5 Things Every Dorm Room Needs

So you're excited for college, excited to meet your roommate, excited to be living on your own. You open that door to your dorm room and you are struck by the utter starkness of your new home. So you're first order of business to personalize your room is to liven up the walls. However, most colleges have rules against putting holes in the walls. That or the walls are made of impenetrable cinder block. But you can't let that hold you back. That's where your new best friend, Double Sided Mounting Tape, comes into play. This stuff is great. If you get the continuous roll, you can cut it to any size to fit your needs. You can use it to hold up posters, yet its also strong enough to hold up bulletin boards, clocks, and mirrors. The best part is that when move out day comes (and it always comes sooner than you think), you simple peel it off and check out without getting docked for damages.

Wall decorated with your new friend mounting tape? Check. Now its time to get that homey feel on the floor. Most freshman go out and by a somewhat cheap, crappy rug from Wal-Mart and call it a day. But if you go the extra mile, and spend just a little bit more cash, you can have the most comfortable floor at your college. The key is to skip the rug situation all together and go straight for a carpeting store. Carpet stores have huge rolls of carpet that they cut specifically to order for people with houses. The problem is that when they sell their carpet, they're inevitably left with a small piece at the end that is too small to cover a whole room. This is remnant carpet. It comes at a highly reduced rate. This is what you want. Since dorm rooms are tiny, this carpet will actually come close if not cover your entire floor for the price of about 60-90 bucks. It takes a couple hours to install but afterwards it really makes your dorm feel more like home and also treats your feet a lot nicer than a cheap thin rug.

Christmas lights are somewhat stereotypical for a college dorm room, but they're are several reasons why. First off, Christmas lights are a lot cheaper than a lamp, but do the same job. For about 4-8 bucks, you can get a string that will cover at least half of the perimeter of your ceiling. I suggest you get two strings and go all the way around because it looks better and it will give you a little bit more light. The second reason Christmas lights are popular is that they offer a great option to the that bright florescent overhead light. Dorm rooms are usually lit well with the bright overhead light, but there are times when you want something softer. Christmas lights are great for watching movies with friends or when one roommate wants to go to sleep and the other wants to stay up. Finally, Christmas lights are fun and college is one of the last places where its acceptable to have them year round.

College is as much about socializing as it is about academics. We all had friends in high school who we will keep in touch with forever but we meet the majority of our lifelong friends in college. So, the bottom line is: you're going to be doing a lot of hanging out in dorm rooms. As we discussed earlier, the dorm room is a very cramped space (that's how you got cheap carpeting). When people come over, your bed will be pretty much the only place they can sit down. Its not the end of the world, but its also not the best option. Instead, invest in a couple canvas chairs. Canvas chairs are foldable chairs used for sport events and camping. Since they fold up so easily, you can keep them put away until company arrives, then bust them out and surprise, everyone's comfortable and off your bed. Chances are your parents already have a couple that they may let you have, otherwise you can get them cheap at Wal-Mart.

Again, the biggest obstacle to overcome in decorating a dorm room is trying to make a room, that would otherwise resemble a prison cell, feel like home. One of the best ways to do this is to purchase a small plant. Nothing extravagant. It could be a cactus if you want. But just having a little piece of green life that you have to look out for can help soften up the place. Plants are a great decorating item. They also help to make you feel less like your trapped in a cell, by bringing the nature inside. Plants can also help to freshen up the air in your dorm which can get stale. Just make sure you occasionally prop them up beside a window so they can get all their require photosynthesis in. Small plants are very cheap and can again be purchased at Wal-Mart....in the gardening section.