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

RA's can be pretty cool

Seriously, RA's are really not that bad... I mean some are just awful, but that is more of an unfortunate occureance. Mostly all of the RA's that I have met have been helpful and social. Every now and then, though, an RA will slip through who really like power. That does not happen very often though.

RA's, or residential assistants, actually have to interview for the job. I am lucky enough to have an RA who has had several years of experience. This makes her a great source of advice on pretty much everything dorm related.

One of the really big reasons to be nice to your RA is that they are there to help you and eventually you may need help. Do not treat them like someone who is only there to be a parent replacement. Plus, if you get in good with your RA then you tend to get away with more stuff than the other people on your floor do. Be careful with this because it can get you hated really easily. Do not suck up to your RA- this is very see through and will just make them hate you and see you as a suck up.

The #1 reason to be nice to your RA is that they are a person, and quite frankly one of your floormates.

THE ROOMMATE FROM HELL!!!

All who currently or who have lived in a dorm know that at one time or another your roommate does something that is really annoying or out of line. sometimes this is something so small that later on we look back at it and realize how petty it was, but other times it is a story that we continue to tell long after we have popped out a couple of kids and are putting money away for retirement.

On my floor, there are several roommates who, through lack of social skills or maturity, have done completely disgusting or unforgivable acts.

One of these people is Melanie. Melanie is the roommate of Dana. Melanie unfortunatly is the type that lacks social maturity. For the first few weeks that Melanie and Dana began to room together everything went very smoothly. This is because Dana had a boyfriend with whom she spent the majority of her time with. Dana rarely came back to the dorm room that she and Melanie shared, and typically it was for a change of clothes.

This gave Melanie the freedom to do whatever she wanted in their room. Unfortunately, the whirlwind romance eventually died out, as many do. This meant that Dana now had the time, well really the necessity, to live in the dorm full time. This meant that she would sleep in the room, shower in the community showers, and eat at the dining courts.

However, this did not sit well with Melanie, who, due most likely to a poor up-bringing, had never really learned to share. This made the adjustment that many are naturally able to do very difficult. This lead to many back-handed sabotages committed by Melanie.

At first they started out very small. A dry-erase board wiped clean so that Melanie could inform the world of her plans for the day, a snooze button pushed nine times, and even a broken lamp was thrown into the fire as fuel.

Eventually, though, Dana began to retaliate which made matters much worse.

The fight, that is currently still raging, has reached its peak, when one day Dana went to take a shower. She then came back to the room and de-robed in order to change. At this point Melanie had just gotten back and saw an oppurtunity. As people were passing by in the hallway she decided to hold the door open so that all could see the very upset Dana- naked.

The moral of this is that some roommates are just spoiled little brats and really need a wake up call. As of yet, Dana has not retaliated and I hope that she does not. If you happen to be one of the people who are so unlucky as to be faced with a roommate like Melanie, all I can suggest is to put in for a room change immediately, some people just will not change.

How to stream line your shower stuff

When it comes to the showers in the dorms, the less time spent in them the better. I quickly learned this in the first few weeks of school. In order to ensure that you get in and out what i suggest is to do the really obvious thing and get a shower caddy.
However obvious this is, it is very important to get the right shower caddy. You want one that if it gets wet- its not going to start to smell. This means no fabric. I have seen girls heading to the shower with cloth totes all the time, and I just do not know how they manage with them. You would have to pop your head in and out of the shower every time that you need some soap or shampoo, which can get awkward very fast. When it comes to shower caddies, I suggest getting a plastic one with plenty of holes for draining. Bed Bath and Beyond has a very nice selection of plastic totes that are both cute and functional.

Before heading off to the showers, make sure that you have everything that you need, such as shampoo, razor, soap, etc. This may sound simple but I cannot count the number of times that I have begun to head off to the showers, had to stop and go back to my room because I forgot some small thing. The amount of time that I have spent turning around and going back and forth from my room is definitely not worth it. Take ten seconds and look around. Also, you do not want to overload your caddy, because it is not fun when you have to stop in a robe or towel and pick everything up. Try to keep it balanced and you probably want to keep all of your basic necessities in it at all times.

