Dorm Room Ideas...

[thecynthesizer]

I applied to live in the Little Building, but won't know for sure til sometime in August.  I'm pretty much assuming that I'll be in Little though since housing is so sparse and I'm sure there's lots of competition over the brownstones.  I want to live in Little so I can be right in the thick of things, but the cookie-cutter rooms are definately going to get on my nerves, and I'm sure I'll be scrambling to personalize as much as possible.

[ellseybell]

Not all dorms have communal bathrooms, but mine always have, so here are some quick tips on that.

Bring shower shoes -- fiip flops or something that you can shower in and NOT catch athlete's foot or something worse. Store them with your shower caddy, which you can buy at Bed Bath & Beyond, Target, or wherever. If you keep all your shower stuff in one spot, you'll be more organized and less likely to forget something.

<Remembering how many times I forgot to bring a towel...>

Good luck!

[StarFire]

I have to totally agree with what was said about shower caddies.  While I never had to use a community bathroom on campus, my roommates and I found our bathroom was loads less cluttered when we all kept our stuff in caddies, next to our towels, on our closet shelves.  Espically when you have 4 very different females sharing a bathroom.  I dont think I have much to add other than get in touch with your future roomies and make plans on who brings what.  You really don't need or have room for 2 (or up to 4) TVs, VCRs, DVD players, steros, etc.  If you want to bring a computer along, and own a laptop as well as a PC, opt for the laptop.  You can always transfer work to disk and print assignments off in school labs, or hijack a roomie's printer.  If you do bring a laptop, you might wish to invest in a lock for it.  They are still attractive and pricey gadgets and having things stolen is not totally unheard of on college campuses. 

Like someone said, hold off on buying the organizers until you are in the process of settling in.  Most college towns have something like a Wal-Mart, Target, IKEA, dollar store, etc. that you can run to and purchase what you know you have room for.  When I moved into my on-campus apt, I didn't bring any kind of furniture and once I was there my mom and I decided I needed some sort of bookcase/cubby thing for my stero and books.  We ended up at Target and it was loads easier to just go and get what you know you have room for and need than trying to figure out where shove things later on. 

Here's a tip for carpeting since most dorms and campus apartments don't have any....to cover up that ugly linoleum for cheap, ask carpeting stores what they do with thier scraps from installation jobs.  Sometimes you can get some nice stuff for cheap or even free.  If scraps don't exactly match, don't worry, see if you can't find at least colors and patterns that flatter one another or if you want a wilder look, just totally mix the looks up!  One summer my ex-roomies happened to stay in a hotel which was replacing its old carpeting and they took a huge haul of the new carpeting scrap and our entire apartment was covered in patchworked maroon, plum, and mint colored goodness.  Much better than cold lineolum over concrete. ~_^

Always remember to hide your candles, inscense, and halogen lights on inspection days! 

Oh, and I attended Southern Illinois University @ Edwardsville (SIUE) in 1997/1998.  Cougar Village Apts.

[moonunit426]

Some college campuses don't have a good, cheap furniture place nearby, so I recommend the hardware store. You will be able to find lots of bath stuff, kitchen supplies, shelving, etc.

What I learned during my first year (at Harvard) is to look for space where you wouldn't expect it. I had a really old school in-wall dresser thing in my bedroom, and I found that when I took out the low drawers, there was an area like 1' x 2' x 3' under it! It looked like some previous students had used it to hide their beer bottles, but I used it for my xmas storage. There is always space UP! I stacked a bunch of those milk crate type things on top of my shelves.

One thing I must warn people about is these wire shelves that are sold at many stores like target or linens+things. It is a kit with these 14-inch square flat wire things, which you assemble into shelves using plastic connectors. I don't know what inspired me to buy it, but the shelves are SOOO heavy (the kit weighs 30 pounds I swear) and it's impossible to put the plastic connectors on, not to mention getting them off! You don't even get enough of those crappy connectors. Buy PLASTIC shelving! Waaay easier to deal with.

I echo the comment about the 3m things. They actually do come off easily and completely! They are applicable for many crafty purposes too. I got the ones that are meant to hold cords onto the wall, and I tied a wire loop onto them. Then I stuck em on the ceiling and hung fabric and lights. I also hung a sheet from urban outfitters (clearance $5) on the plain white wall. Here are some pics of a corner of my room that I decorated intensely:



the white flouncy things are curtains that were on clearance at urban outfitters for $7. I have some similar ones from ikea too

[NoPopNoStyle]

All good suggestions so far.

Many universities actually have lofting kits for their beds that you can get delivered to your room with a simple email request. Ask your RA or somebody else who might know where to get one.  Lofting beds is definately a huge space-saver.

Definately don't invest too much energy into organizational furniture until you've got all your stuff in the room. It's a real pain in the ass to haul a bookcase up three flights of stairs only to find out that there's not enough floor space for it.

[punkrockmom]

cynthesizer- oh please i heard you are in that building because there is a dunkin donuts on the ground floor!

[pinkkittypiper]

KK so I didn't live in a dorm but I did live in a boarding house in my first year.  I suggst that if you have a tv set getting a wall mount for it - frees up space for other things.  And a trick I learned from those in dorms: if you must put holes in the walls they can be quickly and discretely filled in using a white bar of soap or toothpaste, but you never heard that from me.  Under the bed storage boxes are awesome for storing sweaters and such.  Hopefully you have a large closet - parents love to give ya stuff like cases of juice and toiletpaper for some reason! Good luck!

[ophelia68977]

thanx for all the cool ideas everyone. also, i have a mosquito-net drape like the one moonunit426 showed, except mine is the kind that has a hoop, and the fabric drapes off of that. I'm pretty sure that I won't be allowed to nail or drill in the ceiling, hehe. So, do you think that the 3M Command products have some kind of stick-on hook that could attach to the ceiling and hold up my mosquito-net (5 lbs or so?)  Also, I bought some cool slide-drawer-tupperware-type things at a discount store. I think I will keep papers in them, or use them as drawers for miscellaneous things. But anyway, there is a website with these kinds of things, and theyre pretty cheap, at least the one I bought: http://www.yaffainc.com .   I like them. I think I've bought too many storage things for my dorm already actually. And I bought a few plants, mostly bamboo to bring. I figure plants always make a place more healthy and homey seeming. Also, I'm thinking about making some floor pillows, big flat ones to just chill on or do sit-ups. I'm so excited to move into my dorm! My roomate better not mind the hum of a sewing machine heheh

[thecynthesizer]

cynthesizer- oh please i heard you are in that building because there is a dunkin donuts on the ground floor!

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm, donuts.     Forget oragnizational tools.  I'll just spend all my money on donuts!

[jenn2nn]

I use the Rubbermaid tubs (they measure about 3ft x 4ft) to move and I also use them as endtables or coffeetables.. just throw a sheet, tapestry, or a nice piece of cloth over it and voila! I loved it because it gave me triple function: storage space, surface space, and it hid my ugly rubbermaid box.

Good luck!