Living in a resident hall is a bittersweet experience. You get to interact and have fun with the people living on your floor, whether that is sharing pizza in the middle of the night or studying for a final together. On the other hand, living in a dorm means trying to fill all your things in a small room that you might be sharing with someone else. And this is where dorm room hacks come in – easy and quick ways to make your room more spacious and organized!
Bed risers will allow you to put your extra boxes or bags underneath your bed, giving you more storage space as well as making your room look bigger since all the big boxes are hidden under your bed. Bed risers are a great investment since they last for years and can be easily used for any bed. You can get one at your nearest supermarket for a low price too!
Mobile storage cabinets are a life saver, they can store anything from books to medicines. These cabinets have different sections to them and they come with wheels provided so you can roll them around and keep them anywhere in your room. If you can’t make space in your drawers, just keep your extra small things in these cabinets. Not only are they cost effective but you can decorate them and make them seem like a part of your room’s style.
Dorm rooms can seem bleak without some cute decorations here and there. Printed tape is a handy thing to have when you are trying to make your room look appealing while also staying on budget. IU allows every student to print up to 500 pages so one easy way to use printed tape is printing out your favorite pictures or quotes and using printed tape to create frames around them!
Hangers are so underrated! These great plastic (or wire) structures allow you to utilize your cupboard space so much better. Use a soda can tab to hang one hanger over the other so you can showcase more of your clothes and save storage space for your other things. You can easily find bunches of hangers at the nearest supermarket and use them to make your cupboard look more organized and accessible!
Anchal Bansal
Economic Consulting major, class of 2020
As a young girl growing up in India, I was expected to conform to certain societal and gender norms. Norms that determined the kind of clothes I had to wear, the language I used and the ideas I should believe in. Fortunately, I had liberal minded parents who wanted me to develop as my own person, to explore the world around me and to achieve much more than the world dictated me to. This led to my journey of learning, of going beyond my comfort zone and challenging myself. Challenging myself to do better, to listen more and to dream bigger. And so here I am now, living my dream, 8193 miles away from home.
