Sometimes the answers to life’s most frustrating annoyances can be found right in front of us. Yet often we don’t see that the solutions to our problems can be solved with things right underneath our noses. Living in a small space like a dorm room can often be cramped at best, so here are five “life-hacks” every college student should know. Hopefully, these tips make your busy life a little bit easier.
1.Use a shoe organizer for storage
This tried and true life-hack uses something as simple as a shoe organizer and makes it an easy way to de-clutter a cramped space. Hang it on the back of your shower door to store beauty and cleaning supplies or over your door to store snacks. This is a cheap and easy way to take some of those miscellaneous items laying around your room and organize them in one place.
2. Use your coffee maker to its full potential
Feeling sick of cafeteria food? If you don’t have access to a kitchen or are not in the mood for cooking in one, there are some easy recipes which can be made in a dorm room a matter of minutes. The microwave can be an incredible tool in making fast food such as mug cakes or scrambled eggs. Even your coffee maker can be used to heat hot water and cook things like pasta, hot dogs or cheese dip.
3. Need to hang it? Stick to command hooks
Nearly every self-respecting college student has discovered the amazing invention of the command hook. These little hooks come in tons of different sizes and can be hung almost anywhere without damaging your walls. Use them to hang your towel on the back of your bathroom door, mount a painting on your wall, or virtually anything else you may need them for. Although it seems simple, picking up a box of command hooks the next time you are out may be one of the best purchases you make for a while.
4. Fold clothes vertically in drawers
Anyone else find themselves searching aimlessly through their drawer for a shirt they know for a fact is hidden in there somewhere? One easy life-hack that’s often overlooked is folding your shirts vertically rather than the typical horizontal fold. By organizing your shirts in a line it makes it easier to find and fit in a drawer.
5. Freshen up your dorm with car air fresheners
Let’s be honest–college dorms are not always the most glamorous. The smell of old food sitting in your trashcan which hasn’t been taken out for a week or the bathroom which hasn’t been cleaned since move-in day, may start to take over your space. For those of you who don’t always have time for a deep clean, one easy life-hack is putting car air fresheners which usually go over the car air-conditioning vents over the air vents in your room.