Humidifiers

One thing that can make a huge difference in the environment in your room is a humidifier, air purifier or a dehumidifier.

In terms of humidifiers, it can really help your room in the winter when it gets really dry... I personally know people who occasionally get nose-bleeds from the really dry weather. A humidifier can also help when you get really dry skin in the winter by not drying your room out even more.

An air purifier can also really help you out by clearing the air in your room. This is really good for people who have allergies. You do not have to get a man-made machine to be an air purifier because there are some that occur in nature, such as the spider plant. However these are not as heavy duty as an actual air-purifier that you would buy form the store.

Lastly is a de-humidifier. A dehumidifier comes in handy for the summer when it can get really humid outside. I do not suggest running a humidifier and a dehumidifier at the same time, because I am pretty sure that they will wind up cancelling each other out.

These items can be bulky and difficult to store so I suggest only having one at a time in your room, and also they are typically seasonal so that can be good for storing them.

Keeping Warm

I know that I really do not need to state the obvious, but as we get farther and farther into winter one cannot help but notice that it is getting very cold outside. In order to prevent frostbite, I suggest taking several simple measures.

The first of which is to make the purchase of a hat, or earmuffs. Now there are pro's and con's for each. For example, a hat does give you hat hair depending on how long that you are wearing it for. However it does keep your head warmer. On the other hand earmuffs do not keep your entire head warm and can be difficult sometimes because they shift during travel and if you have gloves on, then they can be very difficult to readjust. But unlike a hat, earmuffs are easier to deal with in regards to hat hair. They make a person look less like they have something on their head. It really all just depends on what look you are going for. I personally have a hat and earmuffs, and on days that it is really cold I wear the hat over the earmuffs. I also suggest getting earmuffs that wrap completely around the back of your head.

The other measure that I suggest taking is wearing gloves. These can be expensive or inexpensive depending on the quality. It doesn't really matter as long as they are warm... even though I have a pair of gloves I still typically leave my hands in my pockets while walking to class for the extra warmth.

One more thing that can go a long way is to wear a scarf. This is useful not just because it keeps your neck warm, but it also can be used to cover your face on those really cold days when you feel like your face is going to fall off from the cold.

Also, learning your bus schedule can really change a lot... I personally have classes that are close enough for me to walk to so I only ride the bus on the days that are really cold. If you are going to do this though, you should really learn the bus schedule. I suggest printing out a copy of the schedule until you really get the hang of riding the bus. Also, you should really be polite to the bus driver, because they decide whether or not they shut the doors on you before you get on the bus (really, I have seen bus drivers who have shut the doors on people before).

And of course, you should really get boots, preferably water proof for days when it is snowing outside. With boots, the region that you go to school in really affects what kind of boots that you should purchase. Just get a pair in the right price range for you.

Last but not least, do not skip classes because you do not have the right cold weather wear, that is not a good excuse (unless you go to school in Canada).

Spreading Holiday Cheer

There are very simple ways to spread the Christmas cheer in your dorm, other than singing loud for all to hear. For example you can give people candy canes. Not the big expensive candy canes, but the small ones that come in packs of 40. These are best because they are cheap and really easy to pass out. You have to figure that this is a good way to meet new people too because the rule that was present for children doesn't really ware off until you are out of college. That candy makes kids trust perfect strangers. It's a sad fact but it's true.
You can also slip a hand-made card under all of you floor mates doors. This can get creepy so I would just slip it under the doors of people that you know pretty well. You can also decorate, which always puts me into the christmas spirit.
You could also go caroling around the hall with a group of people. This can also be really weird and if you are going to do it then you should probably do it during hours that are reasonable.
One more option is to get some people together and bake cookies. This can really get people in the mood for christmas. Then you can give the cookies to your friends or neighbors. This can be difficult because it means that you need sprinkles and frosting, which can be difficult to get a hold of.
Whatever you do though, make sure that you have fun doing it and make sure that you are never short on holiday cheer.

Decorating your Room for Christmas

Just because you are at school does not mean that you can not decorate your room for the holidays. Like many people, my mother is responsible for decorating my house for the holidays and as a result my decorating skills may be a little bit below average. However, I have come up with several tips that are easy and that almost anyone can do.

The most important thing to do before decorating your room is to ask your roommate for permission.

First, inside of your dorm room you can put up a Christmas tree. Now the size of the tree should be decided by the amount of space that you have inside of your room. I would not put up a 10 foot tree seeing as how it will make your life difficult until you take it down. Instead, I suggest putting a 2 or 4 foot tree up instead. These save room and are easy to decorate. I have a 2 foot tall tinsel tree sitting on my dresser and it is very practical as well as cute.

When purchasing a tree, you should most likely go fake, especially for a dorm room, seeing as how getting a small real one is a bit of a pain. You also do not want to buy a tree bigger than the space that you have. When in doubt, buy it a size smaller.

You also want to make sure that the tree that you buy has the proper accessories. This means that you want to include a topper, ornaments, garland, tinsel, and a skirt, among other things. You should buy these at your discretion and remember that some of this stuff could easily get broken so something made of glass or that is expensive is a bad choice. You also want to think about whether or not you will be using the items that you purchase again next year. If you do intend to reuse them, then you should take special care to save the boxes for storage.

