This is a sort of cleaning tip for those of you college freshman just starting out in your first dorm!! I consider myself a good person to write this, because I've lived in two different dorms in the past two years. When you are a college freshman and you've just been accepted and you're going to go live in a dorm, you will probably have a roommate.
Now the college will make sure that you have a roommate agreement. This is stuff like "when are you gonna turn the tv off so I can go to bed?" and whose stuff is whose and what not. It's really simple though. If you talk to your roommate, just tell them that you'll be courteous of their sleeping habits as long as their courteous of yours, and never take anything from the fridge that is not yours without asking. It is very simple. Just be polite and try to keep your side of the room clean. There is nothing more embarrassing than having a cleanly roommate who brings people over and your side is a mess.
A dorm is not a huge area. It's very small and unless you know the dimensions of the room and have figured out whether or not a futon will fit, don't buy a futon the first year. It isn't worth it. First of all if you don't talk to your roommate before hand, you won't know if both of you will be bringing a futon and that would just be a disaster. There may be room for one futon in a double dorm room..but there most certainly is not room for two. Secondly, a dorm door may not always fit certain futons. Just keep that in mind.
I mentioned the futon because if you don't bring one, it's less stuff to take home at the end of the year, AND less stuff means less clean up. Make a list of stuff you NEED before stuff you don't need. Girls, this means DON"T pack the designer purses, and the 50 billion shoes. And don't pack the decorations either. Your parents can bring that stuff up later, or if you have a car you can get it later yourself.
Move in day is a bitch. I mean that, I really do. People everywhere, it's usually pretty warm and you end up sitting on your stuff in the grass for awhile usually anyway. When you get to your dorm, it's going to be pretty basic and empty looking. You will probably have a desk with a corkboard. A dresser if you're lucky, half of a closet, some storage space, a bed that's raised and a desk chair.
However, take a closer look. Chances are this room hasn't been cleaned all summer. The floor is filled with dust and dirt, the window is probably pretty dirty and none of the furniture is gonna be in very good shape. TAKE NOTE OF THIS!! You will get a piece of paper asking you what's wrong with the room. WRITE DOWN EVERY LITTLE THING YOU SEE or you will BE CHARGED for it at the end of the year.
That being said, when you clean it. You are going to need a broom. (most dorms are tile, not carpet) You can probably rent a broom at the front desk of your dorm, but they're not going to have very many. Buy one. This way you don't have to go back and forth from your dorm to the front desk all the time, and you'll have a broom when you're ready to go out on your own for real.
The first thing you should do to start cleaning your dorm, is dust. Wipe down everything with a wet washcloth or I like to use Lysol Disinfecting Wipes. If you do buy the wipes, make sure that they're safe to use on wood. Some disinfecting wipes can bleach things and that isn't good. You don't want to damage the dorm.
The next thing you should do is sweep. Pull the furniture away from the wall and make sure you get it all because all that stuff is probably not gonna be good for your breathing air. Plus it's just nice to have a clean floor.
After you sweep, you're gonna want to vacuum, especially if you do have a futon or a rug. Crumbs on a futon for instance can be vacuumed up with a vacuum hose, and that way you don't have to sweep them onto the floor and have to sweep again. Don't think you won't eat in your room, because you will. I'd consider a small coffee table in order to have some kind of table besides your desk to eat.
In some dorms, there are sinks. Lysol Disinfecting wipes can be used to wipe them down in order to clean them up, and I'd use Windex on the mirrors in your room as well as your windows.
Make sure that if you have a toaster or a microwave or fridge that you clean out the insides of these maybe once a month. A microwave that is not clean can start to smell like burnt popcorn all the time and may burn your food or not cook it right. Just wipe the inside down with a wet soapy paper towel and make sure to wash the microwave plate too. A toaster should have a little switch at the bottom. When your making your toast and it starts to really smell up the dorm, make sure to open your window and then clean your toaster. Empty it of the crumbs in the bottom and tap its side while you're doing this so the crumbs that are stuck in the toaster will come out too and don't forget to do this above a garbage can.
You really don't want to get the munchies in the middle of the night and then have the fire alarm go off so those two things should be cleaned at least once a month.
Try to keep your dorm organized...the littlest things can make it messier than it actually is. Just pick up every day or every couple of days and you should be good. And don't forget to take the garbage out when it gets full or when you have food in it. That stuff shouldn't be sitting there for days.
And my last suggestion...try to do laundry at least twice a month...especially your bedding and underwear. It's nice to have clean underwear, trust me.
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