Guide to Keeping Your Dorm Tidy

The school year has started, which means Gen Z is back in dorms, apartments and working in their rooms. They’re often too busy to clean their space. Then at the end of the week when your room is a catastrophe it’s a pain to pick it all up, so some of us just don’t. 

Here are some time saving, simple tips that help keep your room in stable condition, and have one less thing on your mind to worry about. 

Make Your Bed 

When you wake up, make your bed. Whether this means spending five minutes putting away everything properly or 30 seconds folding your blanket. Do it. Your bed is often the biggest piece of furniture in your room, so keeping it clean makes it less of an eyesore. Plus, when cleaning other parts of your room you now have a spot to sit, put things down, etc. This small pocket of cleanliness can take away from the overwhelming nature of your room while giving you the push you need to keep cleaning.

10-Minute Tidy 

A tip I learned from social media was to spend 10 minutes of your day — just 10 minutes — cleaning a room in your home. I prefer to do this in the evening and set a 10 minute timer and just go at it. It’s a short amount of time, but it allows you to get so much done. If you ever need more than 10 minutes, set a longer timer, but regardless it allows you to condense your tasks while working faster. 

@wearelunaapp tips for keeping your room tidy 🛏️💫 #cleanbedroom #cleanroomcleanmind #tidyingtips #cleaningprocrastination #teenapp #teentips #teentok ♬ Karma – Taylor Swift

Split it up

Split your room up into areas. Maybe the corner with your bed and nightstand, the spot with your table and chair … so on and so forth. Start cleaning, grab a box to put your trash in, pile up your dishes, put clothes where they belong. The progress you see in each section will carry you to the next. You can decide how long to spend in each section depending on your level of motivation.

@lily.kiti make this easy + work in sections – everything off the floor then spray surfaces and clean the floor #cleaning #cleaningtips #adhdcleaning #lifehack #messytok #Totinos425 ♬ What You Won’t Do for Love – Bobby Caldwell

Don’t Put It Down 

When you take off your socks, backpack, etc., don’t throw them just anywhere. Keep it in your hands until you have a spot for it, throw your clothes into the bin or hang your bag on a hook. The 30 seconds of work used to put the item away will save you 10 minutes when you have to put ALL your items away, which feels is a larger task you are less likely to do. 

Ayushree Dahal (she/her) is a Bay Area based journalist.

Edited by Nykeya Woods