One very important thing to have- and by important I mean the number one item that you need- is a robe. Not a towel wrap. Towel wraps are cute and convenient, but when it comes down to it a bath robe is much more functional and comfortable. When its cold in the morning and you want something to toss on really quickly before you head to the bathroom, a robe is ideal. It's kinda difficult to toss a towel wrap on over your pajamas. Trust me, I have tried and you just wind up looking ridiculous.

Also, make sure that you have a towel, and if necessary, a change of clothes. This is VERY important because you will be soaking and have to walk back to your room freezing and dripping. If you do not want to change in front of your roommate or if you or your roommate has company then you could always change in the bathroom. In my experience the best place to change is in the stall that has the bathtub in it. No one ever uses the tub (well almost no one) so the stall is pretty much always open. However, this tub is safer and cleaner to use than people realize. Every one is so disgusted by the thought that other people bathe in it that no one does, so it is a lot cleaner than people think.

Calendars: not just for the date

For a very long time, calendars have been used solely for telling the date, and while this is the main intent behind having a calendar, it does not have to stop there.
There are many kinds of calendars for pretty much every single hobby, belief system, or childhood icon that there is out there, and I mean every- one time I even found a calendar for witchcraft. The sad thing is that every year we typically throw out our old calendars so that we can get a new one that has the actual date on it. This means that whatever pictures are on the calendar get thrown out too. However, if you really like the pictures that are on your calendar, then you can save them and incorporate them into your dorm room decor.

In order to do this i suggest pulling the pages out of the old calendar and fixing them onto the wall with masking tape, ticky-tac, command strips, or old chewing gum. In doing this you can cover more of the wall and put your taste into the room. Even if you do not have a calendar on hand that is old and has out-lived its purpose, then you can wait until calendars go on sale and purchase them at a reduced price.
If just sticking them onto the wall is not appealing to you, then you could always find picture frames and put the calendar pages- picture side up- in the frames and then either adhere them to the wall or hang them on the wall.

College and the Multi-Vitamin

While living in a dorm room, ones health may begin to slip due to poor eating habits. One can avoid this by taking a multi-vitamin. Anyone who was ever a college student living away from home should know that you don't exactly eat right when away from home. Having the new freedom of there being no parents around to tell you what to eat can sometimes lead to dessert for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (and in-between snacks). This behavior makes our vitamin intake slip a little. This is why taking a multi-vitamin can really help you recover from this deficit and not interrupt your celebratory dessert feast.

I personally take one-a-day as my vitamin supplement. However, there are many different vitamins out there, if you really wanted to you could take Flintstones Chewables. While I sometimes go for the name brands, the generic brands put the same basic vitamins into your body. You should look around for what the best vitamin for you is.

Covering White Walls

One of the really lame things about living in a dorm is that you cannot paint the walls. This leaves you with stark white walls that make your room not quite so inviting. There are several ways to counter the plain white wall effect. The number one way is to cover them with something removable.

To accomplish this, one could do several things. One could buy posters and put them on the walls. However, when it comes to this method of wall decoration, one should always remember that posters cost money. While you can use posters, another problem with this method is that it would take an awful lot of posters to cover the whole wall. Posters may or may not be the way to go for you, it depends on how much white you want to be on the walls.

Another method is to get pictures and stick them to your walls. This method is kind of like your bulletin board did not stop at the edges, but kept on going. I like this idea because it shows pictures of your friends and family, so people who come into your room can get a good idea of what you are like as a person. The problems with this are that your pictures can get damaged, destroyed, or lost (also if you have a cute sister every guy who comes into the room is going to make a comment). This means that you need to at least have copies of them. This method can be more expensive than the poster method as a result. Also, if you run out of pictures then you will have a space with a lot of pictures and then a space with no pictures, which will look very odd.