Another easy decorating idea is to buy garland and place it around your room. After Thanksgiving some stores sell Christmas decorations with a large price reduction. I purchased many of my decorations at Michael's which is a craft store. I suggest going to Michael's other craft stores to look for decorations. I was able to buy ribbon and garland half off. You can easily transform the inside of your room into a festive christmas wonderland (thats can only fit maybe 8 people comfortably).

You can easily decorate the outside of your room with lights and ribbon. On my door I wrapped the ribbon around and made the door look like it was gift-wrapped. To do this one should make sure that the ribbon reaches, and then cut it. Next just make sure that it is evenly pulled across your door and aligned properly so that it is perpendicular to either the edge of the door or the bottom of your door. I did this so that the ribbon forms an off-center t. I then placed a bow on the section where the ribbon overlaps.

When it comes to placing lights outside of your door you want to make sure that there is an outlet somewhere near-by. You also want to make sure that you do not have to big of a length. This means measuring. After you have done all of this you should put them up. Not much explanation is required. You should be aware though, that some dorms do not allow lights to be put up around your door because it is a fire-hazard.

Harmful Holiday Germs

When attending a university or college away from home, one might notice that every time that there is a break, there tends to be different illnesses going around. This can very easily be explained by the fact that we all go home and then pick up germs that we then carry back with us to school. These germs might lay dormant in our systems and then infect others at school. Because of this one might need to take certain precautions in order to ensure that you do not pick anything up or spread anything once you get back to school.

Rule #1- Wash your hands! Your parents and teachers have over-stressed this all throughout your childhood and the fact is that even though you are older that does not mean that you are immune from basic hygiene.
Rule #2- Start to drink a lot of vitamin C. This does boost your immune system and you really should be consuming enough to keep your immune system active. If you really do not want to drink it (as in orange juice or other fruit juice) then you should take tablets such as emergen-C or other such vitamin C products.

Rule #3- do not drink from other peoples cups. Seriously, this shouldn't even be an issue. People have germs and if you drink from someone else's cup, then you are increasing your risk to pick up all kinds of viruses and bacteria.

Just following these basic rules of hygiene, you should be able to avoid picking up unwanted illnesses.

Top five Breakfast Cereals

There are many different cereal brands out there and for some reason when one starts to go to college, they eat more cereal than they ever have in their life. I have tried more cereal in this past year than I have ever had in my entire life. I feel that I am now much more aware of the different types of cereals out there and have formed a list of the best cereals for your benefit

1. Coco Puffs- these are the best because they are chocolate. This is not the only reason, they are the best though, Coco Puffs are also fairly nutritious for you ( although they do have more calories than other healthier cereals)

2. Special K- Special K comes in various flavors including chocolate and strawberry. It is one of the healthier cereals out there and it tastes pretty good.

3. Fruit Loops- delicious and i eat them like candy. Fortunately these are much healthier than candy and it is not a big deal if you do not pace yourself.

4. Mini Wheats- These too are tasty and are not unhealthy. Like fruit loops, i like to eat mini wheats when I am just vegging out.

5. Lucky Charms- Lucky charms are on the bottom of this list because of the fact that they are not very healthy, although they are much healthier than many snack foods that are out there. These are still frosted and sugary.

Rainy Day Fun

To me the term "rainy day" means a day in which you are trapped indoors because the weather outside is really awful. The winter provides many of these rainy days- I suppose that really they are snowy days. Anyways, it just so happens that a day trapped indoors can either be fun-tastic or really boring. When in the dorms, a day trapped indoors can really be a blessing instead of a curse. There are several games, competitions, and activities taht one can organize in order to make a day trapped indoors really awesome.
1. Movie Marathon
Some movies that I personally find to be the best when it comes to a rainy day are:
- Monty Python and the Holy Grail (comedy)
- V for Vendetta (Action)
- How to Lose a Guy In 10 Days (chick flick)
- Two Weeks Notice (romantic comedy)
- Stardust
- Dodgeball (Comedy)
- Secondhand Lions (Comedy)
- Chicago (Musical)
Of course a movie marathon also entails the basic neccessties (meaning popcorn and fattening snacks). Just grab a few friends and pop in a couple of movies. It doesn't really matter what you watch as long as you have fun watching it. I personally feel that everyone needs to have some time to just sit and veg out.

2. Along the lines of Movie Marathon is to watch a season of some show, it does not matter what show, but some that I really like to watch are:
- The Office Season 1-4
- Desperate Housewives
- Grey's Anatomy
- Just Shoot Me
- How I Met Your Mother
- The Big Bang Theory
I personally prefer to watch funny shows, but some show, like Grey's Anatomy are perfect to watch in one day because you do not have to wait on any of the cliffhangers that the show is so notorious for. I personally do not have the patience or attention span to wait an entire week to find out what is happening in someones fictional life, which is why I like to watch the dramatic series all at once.

3. You can have a friendly competition
Some events that are fun and intersting are
- Eat something very spicy and then wait to see who reaches for their water last.
- Who can squat against a wall the longest
- Who can eat a bowl of ice cream, or saltines the longest
- Set up an obstacle course, and race through
- who can army crawl the fastest
These events require creativity and can be very easy or very hard- its your choice, just think something up.

4. You could always clean your room, too. When do you have a better time to do it?

5. Start a friendly poker game :)

6. One more option is Board Games, I like:
- Clue
- Monopoly
- Card Games (speed, war, solitaire)
- sorry
the list goes on and on...

7. Internet Shopping is also pretty awesome



Your options really are endless and just require a little bit of creativity