Part of being an adult means moving into a place of your own, whether that be a college dorm or off-campus housing. In those fun years of transitioning from moving out of your parents’ house (for at least 9 months out of the year), it can be fun to find your true self in the midst of the college chaos. Whatever your living situation, moving most of your stuff out of your childhood room into a different one can be a little tricky—especially if you’re going from a lot to a little bit of space. I’ve come up with a list of five things that helped me when moving from a giant room for one, to a tiny room for two.
1. Get rid of your stuff.
I know this one is difficult to face, but, c’mon, you know you need to do it. You’ve been hanging on to that basketball camp shirt since middle school because you’re convinced that you’re going to make it into one of those awesome t-shirt quilts, or that your future kid will want it. Hate to break it to you, but you’ll probably never pick up a needle and thread for the rest of your life. And your kids won’t even want to be near it. What about that gymnastics trophy from third grade? Toss it. It’s just a participation award; you didn’t do anything to deserve it but show up and it’s just taking up space.
2. Practice organization.
Plenty of stores sell various organization units: wall calendars, file folders, or drawer sets. Even the smallest amount of clutter makes a room look messy. With good organization, though, you can still save space while skipping tip number one (i.e. getting rid of stuff).
3. Get measurements of your room and create a scale replica.
College dorms usually have room measurements on their housing website, and if it’s not listed, you can almost always call and ask. If you’re moving off campus, it’s a good idea to get the measurements of at least the bedrooms so you know what you can fit. There are multiple apps and websites that you can use to make to-scale replicas of a room, including the Room Planner and Roomle apps in the Apple Store. The above picture is the scale replica of the bedroom that I will have next school year. With this website, you can alter the furniture sizes so it accurately matches up with the furniture you already have. This is handy when you’re unsure about the layout, and it can help you move in faster since you’ll already know where you want everything to go.
4. Make the most of your storage space.
This is something I learned before I went to college. Just one bookshelf can do wonders for your living space: it clears clutter and gives you more space to put things, when you otherwise wouldn’t have room.
5. Try not to buy things you don’t need.
This is a tip that I’m still trying to learn myself. One of the worst parts about being a cashier, is that I see so many things come through my lane that I never knew I needed. One week, I had a large amount of people come through my line with packages of sausages that looked amazing, so after work I went and bought three boxes. Yep, they’re still sitting in my freezer. Make lists when you need something and make sure you actually need it. It’s okay to treat yourself every once in a while, but most of the clutter in our homes is the stuff that we bought but didn’t really need.
Moving to a new place can be an exciting step in someone’s life, but hopefully these tips can make living in a smaller room more enjoyable and relaxing for you. Enjoy the clean, clutter-free, extra-storage-space room that you will be proud to show off!
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