Seven ways to spruce up your space

By Maggie Martin on January 15, 2014

I don’t know about you, but trying to find a place for all of the things I’ve acquired over winter break in my apartment is really starting to stress me out. If you’re feeling the same way, here are seven tips to get yourself more organized and have room to breathe in your dorm or apartment second semester.

1. Purge.

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Places that always become a mess are in my desk drawers or on my dresser tops. They’re always full of papers that I thought I would need to keep but have become useless or jewelry that I was too lazy to put away. Go through your drawers, any open surface, and especially your backpack and get rid of any unnecessary junk that you know you’ll never use again.

2. Pack things away.

I started to do this before I left so it wouldn’t be as daunting when I came back, but pack away your last season’s clothing items and either have your folks take it back home with them before they leave, or keep it in a suitcase under your bed and out of your closet.

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3. Optimize your hanging space.

Double hanging your clothes really does make a difference. If you take a soda tab and hook it through the top of one hanger and let the other hang off the bottom you can get twice as many shirts in your closet. If you’re using thick plastic hangers, my friend has been using string in a loop and it works just the same.

4. Rearrange.

Getting tired of the same look in your room? Shake things up and try moving things around. Especially if you live in a dorm, moving your furniture around can make it feel like a whole new space.

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5. Deep clean.

You’ve probably done spot-cleaning throughout the year (like most normal college students) but nothing will feel better than really scrubbing and vacuuming your space. Dust too—you can’t imagine how dusty your things can get in just one semester. If you like how it looks, you and your roomies can make a pact to clean better at least once a month to keep things smelling and looking great.

6. Hang up new posters or artwork.

Need more inspiration to get you to spring break? Hang up a picture of your destination in your room. This is another way to make the space new again. I always am an advocate for artwork, so go crazy. Maybe you and your roommates can have a DIY night where you make new decorations for the apartment or dorm together.

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7. Set out photos from your first semester.

You’ve made all of these new memories in the past four months, some with your roommates, some with others, and it’s time to hang up the fun photos to commemorate those times.

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