Now that you are on your own, you need to start taking control of how you keep your space. You likely will have roommates and you want to respect their living space too. The good news is your first space on your own is not going to be huge and you can start good habits in a small space. One thing you can do everyday is make your bed!  This will give you a sense of accomplishment, go a long way to keep your roommate happy, and will get you halfway to a clean room. It does not need to be complicated, just pull up your sheets and blankets, evenly arrange them on your bed and then place your pillows on your bed along with decorative ones. If you time yourself I bet this will take 2 to 3 minutes max. 

Ideally, you and your roommate will set a weekly time to clean your room. If alone, put on music, a podcast or a show to help entertain you. I love to clean on a Thursday to have everything fresh for the weekend. Doing your laundry while you are clean your room will mean your laundry bin is empty too. Also a good day to wash and change your sheets. Here are the supplies you need to clean up your room and how to use them. 

1. Lint Roller – Use the lint roller on your floors, your rugs and any decorative fabric you do not wash. These are good to use in between vacuuming as well. This is a good substitute for a broom and dust pan.

2. Multi Surface Wipes – These can clean your furniture, glass and screens. Move items off your desk to wipe the entire space down. Move items from your shelves to wipe down that area.

3. Disinfectant Wipes – Use these to wipe down high touch areas and if your floor is some sort of stone you can use these to wipe the floor down that is exposed. Wipe down your fridge inside and out to kill any bacteria from food. Remove any food that has expired in a trash can not in your room.

4. Vacuum – Your dorm may have one so check before you buy one since space is so limited. If you do need one, I like the slim standing ones that can tuck under your bed or be in the back of your closet. You can vacuum your rug and any hard surfaces.

5. Trash Can – Take out the trash on cleaning day and probably one or two other days a week too. Never throw away take-out empty containers in your room trash can, remove those when you are done eating.

6. Folder File – This will help you organize any papers you have. These could be personal or school related. When you clean your room, straighten up your desk and put papers together.

7. Paper Towels – Always have some in your room to wipe up any spills or dry off anything that should not be wet. When you wipe up a spill be sure to pick up the items where it is wet. You want to make sure you get the spill that went under something too.