You made it to college: yay!! You and your family set up a cool dorm: yay!! Now it’s your job to maintain it: Ya–wait what?
The beginning of freshman year is about acclimating to your independent college lifestyle. It is during this time that you realize there’s no one who’s going to do your laundry, stock the fridge, and clean the toilets. You find a newfound appreciation for your mom and miss the way she made your bed– how the hell do I make hospital corners???
But in all seriousness, cleaning and organization are one of the first major learning curves of living independently. When you take care of yourself, you set yourself up for success: academically, emotionally and in your relationships. Taking care of yourself starts with a clean and organized space. But it can be overwhelming to think about all the tasks at once. So we broke it down into a little guide.
Think of cleaning tasks like different friends. Some friends you see every day, and some friends you only need to hang out with once a week. They’re all important pieces of your life but they occupy different roles.
Daily Tasks: Your Ride or Die
Your daily tasks are like a best friend you see every single day: they’re relatively low maintenance and they help you function.
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Morning Sunshine– A couple things before you run out the door
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Make your bed - It seems silly but if your bed takes up half of your room then making your bed = cleaning half the room!
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Do your dishes as you use them - These dishes are too cute to let leftover eggs congeal on them!!
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Bedtime- Lay your weary head to rest knowing that you’re not going to wake up to a mess.
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Hang up your clothes!!!– It’ll take 3 minutes to put the dirty clothes in the hamper and rehang the jackets and jeans that don’t need to be washed. Don’t wait until you’ve accumulated a mound of maybe-clean clothes on your desk chair.
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Five minute rule: Spend 5 minutes tidying up your space in ways that’ll make your life better tomorrow– Is the Britta full? The Keurig cleaned? Did you wipe up that sticky spill on the counter?
Weekly Tasks: Your Core Friend Group
It’d be too much to see everyone everyday but y’all can get together on Fridays and it’ll make your whole week better.
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Bathroom Reset
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Clean the counters. Wipe down the mirror. Scrub the toilet!! Throw the towels in the hamper and swap them out for some fresh ones.
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Laundry Day!
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You knew this one was coming! Wash the week off. Don’t let your gym clothes get moldy at the back of your closet.
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Check out our laundry tutorial for specific information!
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Look at the floor
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Sweep or Vacuum. Simple as that.
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Change your sheets
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“But they’re not even–” Yes. Yes they are. Don’t make me get a blacklight.
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Always have an extra set of sheets so you can swap them out quickly if you need/want to change them before laundry day!
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Take out the trash
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Even if it’s not full. Get in the habit of doing it once a week (at least) so as to avoid nasty smells.
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Check your Food - The only thing this fridge doesn’t do is clean itself.
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Go through the fridge and throw away anything that’s gone off.
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Move the food that’s nearing it’s expiration to the front where you can see it.
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Make a list & go grocery shopping
Pick any reset day that works with your schedule. A lot of people choose Sunday evening but the laundry machines and grocery stores are wayyyyy less crowded mid-week.
Periodic Tasks: That one person you run into when you’re out
Oh yeah! Jessica. Or uh-I mean Jasmine..? Jeannie?
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Deep clean the bathroom - Scrub the shower and the floors. Take down the shower curtain, wash it & replace the shower liner. Don’t forget: shower caddies need cleaning too.
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Check expiration dates - Skincare, food, spices, makeup, cleaning products. Yes! They expire too.
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Rotate your wardrobe- When things are out of season, store them under the bed to maximize your space!
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Get the heard-to-reach - Behind the furniture, under the couch, clean the windowsill, etc etc etc.
You may forget these tasks even exist sometimes so try to set a monthly or bi-monthly reminder to refresh your memory.
Okay priorities in order? Reminders set? Laundry day chosen? You got this!