Dorm life can be a lot of fun, but it can also be incredibly challenging. Your bank accounts are dry, the cafeteria is serving up the same chef’s salad for the third time in a week, and you’re crammed into a tiny room that requires a few life hacks to make it usable.
Not everyone can program a door knob with a keyboard or create an entire desk out of FedEx boxes, but you can make life easier for yourself in a few ways! Here are the best life hacks for dorm living:
1. CDs make great bookends. If you have room to display your books, then use your CDs as bookends to keep them propped up for easy access. Go to your half-priced bookstore or other used outlet to get them for super cheap… or just use your roommates scratched up leftovers if you prefer.
2. Soda cans become flash drive holders. Drawer space is at a premium in many dorms, making it easy for items to get lost. Cut off the top of a soda can, put duct tape around the sharp edges, and you’ve got a simple storage solution for your flash drives.
3. Damp towels are precious gifts. If you hang a damp towel from an open window, you have an instant air conditioner for your room. Hopefully you have a screen on your window to prevent bugs from coming in…
4. Wear slippers that clean your floor. These microfiber slippers will collect all that nasty dust, dirt, and stale potato chips that accumulate on the tile floor of the doom. Slip them on and you’re instantly cleaning!
5. Use mold and mildew cleaner on the shower/bath you prefer. You’re sharing a bathroom with an entire floor. Mold and mildew build up there, no matter how good the cleaning crew claims they are. Instead of bathing in the green stuff that others have left there for you, kill it off with this incredibly affordable cleaner. Spray it on and it’s gone in about 3 minutes without wiping.
6. Let Google rule your world. Are you missing your favorite movies or shows? Get a Chromecast that you can take with you, stream your Netflix or Hulu Plus app through your phone, and you can watch anything as long as there is WiFi present. Need extra power? Make your vehicle your power source with this inverter.
7. Clean carpets like a pro. If your dorm room has carpets, then it likely has a few stains. Instead of having your RA lecture you about cleanliness, go get a brush, a couple dry towels, and this carpet cleaner.
8. Make Ramen actually become tasty. It’s a cheap, easy to make snack when you’re tired of chef’s salad, fried chicken, or the other stale cafeteria food. Here are a few recipes that can help make the snack become more of a meal.
9. Make your own beer. We won’t discuss your age. We will give you a link to this handy kit that will help you make your own India Pale Ale in your dorm.
10. Get real answers. You could ask Siri some questions. There’s also Cortana on Windows. Or you could ask OOLOO anything and get answers from real people, kind of like you would have done from ChaCha back in the day.
What do you do to make dorm living easier? Do you have a small flat or apartment that you’ve used some life hacks to improve? Share your ideas with us below!
Photo by jamacdonald
