Six ways to clean out dorm rooms
Does your bed look like your closet threw up all over it? Did you throw up all over it? Either way, it’s about time to clear the bed and wash those sheets — it’s time for some spring cleaning. Here are six methods that any resident can adopt in order to start Spring Quarter neat and tidy.
- Maintain your personal hygiene
The first thing students should do for spring cleaning is to keep themselves clean. Springtime can get real hot, real fast in the Sacramento Valley, which means our bodies are working extra hard to maintain their internal temperatures, often by excreting sweat and body odor. Out of respect for yourself and your roommates’ olfactory senses, you may want to start taking showers more frequently than you did in Winter Quarter.
- Take out the trash
Old papers and miscellaneous pieces of trash pile up quickly in a space as small as a dorm room, especially when it’s shared by two or three people. The worst sort of garbage, however, is food waste. With the heat of the spring, your previously inanimate food can become a breeding ground that comes alive with mold and fungi. To avoid this unwanted company, work out a schedule with your roommates to throw out the trash every week — and toss out your food waste immediately.
- Dust
Do you wake yourself up in the middle of the night coughing, even when it isn’t cold and flu season? For the many people who struggle with spring allergies, dusting furniture can help keep a room clean and avoid irritating your already enraged nostrils. You can either purchase a duster or borrow one from your RA. This way you can avoid, or at least somewhat remediate, the sneezing fit that greets you every morning.
- Vacuum
Remember to take a look at the floor of your dorm room every now and then. Past the sticky notes, dry pens and forgotten Grab-n-Go salad containers, if you dig deep enough, you can find carpeting which, especially for long-haired girls, will be covered with hair. Before you have a carpet of hairballs, plan out a cleaning schedule with your roomies to take turns using the floor’s vacuum — it’s a necessity.
- Turn off the lights and open those windows
As hot as it gets here in Davis, the season’s bright sun rays do provide us with free light and can power us through the week. It is so much easier to wake up when you are tickled by the sun’s rays gushing through your window. Try to switch off the fluorescents and enjoy the natural light when you can — it saves energy and can literally brighten your day.
- Upgrade your wardrobe
Last quarter we had to stock up on North Face jackets, beanies and fleece sweaters. These hefty items can take up a lot of space in our already cramped dorm closets. Consider replacing them with your spring attire. Bring in the shorts, dresses, T-shirts, crop tops and whatever else would work well for the inevitably hot Picnic Day!
After a quarter of wind and rain, waking up to the sunshine and walking through our rejuvenated green campus is something we should all cherish. With these suggestions for tidiness, hopefully you will be ready to welcome the new quarter.
Written by: Sahiti Vemula — features@theaggie.org
