Dorm-room-living is a unique experience, to say the least. Making those brick walls and school furniture your home is sometimes a daunting task. Never fear; there are some easy and cheap ways to make dorm living easy living.

1. Target is your best friend. They cater to college students moving into the dorms better and cheaper than any other store out there. They have some really innovative storage and organization products that will help you out a lot. If you don’t have a car, you can rent one through the DU Car Share Program.

2. Make your closet space count. It’s not much, but it’s all you’ve got and you need to make the most of it. Get hanging closet shelves; they’re basically cloth shelves that velcro to the railing and give you way more storage space—for about $12. Girls, get scarf/ belt hangers and guys get tie hangers—if you wear that many ties. 

3. Get a laundry basket that you can easily transport. Seriously, it will make your life so much easier to get a canvas one with a strap rather than a plastic or wicker one.

4. Take advantage of the fact that you can loft your bed; not only does it feel like you’re having a fun sleepover every night, but you can slide your dresser underneath and open up a lot of space for activities– not to mention fitting more than two people in your room.

5. If you’re a coffee addict, just get a coffee maker for the horror that is not being able to get coffee on campus until 10 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Also the dining hall coffee is just inherently bad. Try a small Keurig for single-serve coffee.

6. Embrace the glory that is coffee mug microwave recipes. From chocolate chip cookies to French toast to mac n’ cheese to scrambled eggs, you be amazed at the power a microwave and a mug have to create deliciousness.

7. So you can’t have candles and your dorm starts to get a bit smelly sometimes. It’s understandable; it’s a small space with two people living in it. Get a car air vent freshener and put it on a fan or air conditioner and your room will always smell fresh.

8. Command tape is awesome but don’t overestimate its powers. Some things you just can’t hang on the walls. For these, either get standing frames to put pictures in or just tuck them away to enjoy when you