The first few weeks living in the dorms are full of highs and lows. There are bonding moments with your roommates, and awkward moments in the community bathroom. There are instances of pure foodie bliss – like your first delivered Trolly Stop pizza – and then there’s ramen. While these hacks won’t make your twin xl bed any larger, or make your 8 a.m. lecture disappear, they will make life living in the dorms a little easier.
1). Tape your power strips to the wall - especially if you have a bunked bed.
There’s no greater disappointment than climbing into your top bunk after a long day of classes, ready to doze off to a game of Candy Crush, only to realize your phone battery is at 4%. You frantically look around, patting the sheets of your bed for your cord, before you look down in horror. There, on the ground, lies your iPhone charger. The cord has once again fallen from the elaborate wrap-and-tuck masterpiece you constructed last night. For the fourth time that week, you get out of bed, grab the cord, and stretch it back up to your mattress. The top bunk life is rough.
But it doesn’t have to be. With a simple power strip and some command strips, you too can have accessible charging from the comfort of your own mattress. Simply plug the power strip to the nearest outlet to your bed, and using the heavy-duty Velcro command trips, attach it to the wall as high as you can. Just make sure it’s not too close to the bedding, and you’ve got convenient charging!
2). Make a printable wall mural
Posters and artwork makes a room look awesome, but completely covering those cinderblocks can get expensive really quickly. Instead, put those color printing dollars in the library to good use, and make your own giant poster! It’s a great way to commemorate a roommate moment, or to remember something from back home. These instructions will show you how to scale and print your photo for the best, biggest results. Five-foot by seven-foot re-creation of your favorite Welcome Week moment? Done.
http://www.hgtv.com/handmade/personalized-wall-photo-mural/index.html
3). Have the coolest room on campus…
Literally. In room without individual temperature controls, hang a cold, damp towel over your window or air conditioning unit. It will cool down your whole room, and is a lot easier than trying to hack into the master temperature controls.
4). Hole punch your Lynx Card, and put it on your key ring
That moment. That moment when you walk into the Rat, or the Lair, friends at your side, only to realize *gasp * you’ve forgotten your Lynx card. Your stomach drops, or rather, grumbles, and you spend a solid two minutes trying to remember where you last had it. As you trudge back to your dorm room, or library cubicle, your friends take that first cheesy bite of a quesadilla. This is what misery feels like.
However, this horrible feeling can be a thing of the past. Ever wonder why your Kroger card is always so convenient and you never forget it? Because you’ve attached it to your keys – and the same thing can be done to your Lynx Card. A simple hole punch will puncture the plastic to slip it easily on your key ring. Make sure to punch the corner opposite of the black strip so you can still swipe!
5). Turn your phone into a projector.
Who loves Netflix? Everyone.
Who loves all crowding around a tiny laptop screen to watch Netflix? No one.
Luckily, science can help. Following these easy instructions, with just your cell phone, a box, and a magnifying glass, you can have large-scale Orange is the New Black projecting on your walls for all on the futon to enjoy. Turn down your lights, for the best, movie-theater-esque results.
http://content.photojojo.com/diy/turn-your-phone-into-a-photo-projector-for-1/