Decoration Tip - Colored Bottles

If your dorm room is looking a little sparse and searching for some juicy colors, here's a quick tip to bring the spectrum in!

All you need is a windowsill (or a table that lines up with the lower edge of the window if you don't have a sill), six or seven clear glass soda bottles (I love the bottles from the Jones Soda Company myself), some food dye and enough water to fill the bottles.

First, decide on a theme for the colors. Do you want the light to shine through a certain color and drape the room in that hue? Or do you want a bunch of haphazard vivacious colors? It's up to you.

Next, clean the bottles if you haven't already and fill about 95% of each bottle with water. Leave just a little room at the top. You can leave the label on or take it off, it is up to you.

Now comes the fun part! Using the food dye, color each bottle exactly how you'll want it. In my room at home, I have crimson walls and a red motif. So I filled four of my seven bottles with red dye and the others with yellow, blue and green. The varying colors add just enough interest to make it eye catching without making it too overwhelming.

Place the bottles in a sunny window and enjoy! This project is quick, simple and most importantly, cheap!

The Pro's and Con's of... Double Rooms

College is a truly unique experience. There is nothing else like it. You live with a group of people who are within four years of your age, you eat food cooked by someone you don't know for every meal and you go to classes as haphazardly as your self-designed schedule permits. With dorm living, there is always a bit of uncertainty, especially when it comes to roommates.

For your first year on campus, you are likely to be placed in a tiny room with someone you've never met. It really is a crapshoot. Some people find their best friend and confidant in a roommate. Others face off against Satan. Here are a few tips for dealing with your new roommate and finding tranquility and peace of mind.

Before you even step foot in your dorm room, you should have talked about the bare essentials with your roommate. Who is bringing the television/microwave/fridge? What are you going to share, and what are you going to each need to bring? What are the ground rules on significant others or friends spending time in the room? Work together to lay down the foundation for how you expect to treat one another.

The biggest thing to remember when first dealing with a roommate is that he or she is in the same boat as you. Your new roommate is new to the campus, he doesn't know anyone, he is likely overwhelmed and he is ready to explore this new lifestyle. If you hit it off right away, that's great. But if your new roommate seems shy, scared, anxious or depressed, don't assault him with over-aggressive kindness. Give him some room and slowly try to build up a list of interests you have in common. Maybe you both like a particular television show, or maybe you have the same course schedule. Start small and let it blossom. If you're a social butterfly who makes friends quickly, invite him along and help him integrate.

From here, the relationship can turn any number of ways. You might slowly become good friends. You might never speak to one another. You might grow mutually resentful of one another, or you might even consider moving out halfway through the year. Anything can happen. Regardless of what happens, here is a list of the pro's and con's of a double room.

PROS

• In a double room, you share everything including responsibility. Vacuuming and cleaning aren't on one person's shoulders.
• You'll always have someone around to talk to and interact with. This is a huge plus if you're a fan of video games, gossip or power in numbers.
• If you can live with someone in such a small space for so long without going off the deep end, you'll be a better person in the end. It takes a lot of compromises, disagreements and growing up to successfully master life with a roommate.
• Even if you don't get along, you're likely to find someone else who doesn't particularly care for his or her roommate either. After all, misery loves company.
  

CONS

• If you don't get along, there's nowhere private to retreat. It's a matter of waiting it out and being a bigger person.
• You have to share nearly everything, including personal space. If you're a solitary person, the transition is far from easy.
• Roommates can be friends, but sometimes even friends fight. Little quirks like insomnia, late-night study habits and annoying laughs can instigate major problems.
  

As you can see, living with a roommate definitely has its ups and downs. In my opinion, it all depends on your individual situation. My freshman year, I lived with someone who was rather quiet and reserved, and though we didn't fight, we didn't talk or particularly get along. Next year, though, I'm excited to live with my best friend.

Try your best to make life with a roommate livable, and in the end, you'll likely have a great friend coming out of the process. It's completely worth it.

But...I forgot!!!

In my last entry, I gave you a bunch of things you shouldn't leave home without. But what happens if you forget? Here's a recap of the list with ways to procure these elusive essentials.

10) Band-aids : If you're in a scramble for a little first-aid but you've forgotten to BYOBand-aids, the first place to look for some would be your friendly new neighbors. Someone is likely to have brought a few. Even if no one has a package of them, it's likely that someone will have a first-aid kit with a few available. If all else fails, hall offices or campus convenience stores and bookstores are likely to stock them.
9) Plastic flatware, plates and cups : A lot of take-out places now offer bundles of these for free with your order. But if you're still up the creek without a paddle, the best place to look would be the dining halls or food stands around campus. You can probably get a cup or plate if you ask politely. Most campuses are near enough to a supermarket that you could always walk over and do a quick shopping spree.
8) Heavy-duty packing tape : The best place to find tape (and other artsy supplies) is, of course, the art department! If you aren't allowed to borrow some from there, you can always try the local post office or bookstore. Chances are that other residents are hanging up posters and the like, so feel free to ask around too. Bartering can be a great thing!
7) A large trunk with a combination lock : There's really no easy (or cheap) solution if you forget one of these. You can try hiding valuables deep in a drawer, beneath a mattress or in your shoes, but these locations aren't secure (or too obscure, for that matter). The only way out might be a quick call back home with a plea to visit soon - trunk in tow, of course.
6) Twine and light-weight opaque fabric : If you forget twine, one of the easiest (and strongest) alternatives is dental floss. Sure, it may be minty fresh, but it'll get the job done. Opaque fabric can be replaced with colorful bedsheets, extra blankets or colorful paper (for the truly desperate).
5) Foldable drying rack : Possibly the simplest item to replace on this entire list, drying racks merely make an easy task even easier. If you don't feel like stringing floss around your room, you can always drape your jeans, socks and other linens over open drawers, headboards, desks, chairs, window frames and anywhere else that juts out. Leave to dry for a few hours with the windows open and voila! You'll have dry laundry before you know it. Fans circulate air and make the task fly by.
4) Flashlight : If all else fails... Cell phones will give off just enough light for you to get around. The same goes for laptops on battery charges. Neither solution is preferable, obviously, but if you're in the dark, you'll want some way to navigate around.
3) Single-serve drink mixes : If you forget these, all hope is not lost. They'd be difficult to find around campus, so you'd need to go to the supermarket. Most campuses have a convenience store where you can buy bottles of pre-made iced tea, juice or other beverages. These should hold you over til you can get to the store.
2) At least one dressy outfit : The key word here is: friends. Even if you can't find a single friend with just the right outfit, you can ask around and make the best of the situation. You can borrow a top from Person A, slacks or a skirt from Person B and shoes from that elusive Person C. Clean everything when you're done and return it promptly, and if you have a few extra cookies from home in your fridge, it never hurts to give a sweet thank-you.
1) A needle and thread : It's not easy to replace the age-old needle and thread. However, there's usually a rising homemaker somewhere on every floor who would be delighted to let you borrow their sewing kit. If there isn't, you can always try temporary safety pins. If all else fails, and I mean all else, you can try your best with a stapler and some crossed fingers. After all, when you're in a pinch, anything goes.

-Alex Seise