Rebecca Van Maren, a residential adviser, is on duty during Spring Break. She’ll be spending her time getting caught up with cleaning projects rather than catching some sun.
Having a clean and organized room is a goal for a lot of students, but it gets pushed aside when schoolwork piles up. Weekends could be a good time for some deep cleaning, but they get filled with homework and socializing that’s missed out on during the week.
Marie Ricks, author of the book Project: Organization, offered the following tips and ideas for cleaning your room and keeping it organized for the rest of the semester.
Cleaning/organizing your room:
1. “Spring clean” out the room. This means get rid of 50 percent of your “stuff.”
2. Create a place for everything and put everything in its place.
3. Prepare the apartment to “order as you go.” This means that when you spring clean, you create specific “homes” for all the essentials so reordering your life is easier and faster after the cleaning is done.
4. Use the break to stock up on supplies and put them in their new place. You won’t need to stress about buying supplies throughout the rest of the semester and finding time to put them away.
Van Maren will be taking time to clean and hopes to keep her room clean for the rest of the semester. Likewise, other students can create a schedule, including some of the following, to maintain organization throughout the rest of the semester.
1. Pay bills once a month
2. Do laundry once a week
3. Meal preparation (have a rotating 14-day master menu)
4. Tidying the apartment once a day
5. Cleaning the apartment once a week
Alex Griffin, a sophmore in anthropology, said she should clean her room, but isn’t sure if it will actually happen.
“While you are spring cleaning, focus instead of fritter,” Ricks said in her book. “Work hard, work completely and work until you are finished.”
For more information, students can check out organizeyourworld.com or dormdelicious.com