How to Keep Your Dorm Room Clean (Without Annoying Your Roommate)

Two of the biggest problems most dorm dwellers deal with are clutter and odors.

Let's assume, for the time being, you are your dorm room's only keeper. This probably means your room is even smaller than 230 square feet, but it also simplifies things tremendously.

Standard cleaning tasks don't change. To keep your space clean, vacuum and dust every one or two weeks. Clean up spills immediately. Wash your linens once a week. If you have a microwave and mini-fridge, wipe them down with disinfecting cloths regularly, and dump old food from the fridge as soon as you know you won't be eating it.

Here's where tasks start to change: Unless you want your room to smell like whatever you won't be eating, don't throw that food into your little trash can.

Smells can quickly become overwhelming in a small space. To avoid this pitfall, you likely need to alter your habits a little:

If the room still smells after all that, or you just can't drag yourself outside for that cigarette, try an air freshener or deodorizing spray. Not everyone likes the scent of these products, but they probably smell better than nicotine and sweat.

Now, onto the clutter.

Two things are going to get you most of the way to a tidy dorm room: organization skills and smart storage choices. Together, they pretty much mean that almost all your stuff is tucked away, and it's tucked away logically. Throwing all your junk in the closet and pushing the door shut doesn't count.

Once you see your dorm room, make a plan. The objectives here are twofold: Keeping it out of sight, and organizing it logically to make it easy as possible to keep it that way.

Start by dividing what you own into categories, and then assess the volume of your stuff and the storage options in your room. Next, determine the best containment strategies.

Study stuff: Is the desk a table, or are there drawers and shelves, too? If there aren't, or if the drawers and shelves aren't enough, invest in a file box, a desktop organizer, and a set of stacking drawers you can fit right next to or underneath the desk. A shelf over the desk can hold textbooks, computer peripherals and other larger items.

Apparel: You probably have a closet and a dresser. If your stuff doesn't fit, try an over-the-door hanging shoe rack, closet organizers with extra shelving, and over-the-door hooks for jackets, scarves and hats. Shallow under-bed boxes are lifesavers, too, especially for bulky winter sweaters.

Bed and bath belongings: Put all of your bathing supplies in a shower caddy, any makeup in a makeup bag or box, and designate a spot for them. Stacking drawers, a wall shelf, or a crate can hold these neatly.

Whenever possible, go double-duty and/or off-the-floor. Anything you can attach to a wall, hang from a ceiling or use for multiple purposes are space savers. Stacking crates and trunks can double as tables and seating, and a light you can hang from the ceiling frees up surface space for jewelry boxes, tissues and other miscellaneous items.

Once you've got the means to tuck everything neatly away where you can easily find it and return it, all that's left is actually using the system – all the time, every day. If you don't take the two seconds to put your books back on the shelf, you might as well have no system at all.

Now, the harder part: You're probably not your dorm room's only keeper.

My roommate saw me as a spoiled, lazy slob. I know this because she told me. This was likely her first mistake.

How you go about confronting the cleaning conflict makes all the difference in the world, and it starts with realistic expectations. First, your roommate's 115 square feet (10.6 square meters) is beyond your scope. Focus on the habits that affect your 115 square feet, like throwing stuff on the floor, producing odors and leaving exploded pasta in the microwave indefinitely.

Second, a messy person is not going to suddenly become a clean freak, so your aim here is change, not revolution. Even inspiring change may prove a struggle, but there are ways to both increase and decrease your odds of success.

If you want to live in a constant state of tension (and probably little change in housekeeping habits) try these fun activities:

If want to live in a cleaner space with someone who still talks to you, do this instead:

Hopefully, your roommate is someone who knows how to compromise and cares about other people's needs. If so, you may be able to get a little bit closer to the tiny dorm room of your dreams.

If not, chalk it up to character-building, get the heck out in May, and room with someone more like yourself next year. A "clean type."

Or, do what I did and beg for a single. Crying can help. Just don't overdo it.