Other than using posters and pictures you could also use pictures from magazines, and stick them on the walls. This method is really good because it also allows people who come into the room to get a feeling for what your personality is by what magagzines you have up. It is also really cheap because several magazines could cover all of the walls. Many college dorms have free magazines in them, and typically are found near or in the mail room. If your dorm does not have free magazines then you could petition the dorm for free magazines.

One last option is to get blankets, tapestries, or sheets and hang them on your walls. This can be very cheap or very expensive. Going the expensive route is easy because if you want to find something thats over-priced then you will find it, but the cheap route can be just as easy. For example you could go to salvation army and purchase sheets that are cheap and then tie dye them. I would personally make sure that they were washed though. You can also buy tapestries and blankets very easily online. Most campuses have shops that sell things with the campus logo on them. This means that they will most likely sell blankets, which can then be hung up on the walls.

One very important thing to remember when putting anything on the walls of your dorm room is that whatever you damage, you will have to pay for. This is why is suggest using wall putty or masking tape to put things on the walls. This way you will not have to pay big for something minor.

The Tools of a Clean Room

One of the biggest problems with moving into a dorm room (aside from getting along with a psycho roommate) is keeping it clean. Most people are used to having a mom pick up after them. The thing is that unless you are a really strange person with a very strange family, your Mother is not going to follow you to college. Part of cutting the cord is learning to pick up after yourself. You do not want to be that person on the floor who has the really smelly or dirty room. There are several areas that one must remember to clean. They are dusting, vacuuming, laundry, and taking out the trash.

First on the list is vacuuming. This is very important because if one does not vaccum their room then it will probably start to smell bad (by probably I mean that is will for sure smell bad, and you don't want to be that person). I personally think that one should vacuum at least once a month, and if you have a roommate then your room can be vacuumed twice a month since I assume that they will be cleaning it as well. I personally feel that a persons room should be vacuumed at least once a week, especially for people who have allergies. There are many options when it comes to vacuums. Many dorms have vacuums that the floor shares and can be found in a closet somewhere in the building. However, if this is not something that sounds like a good idea to you, then you could always get a small vacuum for your room. There are shark vacs out there which are not as expensive as some of the heavy duty vacuums out there. Shark vac makes cordless stick vacuums which are nice because they are not very bulky, and so they are easily put into a closet for storage. Shark also has hand helds vacuums which are more compact, although they are better for small messes than for vacuuming large areas. Pictured on the above right is a cordless sweeper shark vac that costs $59.99. Other cordless sweepers are pictured on the site and go as low as $29.99. Beneath that is a picture of a cordless hand held shark vac. This shark vac costs $39.99. This is the only cordless handheld currently featured on the sharkvac website.

Another important thing to make sure you are doing for upkeep of your dorm room is to dust. I suggest dusting at least once a week. I prefer the disposable dusters such as swiffer. I like these because they seem to trap most of the dust and, of course, you can throw them out. For the most part these are not expensive. There are also dust cloths which work just as well. I suggest getting a starter pack and then deciding what brand is best for you. If someone has allergies then it is very important for them to have a clean place to breath, so you might have to dust the room more than normal.

As for the laundry, I suggest doing it once to twice a week. Also, keep your laundry in your closet, because it does smell. The last big category for cleaning, in my opinion, is the trash. Take this out as needed. If it smells get it out of the room fast. I suggest alternating with your roommate.

However, no matter how well you clean, it will not mean much if your roommate does not pick up after themselves. One thing that I have found to be very effective is to put up a calender and write down what days you did what. This way even if your roommate does not clean, then at least you have proof and can tell them that they need to start pulling their weight.

One of the other lesser known categories of clean is being organized. You cannot have a really cluttered dorm room, because it is just not a good atmosphere to live in. A dorm room is your bedroom, dining room, living room, and kitchen. On top of all that its also a little bit bigger than the room you live in back home (wherever that is). It is very important for you to minimize the amount of filth and clutter. I suggest taking an hour out every week to make sure that it stays clean. If you are a slob then you should definitely keep your room clean just because of the fact that you dont want your roommate to hate you because you can not manage to keep your space clean.

