So, you live in a dorm.
That means mom and dad are not there to make you lunch and dinner every day, lend you a few bucks for coffee, or clean up the mess in your dorm room.
You have a super-busy class schedule, plus extra time set aside for social activities and maybe a few hours of gaming…which leaves very little time to keep your dorm room clean.
What you need are a few hacks that save you time, money, and effort, but result in a clean space to live, study, and enjoy college life.
Here are 10 Low-Cost Hacks You can Use to Keep Your Dorm Room Clean…
1. Use biodegradable baby wipes or wet wipes for quick spill clean-ups.
Wet wipes are useful to clean quick spills, such as coffee, spaghetti sauce or soup spills on the stove.
They’re very efficient and portable as a cleaning tool so you can use them in any area of your dorm. There are plenty to choose from... just make sure you use biodegradable ones.
2. Always make your bed
It doesn’t matter if you get up at 7 am or 3 pm… make your bed.
First, it’s a great habit to get into. (Have you seen US Navy Admiral William McRaven’s address at the U of Texas?)
Make it the first thing you do when you wake up. After all, you will be preoccupied once you leave your bed. So, you should make your bed every day.
Second, it helps make your dorm room look cleaner and tidier. Most dorm rooms are quite small, and the bed takes up most of the space, so think of it as your centerpiece.
And if your centerpiece is a mess, then everything else will look like a mess.
Third, a messy bed can hinder you from having a productive day. How many important papers or books get lost under a huge pile of blankets, sheets, and pillows?
3. Vinegar is your friend.
And not just on French fries…
If you feel a little industrious, make your own cleaning fluid. Vinegar makes a great all-purpose cleaner.
Use distilled white vinegar for quick clean-ups, and to eliminate any lingering odors.
Just one word of warning: make sure you test your vinegar cleaning solution on a few test spots, just in case… Some surfaces do not like any acidic substances like vinegar.
4. Keep your chopping board well oiled.
If you cook in your dorm room, you remember to clean your kitchen utensils, right? One thing you might forget is your chopping (or cutting) board.
If you have a wooden cutting board, you should pay it some special attention. Make sure you oil your cutting board to help recondition the wood. Use a cotton rag and dip it into olive oil. After that, buff the board with circular motions, so the oil seeps deeper into the wood. That should help make your wooden cutting board look shiny and new.
5. Clean your windows with newspaper.
Yes. Newspapers. They still print them and sell them. (Not everything is online you know…)
You would be surprised to know that newspapers can be an excellent tool for cleaning windows.
Instead of using paper towels to clean your windows, you should use old newspapers. Paper towels leave behind lint when you use them to wipe your windows.
You should use black and white parts of the newspaper when you clean your windows, so it doesn't leave a mark.
Also, when you use newspapers to clean your windows, make sure that you don't use it to clean the window frames. Otherwise, you might find newspaper marks around your window frame.
6. Use baking soda to get out carpet stains
OK… we know you didn’t spill the pizza slice on purpose… it just happens.
But that pepperoni and anchovy stain would leave on their own; they need a little help.
Time to turn to the baking soda.
It can be a potent cleaning agent, and it will help get rid of all types of dirt because baking soda can be abrasive or paste-like. It’s quite versatile.
Use baking soda to clean carpet stains. Put baking soda on the offending spot and let it be for a while.
After you wait a few minutes, you can sweep or vacuum away the baking soda.
7. Use wax to clean the stovetop
Car wax brings the shine back to your dull kitchen stovetop once again.
First, clean the stovetop of all the bits and pieces of your cooking adventure. Then apply a thin layer of the car wax and buff the stovetop lightly until it looks brand spanking new.
8. Wipe off dust with a coffee filter.
Coffee is a college student’s best friend.
Some of you even go above and beyond and make your own coffee yourself!
So, instead of using paper towels to dust your place, it’s much better to use coffee filters since they don’t leave behind lint.
9. Save space with a multi-surface cleaner.
Space is sparse in most dorm rooms.
So, you might not have all the room you need to store car wax, coffee filters, used newspapers, and vinegar.
What you need is a multi-surface cleaner.
But again, we run into the issue of space… and waste.
Most multi-surface cleaners come in big, bulky plastic bottles or jugs. That means they take up precious space in your dorm room.
In addition, when you’re finished with the plastic jug, you hopefully will re-cycle it… But did you know that almost 70% of plastic jugs actually end up in landfills or the ocean? And I don’t think you are the type of person who wants to pollute the planet you will graduate into, right?
There is a company that makes a revolutionary type of multi-surface cleaner... a small white strip! All you have to do is add it to a spray bottle (one that you can re-use over and over) with a little water, and voila, you have a multi-surface cleaner that cleans and disinfects!
I know you want to make sure your dorm room is as germ-free as possible, so the multi-surface cleaner you can get from the Tru Earth online store is the perfect solution for your dorm room
10. Do your laundry the space saving and planet saving way.
Here’s your dilemma: no mom or dad to help with the laundry, no space to store all sorts of laundry detergent jugs, and your disdain for plastic jugs that pollute the planet.
Here’s the solution: Tru Earth Laundry Strips!
No measuring or mess. Super clean laundry in either hot or cold water. Works in every type of washing machine. And contains no parabens or phosphates.
Tru Earth Laundry Strips are small in size and powerful in results. Just tear off a strip and toss into the machine. No fuss, no muss, and no plastic jugs that end up in the ocean!
Studying is every college student’s number one priority.
But so is being a more independent individual.
And part of being an independent person is knowing how to manage where you live. Try and get your dorm room clean regardless of if you feel overwhelmed by your workload.
With the help of these cleaning hacks, it should be a lot easier to carve out that time to clean even as a busy college student.
So, clean up your room, hit the books, and have a great time at college!
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