mainly because they start to smell. And that is just gross, wash your dishes.

I’ve found that it is easier for me to wash my dishes right after using them instead of at night every day. It just feels easier.

Take 5 minutes off your day and pick up your things

It is so easy to let things laying on the ground or on your desk. Whether is just a pair of shoes on the floor or a bunch of notebooks and pens on your desk, picking them up will make your room look clutter-free. It only takes a couple minutes a day.

I usually set a 5 or 10 minute timer and dedicate that time to declutter and pick up things from the floor.

Create a cleaning schedule

One of my roommate decided that we needed a cleaning schedule ASAP, and she wasn’t wrong. So we came up with a system of weekly chores we would rotate every week. We were 3 roommates by the way. If you have roommates, this is the best thing you can do to keep your dorm or living space mess-free! Below are the chores we have, so that you can have an idea of how to do your own schedule.

Use organizers

There’re organizers for literally everything and honestly, they’re key to keep your room organized and clutter-free. If you don’t have any, go to your closest store and get some! You can find affordable options at Target or on Amazon, or even at a dollar store!

Hang your clothes & make it a habit

I used to come, change into loungewear and leave the clothes I wore that day laying in the floor, in my bed or in the chair. As days went by, that became a huge mess and at the end of the week, I had to take 1 hour to clean and organize all of my clothes.

So, I decided I would take a couple minutes after changing to leave my clothes were they belong – in the closet or laundry basket. It took me a couple weeks to make it a habit and I still forget to do so sometimes. But it has helped me so much to maintain my room cleaner and organized.

Do your laundry

A pile of dirty clothes laying on the ground or in your closet, is the second grossest thing you can have in your dorm. Yes, I know doing laundry takes time and it is annoying, but just do it. Do it while you do your homework or while you clean your room. Besides, you need clean clothes.

I personally hate doing laundry, mainly because that means I have to lug around my heavy laundry basket full of dirty clothes to the basement. And because I hate doing so, I have way too many socks & underwear I bought in an attempt to go for a long time without doing laundry. But obviously you can’t avoid it forever – the longest I go without doing laundry is 3 weeks & a half.

Organize your clothes

Most of the tips on this article involve clothes because I have way too many clothes and change outfits at least 3 times before heading out wearing the first outfit I tried on.

Anyways, always remember to fold & organize your clothes when you’re done doing laundry. If you leave them in the basket, they’ll easily wrinkle. A thing I do besides only folding and putting away my clean clothes is organize my entire closet! Which involved taking out all of my clothes in messy drawers and organizing them, it also involves selecting clothes I haven’t worn in a long time to post on Poshmark. That way I can sell those clothes so that they won’t take more space in my tiny NYC dorm closet.

Clear & Dust all surfaces

Every other week, clear all of your surfaces (desk, shelves, dressers, etc) and dust them. You have no idea how much dust can accumulate in just a few days. What I do, is just quickly wipe down all of the surfaces with a Clorox wipe.

Clean fridge

There’s probably just a bottle of ketchup in my fridge… I barely use my fridge but I still clean it at least once a month or every other month. If you do use your fridge regularly try cleaning it every month by wiping down every surface with a clorox wipe and throw away expired food.

Take out the trash

I do this twice a week. Don’t let the trash pile up and flow out of your trash can. It is so easy to take it out and it only takes a couple minutes.

If you ordered food, throw out the leftovers right away, before you forget. One of my roommates always orders food but forgets to throw it out, and sometimes there’s just leftover pizza sitting on her desk for days…which is gross.