College Being

There’s no denying that dorm rooms are tiny. It’s sort of amazing that they can manage to fit two of everything (bed, desk, armoire, etc.) into those postage-stamp sized spaces, and the fact that you want to add more furniture seems crazy. And yet, how can you be expected to live without a mini-fridge, microwave, beanbag chair, and all the decorations that will make your dorm a home-away-from-home?

If you want to personalize your space but you simply can’t seem to find the room, don’t despair just yet. There are all kinds of ways to maximize your space and create the cozy, comfortable dorm room that will meet all your needs (both functional and aesthetic). Here are just a few tips to help you get cracking.

1. Dual-purpose furniture

Your room comes standard with two XL twin beds, but you want a couch, as well. Don’t blow your money on a piece of furniture that will never fit in your space; instead make the beds do double duty. With a durable coverlet and a mountain of pillows, you can easily turn your bed into a bench when company comes around. Then simply pile the pillows underneath the bed while you sleep. A clutter free desk can also double as seating if you throw your laptop in a drawer and place a padded bedroll on the desktop (as a bonus, it rolls into a small package when not in use).

2. Get proper storage

If you have a closet so full of clothes that it’s overflowing, consider a vacuum sealer. You’ll get bags for clothes you don’t use often (seasonal items and fancy dress clothes) that attach to a small vacuum device. When all the air is sucked out of the bags, your clothing will take up a fraction of the space it did before, leaving you more room to store the items you want out of the way. Click to continue reading…

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If you’re in college right now, chances are that you are broke or you are as close to the red as possible. While many websites will offer tips on saving money or budgeting your funds or whatever, we all know that doing something as responsible as saving is beyond the capacity of our as-yet-developing university selves. So instead of giving you some budget tips, I’ll give you some tried-and-true make-some-extra-cash-quick schemes that served me well during my undergraduate days. I’ll leave out the failed ones and present only those that worked. Voila:

1. Sell your textbooks before the semester is over.

Okay, your parents would kill me for even suggesting this, but this idea is not as crazy as it sounds. I’m not sure about you, but I took plenty of courses in which the “required” textbooks were not even once referenced or used. So if you were the dupe who bought that hundred dollar book that never gets cracked open, do yourself a favor and sell that sucker on Amazon.

2. Do a good deed and sell some plasma.

Of course, I’m a huge proponent of donating blood, and one should help out the Red Cross or blood bank as often as possible, as well as participating in other altruistic endeavors. But the great thing about plasma banks is that you get paid for doing a service for your brethren in need. Win on both accounts. Click to continue reading…

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