My mother might say I’m the last person that should give organizational advice (given the state of my bedroom at home, etc.), but if I can find the time to put a couple of these tips into practice, so can you! Your roommate will thank you for it, I promise.
These clutter-clearing ideas are cheap. College budget cheap. If you put these tips into action, I’d guess you wouldn’t spend more than $20 total.
Here are five great ways to organize your time, your desk and your dorm room:
Use your word-processing program or Google to print a free calendar and/or planner
If you print double sided pages and shrink page sizes down through CCI printing, you’ll be spending less that buying a calendar or planner from Staples. I usually Google “12-month calendar for xxxx year” and several options will pop up. If you print double-sided calendar pages, the whole thing will only cost you 60 cents through school printing!
Use your old cereal boxes for filing papers, magazines, newspapers, and class folders on your desk
This tip requires a little bit of crafting, but don’t worry! I found several links for different types of storage that can be made out of cereal boxes. There are the basic cut-out magazine holders. Then you can get a bit craftier with paper storage trays here. And, as always, if you are truly adventurous, Pinterest won’t let you down on the cereal box crafting front.
(From Living Rich with Coupons)
There’s a (free) app for that!
Do you have trouble keeping up with to-do lists and shopping lists? Try Evernote, a free website that allows you to create “notebooks” to organize lists, recipes and reminders. Evernote also offers a mobile option so you can take your lists with you on the go. Also, if you have an iPhone, Apple has a native app called Reminders that can remind you to complete tasks at a certain time or location. Neat and easy to set up, Reminders is great for creating checklists.
Clean up your closet with a shoe organizer and a couple of clothes hangers
A shoe organizer is a great tool for storing anything- not just shoes or clothes. These usually run about $10-15 and provide a great way to store things that tend to clutter desk and dresser tops. You can use some pockets for shoes, some for belts and jewelry, some for office supplies and some for snacks. Clothes hangers are another great way to organize accessories like belts and scarves.
(From Target)
Use glass jars to store office supplies on your desk
You can use jars from used salsa containers, that strangely-shaped Tupperware container that doesn’t fit in your mini-fridge, or even those plastic cups student organizations hand out at information fairs. Use jars and cups for pens, highlighters, paperclips, keys and whatever else is cluttering your table-tops.
Like what you see? Have a great idea I should consider? Leave a comment below or tweet at @PitTalk.
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