Refreshing Your Dorm Room for Spring

Dorm life is exciting—as a college student it’s likely the first time you’ve lived on your own. But, there can certainly be pitfalls such as cramped space, noisy neighbors and those oh, so fun fluorescent lights.

Your dorm room is your home, but also your workspace, so you want to make sure it is equal parts comfort and productive. Thankfully there are all sorts of interior design inspiration, inexpensive decorations, and small dorm room ideas to help you create a homey space that you’ll love living in. Here are our best dorm room decorating ideas that can help you reinvent your dorm room this spring, all while sticking to a budget.

Adding Plants

Bringing plants into a space adds color and freshness. It’s one of the easiest ways to liven up the space and one of our favorite college dorm room ideas to upgrade your living area. As an added bonus countless studies support the thought that adding plants to a space increases air quality and improves productivity .

House plants have been proven to improve concentration and productivity by up to 15% and might even help reduce stress levels. Plus, greenery helps people feel relaxed and calm, which can be beneficial after a rough day of classes. your everyday mood.

Caring for plants can be rewarding, especially when you see them bloom and thrive. If you don’t think you have a green thumb, think again. There are plenty of plants that will thrive in an indoor setting. Many plants are reasonably priced and are easy to care for. Succulents, spider plants, or ivy are all fairly easy to take care of and are great options to get your indoor garden started.

Taking Spring Cleaning to Heart

It’s spring, so get cleaning! Take this opportunity to organize and declutter your dorm room. If there’s anything you don’t need, now’s the time to donate it, sell it, or toss it. Decluttering may have significant psychological benefits . Clutter can get in the way of your dorm being your retreat from your hectic class schedule and stress that can come with being a college student.

Organizing Your Space

If your bed is lofted, you can make use of the space under it with inexpensive shelving, drawers, or rolling carts, so you have easy access to your things, can easily see what you have, and can find everything when you need it. Make use of wall space by using Command hooks to hang things like towels, jackets, keys, or even headphones.

If it’s allowed at your school, you can hang a curtain over an open closet. Visually hiding the clothes, shoes, and other items that are stored there can go a long way in creating streamlined dorm room. And lastly, making your bed everyday can elevate the feel of your room. You’d be surprised how much more pulled together the room looks when the bed is made, even if there is organized chaos elsewhere.

After you’ve decluttered your space, consider devoting five to 10 minutes each day to maintain a clean room. It doesn’t take much time to straighten out your books, make your bed, and put away clothes, but the mess can spiral out of control easily if you don’t take the time to maintain the organization.

Upgrading Your Workspace

Your dorm room is part living space and part work space, so one of our dorm room setup ideas to improve your dorm room is to upgrade your work space so you’re productive and efficient.

Many dorm rooms have harsh overhead lighting. Now’s the time to upgrade to a more effective light, especially around your workspace. Poor lighting can cause eye strain and headaches, which can make getting your work done a struggle.

It’s common for prolonged computer use (like the six hours you spent hovering over your laptop writing your lab report) to cause digital eye strain , which can result in dry eyes, blurred vision, and neck and shoulder pain.

If you’ve already added a light to brighten your space to help prevent eye strain, to do even more, make sure you have a comfortable and supportive chair. You can try upgrading the dorm room desk chair with a removable cushion to upgrade your studying experience.

While you’re working, give your smartphone and tablet a designated home. Some studies have shown that smartphones can negatively impact productivity. By keeping your phone in a designated space while you work, you could be less distracted by a constant stream of notifications, and you can focus on your school work.

Adding Some Art

Your dorm room doesn’t have to look like the MOMA, but hanging a bit of art could help improve productivity and maybe even help reduce stress . Don’t think you have to drop a fortune on paintings. It’s easier than you think to create your own gallery-inspired art wall with prints and inexpensive frames.

Start by selecting a style of frame, that will create a visually streamlined look for the wall. Then select the prints you want to include in the gallery, there are plenty of stylish and fun prints online that will match your style and aesthetic.

Once you’ve got everything ordered, lay the frames (with the prints) out on the floor so you can get a visual of the layout before you fasten everything to the wall. Then use removable adhesive photo strips to hang the frames without damaging your dorm room walls.

If you’re less interested in a gallery art wall there are other creative options that will highlight your personal interests and style. You can create a photo collage to show off some of your favorite memories and remind you of your friends and family back home.

Or you could hang cork panels to create your own customized bulletin board. You can add photos or important deadlines for assignments to help keep you organized.

Creating an Oasis

As much as you’ll be working in your dorm room, it’s also your home while you’re at school. So you want it to be a welcoming and relaxing space you can enjoy in your down time. Make some DIY-votives to use when you’re ready to relax at the end of the night. These can be made easily with just a few supplies, including a glass jar and tissue paper. Plus, they can be designed to be used with battery-operated tea lights. So even if your school has a no-candle policy, you can still use these.

If you want to add a scent to the space, try an essential oil diffuser to create a fragrant atmosphere. Add peppermint and orange when you’re ready to focus, or lavender when you’re ready to wind down for the day.

Other spring bedroom ideas include adding some fresh spring flowers, or updating your bedding with blanket or accent pillow for a pop of color to brighten up the room.

Refinancing Your Student Loans with SoFi

Now you’re ready to upgrade your dorm room, without breaking the bank. Sticking to your budget is important, because if you’re like most college students , student loans are helping you finance your education.

While you’re in school you’re focusing on your studies, but after you graduate you’ll have to repay those student loans. So budgeting for that now could really help you in the future.

After you graduate, one option to consider is student loan refinancing, which could potentially offer you a lower interest rate, meaning you could spend less money in interest over the life of the loan (depending on the term you choose). But keep in mind that refinancing with a private lender means you’ll lose access to federal loan benefits. To see what refinancing could mean for your loans, take a look at SoFi’s student loan refinancing calculator.

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