BYU Dorm Room Hacks

Before I left for college, my parents told me there was no way I would fit everything I brought in my dorm. Oh how wrong they were. They left me alone at college for eight months and returned to find my roommate and I had a California King bed, a family breakfast table, a mini trampoline, obscene amounts of clothing and an experimental black hole (we did it for science) all contained in a standard college dorm room. How did we accomplish such a feat of engineering? Allow me to explain in three easy steps!

1.) The beds at BYU have lifts underneath them attached with zip ties. Use them.

2.)  My roommate and I pushed our beds together. Thus, Megabed was born. Thus, the black hole (read: storage) underneath Megabed was born.

3.) That's pretty much it. Now you just have literally half your dorm room to fill with whatever you want. I recommend a mini trampoline and several storage ottomans that double as seating. You are officially the party dorm.

Other Nifty Tricks and Tips

~ Black out curtains add color and make napping easy. 

~ The three by two shelving units you can buy at Target are exactly the length of the foot of your bed. The extra bins you can buy are really helpful if you own excessive amounts of clothing. 

~ You don't need to buy things full price. Our table is from a consignment store and I restored a thrifted mirror by covering the frame with fabric (Mod Podge works as glue). 

~ Use the overhead ledge as a place to put storage bins. 

~ You can totally fit a shoe rack under your bed if you lift it. Or you could fit a unicycle, guitar, croquet set, yoga mat, air popper, waffle maker, pancake griddle, pots and pans, sleds, first aid..... well, let's not get into what was under Megabed. 

~ Get a printer if you can. The printers at the Y are perpetually broken. 

~ If you have good speakers and glow sticks, you have a dorm room rave

~ You can buy flowers on your meal plan at the creamery. They make your room much more pleasant.

~ Decorating your dorm for holidays is fun. Buying a full sized Christmas tree is a fire hazard. Or so I've been told.

~ Pumpkins are also a fire hazard. Everything is a fire hazard at BYU.

~ Covering more than 1/3 of the front of your door is a fire hazard. Where did this rule even come from?!

~ You can put push pins in the cork by your desk and hang necklaces. Or you could pin pictures there.
~ Getting a candy dish will ensure you have plenty of visitors. My roommate and I call it a "hospitality bowl" 

~ Having a white board hanging on your door is fun because hall-mates will write on it. 

And there you have it! You spend a lot of time in your dorm, so making it home really makes a difference in your college experience. Just remember to never study in your dorm. You will inevitably end up on the trampoline.

Every time.