With fall move-in day coming up, it’s time to start thinking about what you may want in your dorm room. Although buying things from Target, Bed Bath and Beyond and Walmart would be simpler, building things with your own two hands is always a satisfying feeling.
Below are four simple and helpful DIY ideas that can be used in a dorm or just your room at home. You can easily turn a boring dorm into something creative and useful.
This first idea is called a study box. This 12″ x 12″ x 2.5″ paper box can be found at your local craft store and comes in various designs and patterns. You want to choose a box that is sturdy because it is most likely you will get a lot of use out of this.
What goes in the box is up to you and based on what you need! The box shown from showmehowto.net below can be a basic outline of what you might need. Underneath the top side of the box contains a mini calendar that you can print out online and a mini piece of a pin board that you can thumb tack receipts or important reminders to. Inside the box contains various tools you might need such as a calculator, rubber bands, pens/pencils, note cards, paper, tape, scissors and whatever else you need. A study box is extremely helpful for staying organized in college. Keeping everything you need in one location also saves you a lot of time and space.
This second colorful idea will surely bring out the creativity in anyone. A washi-tape pin board, like the one shown below from hercampus.com, not only looks great in a boring dorm but can also keep you organized.
Washi-tape comes in hundreds of different colors and patterns. It can be found at any local craft store and costs no more than $8 for about five different colors. To create this pin board, all that is needed is a pin board of your choosing, washi-tape, and scissors. Optional materials include regular tape to help you make different designs. Many different designs and patterns can be made on these boards. You can even make these with your friends or roommates and share ideas. These pin boards can be used to pin important reminders, pictures, or papers that need saving. This is a super fun way to stay organized.
The third idea is sure to make a lot of college students’ lives easier. Laundry in college is one of the biggest complaints and pains of students. Why not make your laundry more organized and look better? This DIY pillowcase laundry bag shown below from shanty2chic.org can be customized to your style and can even be customized on how big you want your laundry bag to be. All that is needed to start this project is an embroidery hoop, a large and colorful pillowcase, a needle and thread, and a piece of string.
Sew the ends of the pillow case onto the inside of the embroidery hoop to attach it. You can also line the hoop with super glue or you can use a staple gun to ensure that it won’t break. Then, sew a looped string onto one side of the hoop so that you can hang the laundry bag anywhere.
This fourth DIY dorm idea will allow you to save time, space, and a headache. A DIY shoebox charging station such as the one shown from unclutter.com is a fun and creative way to organize the many wires to your electronics.
The materials you will need will be power strip, a ribbon box, and various colored paper. This DIY idea is as simple as putting the power strip into the ribbon box and lining up your various cords into the holes and plugged into the power strip. You can dress this box up with colorful paper and you can also use the paper to label the different holes to make sure you are grabbing the right cord. By putting the lid on the ribbon box you can easily hide all the cords and save tons of space.
