Love Your Dorm

Sept 30th, 2021

It’s that time of year again and everyone is moving back, or to, their university towns! One thing I knew going in first year was that I wanted a cute room, and I think I was pretty successful. My room (pictured above) had picture frames, candles, string lights, a little shag carpet, you name it! I even got matching lamps with my first initial and my roommates first initial, S and V. It was adorable.

Moving in on your own can be a little bit intimidating, even if you’re not in first year, but you’re moving into a new house or apartment this year. It’s important to make sure that your bedroom (at the least) is a space that you feel most comfortable in. That being said, it’s important to make sure you aren’t splurging on decretive items, they might not be the most important expense you have at the moment. So I’m going to give you guys a few tips and tricks on how to save money while decorating your room, as well as a few suggestions of things that you might want to put in your room, but won’t break the bank!

1. Think long term!

For starters, if you haven’t started decorating your dorm yet, try to plan long term! You don’t have to throw out your dorm decor when you move out of residence and into a house or apartment. A lot of things that I started off with in my first year dorm are sitting right in my room as I start my fourth year. This is a great tactic because you don’t need to buy new things for your room every year that you move! You can just bring the decor you already have for $0, and if you feel like you can afford it, you can always treat yourself to something new in a new school year!

2. Pick your aesthetic!

This is an important step to think about. This can save you tons of money in the long-run so it might be a good idea to make sure you get decorations for your room that you will like for several years. If you look back to the photo of my dorm, on the shelf on the right hand side are all of the decorations I bought going into my first year. Now being a fourth year student, every single one of those items is in my room in my student house. This is key. If you can pick decor that has neutral tones and colours, you'll be able to style it in your room anywhere you might be living for years to come!

3. Utilize school resources!

I might only be helping our students at Western here, but every year our university has a poster fair on for a week. This usually happens around the third or fourth week of school. If you don't go to Western and this happens at your university or college as well, then take notes! This fair has every sort of poster for any type of style or aesthetic. To make it even better, they're also very inexpensive. This is a great and affordable way for students to add a little bit of spice to their rooms! Highly recommend!

4. Shop on Amazon!

I'm not sure if this one is obvious or not, but I remember being in first year and barely touching Amazon, or any sort of online shopping for that matter. Now anytime I need something, for my house or my room, I ALWAYS check Amazon before going to the store. Amazon has absolutely everything you could think of, and I am not exaggerating one bit. On top of that, you can usually find things you need for very very cheap on Amazon. I suggest checking it out to see if they stock anything you need before hitting the mall.

All in all, I think these 4 tips and tricks are definitely suggestions that can help you save money and keep your life as stress free as possible! Thanks for checking out Good Student Review, I hope you found the first blog post helpful!

-Sam