Of course if cleaning is not something that you intend on doing then I suggest getting some serious air fresheners.

Why You HAVE to Have a Fouton

Having a futon is very important when living in a dorm room. The main reason behind this is that it functions as a couch as well as a bed for guests or for you whenever you do not think it wise to sleep in your loft bed, bunk bed or regular bed. The fact is that you have different options for seating in a dorm room. One could use several tailgating seats, and while this is cheap, I feel it is a bad idea because they are not very comfortable and sometimes one might want to lie down and watch TV or if one does not feel well then they can also lie down. Also, when one has friends who visit from out of town or down the hall who want to spend the night, well that's just not feasible with several tailgating chairs. Another option is to get a couch which is a bad idea, because unless you plan to throw the couch out at the end of the school year, it will be very upsetting if you get stains on it, which you will (unless you put plastic over it but I really don't think that you want to be compared to somebody's grandmother). Also a couch is heavy and you want to think about moving your stuff in and out of your dorm room. Futons are easily put together and are typically cheap. Plus you can pick them up and vacuum under them, which I'm sure is the top priority in any college students life.

I know firsthand that a lot of guys do not want to get futons because they do not think that their fella freinds will sit next to each other on a futon. This is stupid. Even if you have a larger than normal amount of guy friends, they will make due. Here is an idea, get some of your female friends to come over and use them as chikee buffers so that there is no accidental male leg touching male leg contact. The guy thing is problematic also because of the futon becoming a bed and most guys do not want to sleep in the same bed as another guy. This I cannot help you with, you just have to tell them to stop being big babies.

A typical futon will seat two or three people and will fold out into a queen, full or twin sized bed. In a college dorm room, it will most likely be a full sized bed. There are many different types of futons out there in a range of prices. If in a college dorm room, however, I would keep the price as low as possible seeing as how you will probably be moving around a lot over the following years and might not always have the space necessary for a futon.

Futons are also very helpful because they make a room appear more homey and fit perfeclty underneath a loft bed. It is highly suggestible to buy your futon from the same place that you buy your loft bed. This is becasue then it is more likely that the futon will be a perfect fit for the space underneath the loft bed.

Both of the items found on this page are located on the target website target.com. (from top to bottom) The first item is the Portland convertible sofas and it costs $529.99. This sofa comes in Dark Chocalate, Sage, and Black Microfiber. It is very nice because it is a sleeper sofa, however one then runs into the sofa problems. Then next item is the Mali Flex Futon in blue and White. This futon costs $188.99 and folds into a twin sized bed. I like this futon because it comes in a wide array of colors. This makes it very easy to coordinate to whatever color scheme that you are going for in your room. The last item on this page is the Convertible sofa bed in camel microfiber. This costs $429.99 and once again is a sleeper sofa.

There are futons out there that are much cheaper than the ones listed on this page and many universities have companies that sell loft beds

What It Takes To Be a Good Roommate

When it comes to going random for roommates, it's all about the luck of the draw. I personally was very lucky in the fact that I got a very considerate roommate. While it has only been around two months since we both moved into the same shoebox of a dorm room, we have not run into any really serious problems. There are some various steps that one can take in order to ensure that the roommate relationship runs smoothly.

1. Pick up after yourself. This means that you should always, always, always clean any dishes, put away any clothes, pick up any books in the room, and wipe up any spills or stains. You have to be considerate, it is not just your room.

2. Be mindful of your turn to clean. When it is your turn to take out the trash you need to do it asap. If you and your roommate have problems remembering whose turn it is to take the trash out, you should pin a calender up and mark the days that each of you took it out. Same thing for any other room chores.

