There are those people that absolutely dread spring cleaning. And then there are people that get excited from the idea of deep cleaning (no idea who these people are). Spring cleaning can be super daunting. As a college student, you will absolutely want to delay dorm room cleaning as much as you can. However, the ultimate satisfaction that comes from your space smelling and looking fantastic is well worth the effort.
This is the time when it has been long enough since you REALLY cleaned your living space. You have gathered multiple things over the year that are cluttered because they don’t have a designated space. You are probably ready to purge some things that you just don’t use anymore.
My desk and my backpack are FULL of piles and piles of papers that are so disorganized. It just feels like the right time to get it all in order with finals just lurking around the corner in about a month.
Although you might be good at keeping most of your dorm organized most of the time, this is the time to really get into the nooks and crannies to really deep clean your dorm room.
Luckily, dorms are small spaces, thus you can hash out all the dorm room cleaning in under 1-2 hours (Even if you clean each and every corner of your dorm thoroughly).
I have laid out all the steps in chronological order. This will ensure that all the cleaning and organizing is done in a logical order to avoid repeating any tasks. You don’t want to vacuum first, then remember to do the dusting. Doesn’t make much sense right?
Many of the mind-blowing cleaning hacks that I have learned have been from following Gocleanco. Go follow them on Instagram!
What You Will Need:
The disinfectant wipes are optional, but still convenient to have. If you have a carpet, the mop is optional. A handheld vacuum in a dorm room is a godsend (and super cheap) regardless of whether you have carpet or hardwood floors in your dorm.
1. Declutter and Purge
You first have to sort through all your stuff and see if there are any things that you are willing to part with. This means any extra papers, ragged clothes, any knick nacks, the possibilities are endless. You know best what you need to get rid of.
The second category of items you will separate out is anything that you don’t use but would like to keep. You can take these items back home with you. They don’t need to be taking up the limited dorm room space.
The second category also includes the winter clothes you plan to take home (or put away in storage place or your under-the-bed deep storage) to be replaced with your spring/summer clothes.
2. Do a Big Laundry
Do a couple of loads of laundry with EVERYTHING that needs to be washed:
- Dirty Clothes
- Jacket/Hoodies that haven’t been washed in a while
- bedsheets, pillow covers, comforter
- throw blankets
- All towels (hand towels, face towels, body towel)
- Anything else that can be laundered but hasn’t been washed in a while
See if you can pick a weekday when most laundries are empty. Start all your loads at the same time. While your laundry completes, you can probably hash out steps 3, 4, and 5.
3. Deep Clean Your Dorm Fridge
First, take everything out of the fridge and go through it. Throw away anything that’s past its expiry date or has gone bad.
This is the time to go through the condiments and throw away anything that’s gone bad.
Once everything is out, spray the whole inside of the fridge with the multi-purpose cleaner and wipe it down with a microfiber cloth.
4. Clean Out Your Backpack and Desk Papers
Empty out your entire backpack. You will surely find a tone of crap in there that just needs to be thrown out.
The next step is to go through the loose papers and put them in respective folders/files. Now, do the same for any loose papers on your desk. (Depending on how much you have gathered, this probably might be the most time-consuming out of everything on this list).
The last step is to wipe down the inside of the backpack with a disinfectant wipe before you reorganize it.
5. Clean All Surfaces
Now that you have thrown away everything you need to throw away, the next step is to dust all the surfaces in your dorm. To dust, use dry microfiber cloths. Microfiber cloths actually trap most of the dust instead of just moving it from one place to another. Dust outward so that any dust not trapped by the cloth falls on the floor.
Once everything is dusted, repeat cleaning all the surfaces with a new microfiber cloth sprayed with the multipurpose spray. The reason for the repeated cleaning is that if you go in with a wet cloth on a surface with dust, the dust clumps tend to remain on some surfaces.
6. Clean The Sink (skip if you don’t have a sink)
Your sink won’t necessarily require any deep cleaning. It should be cleaned the way you regularly clean it.
Just lather up the entire sink and the tap with multi-purpose cleaner and wipe it down with paper towels. Clean the mirror with a separate paper towel.
7. Vacuuming/Mopping
Now that all the surfaces and items in your dorm are absolutely clean, the floor is the last remaining thorn.
If you have a carpet in your dorm, your work is pretty easy; it just needs to be vacuumed. However, since this is spring deep cleaning, I HIGHLY recommend getting a carpet lint remover like the one shown below.
You will be blown by how much hair is trapped in that carpet. The satisfying feeling from getting rid of all that hair is just invaluable. (Seriously, just look at the customer review images under this product. The amount of hair is shocking!!)
Side note: Vacuums are actually super cheap nowadays. You can get a good one for around $25 (check out this one) and a really good one for around $50 (check out this one).
If you have a hardwood floor in your dorm, go ahead and vacuum the whole floor and mop it. If you don’t have a floor cleaner solution, just mix in some multi-purpose cleaner with the water. It works just as well. Keep a microfiber cloth sprayed with the multi-purpose cleaner to get to the nooks and crannies.
Now, you are very close to being done with the dorm room cleaning process… just a few t’s to cross and i’s to dot.
8. The Finishing Touches
Now, make sure everything is in its proper place. Put on the newly washed sheets and make your bed. Spray the room with a nice air freshener or just use a plugin. You are good to go now.
Dorm room cleaning isn’t the most fun, but the increased productivity from working in a clean environment is well worth it.