At university, whether you’re living in halls or private accommodation, your room can feel temporary and impersonal. Below are some useful tips to help you feel more at home and organised.
- Classic Fairy Lights: An obvious choice, some might say, but fairy lights are an inexpensive way of changing the lighting in your room, and sometimes they can even make your space a bit magical! They can easily outline a notice board or your photos on a wall. You can find them on the high street in places like Poundland, or check around in some charity shops. Alternatively, you can order them online from places like Amazon or John Lewis.
- Photos of loved ones, home and animal friends: No matter where you’re from, it can get lonely at university. Whether you miss your friends, family or pets, having pictures of those you love and miss can help you remember why you came to university! In my experience, printing photos from Boots has been cheap, quick and easy, but you can also print them online from places like FreePrints and PhotoBox.
- Storage Boxes: It’s important to remain organised at university, otherwise your belongings, books and notes can get muddled! I found folding clothes or accessories into a fabric box made my room look neater, but using patterned or block-coloured box can also add a pop of brightness to your room.
- Potted Plants: One particular friend of mine has a cute little collection of cacti, and I love them. Their splash of green in a room can be relaxing, they make the aesthetic vibe much nicer, plus, they can remove toxins from the air! What’s more, you can never have too many.
- Colourful Containers: Another opportunity for stylish organisation, bright pots and containers are a great place to hold your pens and stationery whilst demonstrating your personality to your guests!
- Put Down a Rug: This adds structure to a space, by tying all your furniture together. It softens footfall, adds warmth to your room and texture to your floor. Sometimes it just takes that extra addition to make your room feel more like home.
- Your own shower curtain: In my experience, some of the shower curtains in halls have not been very nice! They can keep moisture that makes them smell, so having your own shower curtain can not only add a personal touch to your bathroom but also keep it fresh from smelly odours.
- Hide your Cables and Cords: Messy chargers and leads can really clutter a space, so I advise hiding them. You can do this by tucking them neatly in a hanging wire basket or binding them up and placing them in a box on the floor out of sight.
- Make it Comfy with Pillows & Blankets: Pillows and blankets can go nearly anywhere, from the floor to a sofa to a bed. A once empty chair can become inviting in a short space of time by simply adding a comfy cushion or a cosy blanket! You can find them in Ikea, Debenhams or Matalan.
- Keep it Clean! Fresh bed sheets, towels and clothes are a really important part of leading a healthy lifestyle. Clean up after yourself in general and you’re very likely to feel better about yourself, plus, your room will look 100 times better.