3. Be quiet. There's nothing worse than a roommate who doesn't care about whether someone is trying to get some rest. Turn the TV down, and do NOT talk on your cell phone when they are trying to sleep, that is considered very bad room manors.

4. Do not be critical. NO ONE wants to live with someone who is going to look down there noses at someone else. Whatever moral stances you hold do not give you the ability to tell anyone else what to do. You are not your roommates parent and as long as they are not using illegal substances in the room, then you have no right to tell them to or not to do something.

5. Do not expect your roommate to hang out with you The fact is that you and your roommate were brought together by chance and while you should be congenial to one another, you do not have to spend a lot of time together. In the rare instance when you have chosen your roommate, you probably dont want to be around them the whole time. You need to make seperate friends because you will eventually need to vent about your roomie. When this happens you really don't want it to get back to them, especially if you are rooming with your hometown friend.

6. Keep your dirty clothes in your closet. Lets face it kids, dirty clothes smell bad. If you keep your dirty clothes in a bag in the middle of the floor then your room is going to smell bad too. This is just not fair to your roommate who has to live with the smell that they didn't make. Keep your smelly clothes where they aren't going to ruin your roommates day.

7. Know the difference between a rude roommate and an unaware roommate. Do not take everything that your roommate does as a personal attack. A roommate could just not be aware that they are doing something that you are not used to.

8. Share the TV just because you may have brought it does not mean that it is only yours. Two people live in the room and use that TV. If you and your roommate both have shows on at the same time then I suggest creating a schedule where you switch off every other week. This way it evens things out a little bit and you each understand the others struggle a little. If you watch a popular TV show then I suggest getting some people together and watching in someone else's room or in one of the lobbies with a TV.

9. Put a copy of your schedule up. This ensures several things, for starters that if your roomie has a fella in the room that you don't walk in on the middle of something that you don't want to see. Another reason why this is preferable is that if one of your friends asks where you are then your roommate can tell them (unless they are psycho and vindictive).

10. Do not eat all of your roomie's food. If you agreed to split it down the middle then thats great, but actually split it. Do not ever eat the last of anything that your roomie specifically bought for himself or herself. You also do not want to hog the fridge.


~Golden Roommate rule~

treat your roomie as you would like to be treated

TV Troubles

Every now and then I will be trying to sleep but my roommate has the TV on so loud that I just cannot do it. Eventually I ask her to turn down the volume, which she does, but not enough. Then ten minutes go by and I have to ask her to turn it down AGAIN. After much thought and consideration, I have come up with a simple solution to this problem; a universal remote. Depending on what your situation is and what kind of roommate you have, you may be able to talk it out. This means having a sit-down type of thing where you say "this really bothers me, can you try to not do this, I would really appreciate this, etc." However, if a month goes by and your roomie has made no obvious attempts to change his or her behavior, then I would suggest jumping to plan B, buying a universal remote. Now this can be very tricky, because if your roommate finds out that you have a second "master" remote, they will most likely be very offended and upset. As a rule, the smaller the universal remote that you get is, the better it is, because it is less noticeable and easier to hide. Some excuses you could use if your roommate finds your remote is to say that it is for your alarm clock, or any other appliances in the room (just so you know though, this will probably not work. You could also get really angry and completely freak out on your roomie, and start accusing them of going through your stuff and stealing things from your dirty laundry. You could also say that the remote has sentimental value.

The number one way to avoid confrontation over having a universal remote is to not get caught with it. One way to accomplish this is to never raise your roommate's suspicions in the first place. This means that you do not change the channels and tell your roomie that the TV is haunted. This approach really only works if the TV is old as dirt, or your roommate is really stupid. The only time that you should really use the remote is to lower the volume. Now before you start to just lower and raise the volume whenever you get the urge, there are some things you need to notice about your TV. The most important thing to notice is whether or not the volume bar pops up on the screen when you adjust the volume. If it does not pop up, then go crazy and raise or lower that bad boy all you want. If the volume bar does pop up, then you have to be a little sneakier. In my opinion, the best way to deal with this little speed bump is to ask your roommate to lower the volume and when the bar is on screen, just keep it going down. Your roommate will think that the remote is just sensitive. Another method is misdirection, for example you could look out the window and start screaming "OH MY GOD, THAT MAN HAS A GUN!!!" However, I wouldn't scream that too loud, and after your roomie has been frantically looking out the window I might say something like "no, no, what i said was 'Oh my god that man has a pack of gum', not a gun."

