Project Green Dorm

As students around the country move into their dorm rooms they are faced with what often feels like endless decisions on what they should buy and what they need. Price is often the most important factor in what everyone buys with most people believing the cheaper the better.

Project Green Dorm is an online guide that gives ideas and suggestions for what to buy. Although some of their suggestions can be expensive, the site offers great ideas that can be do-able on any budget. Project Green Dorm gives suggestions for bedroom, bath and body, closet (clothing and organization), active clothing and equipment, E-gadgets, cleaning supplies, study area, break time, and DIY.

Here are some quick things to remember as you shop and move in:

1. Avoid all objects that are intended to only last a year and then be thrown out.

2. Do everything you can to avoid plastic. Not only does it harm the environment in its creation and disposal, but it also breaks easily and looks tacky. Filling your room with plastic objects can make your room feel more like your storage unit than your home away from home.

3. Dorm rooms are tiny (some make prison cells look spacious). Consider if you really need something or not. I recommend packing all clothing, school supplies, bedding, and other items you know you for sure need, and buying things you are unsure about once you move in. Typically the last minute items for me include needing an extra storage device or container.

4. Bring things to put on your walls. Whether it’s pictures of friends or something that you kept in room at home, filling your white walls with visually interesting items that you enjoy can make a big difference in making your room feel like home instead of prison. I recommend wrapping paper, pictures, posters, fabric, or anything else you can blue tape or tack to the wall (if you do not have a bulletin board in your room you can easily buy the little squares and make your own).