How to Have the Best Dorm Room on Campus
**This post is written in partnership with Bed Bath & Beyond. All opinions are 100% my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Miss Millennia possible!**
As Iām going into myĀ senior year of college, Iām thinking about a lot of different things. How am I at this stage of my life already? What am I going to do after graduation? Will I have time to accomplish everything I want to? One of the big questions on my mind is, “How will I make sure that my room is the best dorm room on campus?” Every year, my roommate and I make improvements by introducing new design elements to our space. Our room will be larger than any other space weāve lived in, so this year has to be the best yet.
Thatās why I was so excited to shop at Bed Bath & Beyond for new dorm room items! They make the college shopping experience so easy. To find the items I wanted, I just went online and browsed their Shop For College section. They have this great feature that allows you to find the items you want online, and then they will hold everything at the store nearest to you. All you have to do is pick them up and pay. Another great resource is their Student Life Checklist, which will help new college students learn some dorm room hacks.
Now that I have three years of dorm living under my belt and am excitedly awaiting a fourth, Iāve picked out my top five tips on how to have the best dorm room on campus!
1. Keep Things Clean
Letās face it: dorms are gross. There are dozensāif not hundredsāof people living in one building, not to mention all the people who come to visit. Germs are everywhere, and illnesses spread like wildfire. I keep a bottle of hand sanitizer in my room to use whenever I come back. I also use an air disinfectant that I spray whenever things start smellingā¦not so great after a long weekend of frat parties in the building. My roommate and I also use disinfectant wipes to clean off our doorknobs and furniture once a month. It might sound like this is over the top, but trust me itās not. We donāt get sick as often as many other college students do!
2. Stay Organized
Yes, this is different than being clean. While cleanliness is step one, organization takes your room to the next level. For dorm living to organized living, you truly need to take the mantra āA place for everything and everything in its placeā to heart. In my experience, even if one area of your room slips, your entire room looks messy. Thereās just nowhere to hide clutter!
Personally, my biggest challenge is closet organization. I have a lot of clothes, and dorm closets are tiny! So when I found this 4-tier skirt hanger, I was ecstatic. With a couple of these, I can hang up all my skirts and barely use up any room in my closet. There are similar hangers for pants and tops, which I also bought. Simply put, theyāre all genius organization solutions.
3. Create a Hangout Space
To have the best dorm room on campus, my room needs to be the top hangout space for my friends. Unfortunately, due to lack of space and furniture, itās difficult to have a gathering with lots of people in a dorm room. Where are people supposed to sit? The beds? On the floor? Neither option is desirable; at least, not if you want to be a good host.
The solution Iāve come up with is to buy an extra chair from Bed Bath & Beyond. It will be a comfortable place to sit and read or study on the weekdays, and then it can be used to seat friends on the weekends. I went with a gray color because it will go with all the other colors in my room. Having a designated hangout space makes a dorm room more inviting, and I am already excited about all the parties Iāll host!
4. Dress Up Your Walls & Windows
Last year, my roommate and I started out with basically nothing on our walls. There was plain white all around us, and it was pretty sad. Slowly, we began adding things to dress up our walls and with every new addition we loved our room more and more! It really made a huge difference.
For this year, I bought pretty curtains from Bed Bath & Beyond. They are going to complete the look of my room. I also picked up some budget-friendly tension rods so we can hang up the curtains since dorm rooms arenāt usually equipped with hardware. I am so excited to gaze out the beautiful windows in the fall when the leaves are changing color, in the winter when thereās snow on the ground, and in the spring when everything is covered in flowers.
Pro Tip: Get the dimensions of your window(s) before ordering curtains and rods.
5. Utilize Your Space
No matter what you want to decorate with, make sure that you are making the best of your space. Utilize every square inch, because you arenāt given many! Store things in bins under your beds and on top of wardrobes. Stack pieces of furniture on top of the other, if they’re sturdy enough. This year, my roommate and I are going to put one of our bookshelves on top of the other to maximize floor space. We are going to have the best dorm room on campus because we are going to make the most of what weāre given.
Another great way to utilize your small space is to buy pieces that have multiple functions. Thatās why I love my storage ottoman so muchāitās a great place to rest your feet while reading, it can be used as a chair, and I can store things in it! There are even two pockets on the side to hold smaller items. I like to put my slippers there so I can easily grab them when I’m walking around the dorm building. This little ottoman checks the organization and hangout space boxes. Since itās so compact, it is easy to move around and can be used in any size room.
If you achieve these five things, youāre sure to have the best dorm room on campus. And if youāre still not convinced Bed Bath & Beyond is the place that has everything you need, how do some savings sound? If youāre a first-time email subscriber, you automatically get 20% off!
As Iām gearing up for my senior year of college, there are a lot of unknowns looming over my head. But one thingās for sureāIām going to make the most out of everything Iām given. That includes making my room the coolest space on campus. Iām ready to go out with a bang.
I hope you found my tips helpful, and if you have any questions or additional advice, leave a comment!
Resources: Bed Bath & Beyond (1, 2), Her Campus
**This post is written in partnership with Bed Bath & Beyond. All opinions are 100% my own.Thank you for supporting the brands that make Miss Millennia possible!**
these are some great tips for making the best of your dorm room. very practical advice indeed=as I’ve had a college student live on campus and you need to use every bit of space!
Thank you, glad you think it is helpful!
Really good tips for college students! Making your room look good and using your space correctly is so important to enjoying your college stay!
It really is! Thanks for reading
Love these tips
Such great tips for college students, love how you are making use of your space. Marie Barber
Thank you so much!
When I was in college our dorm rooms were TEENY but it still was worth it to make them have some style and feel like home. These are great ideas.
The rooms are still too small! Haha it’s difficult to make it feel like home with the limited space, but luckily there are so many great products made specifically with dorms in mind.
I lasted in the dorms about 6 months ago I can only imagine if you are living there for years how important it is to make it your own space. Great tips! I love Bed Bath and Beyond
This will be my 4th (and last) year living in a dorm, and you’re so right! Thanks for reading.
Fantastic tips for a great looking dorm room. Great, free advice to stand out from peers
Thank you so much!
I’ve always loved BB&B for home goods! I used many of their storage pieces and furnishings for my apartment in college. One thing I would add to this list is to pick a clean roommate! lol š I would clean and try to keep a tidy space, but neither of my roommates could care less…:( Thankfully I married a man who likes to keep things nice and picked up, though!
Haha the roommate is really the key part to any dorm room! Usually, you don’t have the luxury of picking who you’ll live with your first year of college. But after that, definitely. Thanks for reading!
I totally agree, it’s been such a space saver! Thanks for reading.