Of course there is another problem that springs to mind when talking about sharing a TV. That is a roomie who does not share well with others. If the object they are having problems sharing is the TV, then the universal remote comes in handy here, too. This course of action is not highly effective, but it is fun. What you can do is hide the remote for the TV in your roommates stuff, and when your roomie is not in the room, you could then use the universal remote. The reason why it is necessary to hide it in your roomies stuff is that then, even if they accuse you of hiding it, they will eventually find it in their stuff thus looking like an a-hole. The problem with this plan is that your roomie could always just get up and change the channel by hand. However, you can always use the remote when your roomie is in the room, but not looking at what you are doing. All you have to do is change one channel and then tell your roomie that they are probably sitting on the remote. Then you get to watch them frantically search for the remote for a few minutes.

Even though this has a potential to be a good plan, you should always, always, always try to talk it out first. This can save a lot of time spent in retaliation and escalation. You don't want to wake up one morning without an eyebrow wishing that you had talked about the TV thing.

Why Ramen Noodles are the Shiz

Ramen noodles are definitely one of my top picks for fast and easy food. All you need is a microwave and something to stir with (i do not recommend using your finger-Hot!). They take a whole three minutes to cook, and a little bit longer to cool off. They come in various flavors, none of which have ever disappointed me personally. They are one of the best culinary combinations, noodles and soup. I love the plain chicken because it's a lot like chicken noodle soup. If you don't like the flavoring then just scrape off some, that will make it a little bit more diluted. I like to have some as a late night snack. As a warning though, it is very hot. Last time i had some i burnt off some of my tastebuds. Even though I do love ramen noodles, they really have very little nutritional value, this means they have saturated fat and carbs. Also they have 290 calories. On the other hand though they have 7g of protein. you have to decide if teh calories are worth the taste. i personally think it is!!!

The Importance of Bulk Buying

Depending on how large ones dorm room is, meaning do you have storage space, buying in bulk can be a god send. In my dorm room, I have lots of overhead storage space. This is very beneficial because it allows me to purchase large amounts of items from stores. This is only for non-perishable items, do not buy fruit or milk in bulk! When buying in bulk, one should always make sure the expiration dates are far off, because there is no point in buying a case of chef boyardee that is going to expire in a week. While buying food in bulk is nice, it can be a little uneccesary. I think that it is smart to buy no more than four of one type of food at a time. For example, if you are going to buy ramen noodles, only by four containers, if you are going to buy easy mac only buy a four pack, etc. This is because food does spoil, even if it wont be for a while. I personally tend to buy things like cleaning supplies or kleenex in bulk. This is becasue it is easily stored, and you dont have to worry about a box of kleenex getting broken open and causing a mess. The reason that it is nice to buy in bulk is that one might not always know the next time that they are going to be able to get to the store but some people just dont know when they should stop buying in bulk. The rule of thumb for food is that you should shop for the next two weeks but not for the next month. Bulk buying can really come in handy.

Mysterious Bug Bites

One of the things that is soooo awful about dorms is that every now and then one might wake up with mysterious bites. I currently have three on my foot, and several more on the back of my neck, all of which itch. Whether or not these bite like bumps are from bugs is up for debate. Theres just something about living in a new place where the population is predominately made up of people that are teenagers. This along with the fact that how many other people have lived in my dorm room and slept in my bed before me, can contribute greatly to the feeling of dirtiness. This is not true for all dorms, i am sure, but for mine it is. However, one other problem is that i also live in an air-conditioning free dorm. That really sucked like three weeks ago, but now that it has gotten colder outside it is a lot nicer. The reason i mention the air-conditioning is that it means that we have to leave the windows open 24/7. I have a theory that bugs are getting through the poorly fitted screens. My bed is right next to the window which explains why my room mate does not have any bite marks. I really hope they are from mosquitos, becasue i dont want bed bugs. In the mean time, though, i think i might wash my sheets, just in case.

The Basement Monster!!!

Ever since I was a little kid, I have always run up the last few steps on my way out of the basement as if I was chased by some creature. I always assumed that this was just some childhood phase. The other day I was walking in one of the creepy hallways in my dorm's basement with one of my friends from my floor, lets call her magnificent dee. All of a sudden there was a noise that sounded like something between a lions roar, an elephants roar, and pipes that haven't been used for a while and are really squeaky. While I'm sure that there was a reasonable explanation for the creepy noise, my first thought was of the basement monster. We all know about the basement monster, all basements come equipped with one. It is the reason that we run up the stairs whenever leaving almost any basement. Well, i was not by the stairs when this noise went off, so, i started running. this made magnificent dee start to run. So then we wound up screaming and darting into the laundry room looking like creepers, because of course there were people in there. The moral of this anecdote is that even though one might leave home in order to go to college, you don't leave the person you were behind. I would run from the basement monster at home and now i run from the basement monster at school.

Nutri-Grain Bars- the Ideal On the Go Breakfast

I know that I am not alone in the fact that I sometimes don't always have time for breakfast. The problem is that I am one of those people who HAVE to have breakfast. There are three basic flavors that I keep drifting back to: blueberry, cinnamon apple, and cherry. I think blueberry is the best out of those three mainly because the apple is too dull from the cinnamon and the cherry can be too sour for a breakfast bar. They're great because they're small and in a wrapper so you can eat one at any time. The only real downside about Nutri-Grain bars is that they really aren't that nutritious. They do not have as much fiber as one might think. For me, living in a dorm means that one has to sacrifice a certain amount of nutrition. One of the things sacrificed is fiber. Whenever I eat a Nutri-Grain bar I always do so under the assumption that I'm getting a lot of fiber. NOT TRUE. While they may not be good for you, they are not neccessarily bad for you. Plus they taste pretty good and they fill you up so that your stomach does not start growling in the middle of class.

And God Said Let There Be Easy Mac!

Easy Mac is gods gift to the college student. It takes around three and a half minutes to make and on top of that its pretty good. I personally go for the original because I'm an original type of gal, but whatever floats your boat. When buying easy mac for a college dorm room, one should factor in the size of the space available for food storage. If there is a decent amount of space in the room, then one should go for the cups because its an easy clean up, but if there is minimal space then one should go for the box. I prefer the cups because all of the work is done for you. Easy Mac is great because one can eat it between classes when one only has a half hour or even ten minutes. Another thing amazing about Easy Mac is that it has 6 g of protein and only 220 calories per serving. This means that one can avoid the freshman fifteen for a little while ( i say a while because it will eventually get us all). Buy Easy Mac, it's compact, easy -as the name might suggest, and it's pretty damn tasty to boot.

Tiny dorm Living is a basic guide for living in a dorm and small things that one can do in order to decorate, but not damage one's room. Dorm rooms can range from tiny to moderately small in size, and sometimes it can be difficult to figure out how to maximize one's space. The intent of Tiny Dorm Living is to help the novice dorm tenant to adjust to their new environment. When I first arrived in my dorm room, I actually thought that it was a very big room, however, my roommate also had not arrived yet. After my roommate moved in, it was a little different. I currently live in a dorm and am constantly coming up with ways to improve it. I feel that from time to time it can be a little overwhelming, and that one might not always be able to think up the best way to organize one's room. That is where Tiny Dorm Living comes in. It is meant to be the guide which I never had. It is true that anyone can live in a dorm, it does not take much, but it is a little bit more challenging to make a dorm room home.