The start of a new school year means that you’re ready for life in the dorm. You don’t want to suffer through the Freshman 15, however, especially if you’re a junior or senior. You want to live right. Here’s how to stock your dorm room for a healthy year.
Healthy Snacks
You want to eat healthy to avoid unexpected weight gain. You’ll also feel better when you eat right, and you’ll enjoy the benefits of this choice when you feel more energetic while studying. You don’t have a lot of pantry space, though, and your mini-fridge has limited storage, too.
For these reasons, packaged items are great for a dorm room. These foods and snacks have longer shelf lives and often provide a quick energy burst. You just have to buy the right ones. Microwave popcorn and trail mix are great, and a squeeze pack of almond butter is a great source of instant protein.
Bags and packs of whole-grain chips are a fantastic way to deal with the munchies in a healthy way. You should get baked chips, though. Those are better for you. You should also stock a lot of dried fruit pouches. Fresh fruit is great as well, assuming that you’ll remember to eat it quickly. All of these options are superior to the regular junk food that most coeds eat at the dorm.
Cleaning Supplies for a Small Space
Dorm rooms are typically 130 square feet or smaller. Due to the claustrophobic setting, many conventional cleaning supplies aren’t as effective. For example, running a full-sized vacuum is difficult in such tight quarters. You need cleaning supplies and appliances that will work in a small space.
Several companies sell a sweeper-mop combo. It will take care of all your wet and dry floor-cleaning needs. Since it’s a combo appliance, it will only take up half the space of a full mop and broom set, too! You’ll also need a mini-vacuum to clean up all of those inevitable dorm room spills. Keep an ample supply of paper towels and disinfecting wipes on hand as a precautionary measure.
Improve Your IAQ
Indoor air quality (IAQ) is one of the most important elements of healthy living. You’ll spend most of your time indoors at your school, and a lot of it will take place in the dorm. That’s a problem because many dorms have terrible IAQ. People light candles, use air fresheners, and smoke pot, all of which reduce air quality. You may have an even worse problem if your dorm has a bug or rat problem. Pests are notoriously bad for IAQ.
You must take steps to improve the air you breathe. Otherwise, you’ll suffer adverse health effects. One of the easiest things that you can to do to improve IAQ is to keep plants in your room. They will produce more oxygen while absorbing some of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that damage IAQ. Think of plants as nature’s air filters.
Living healthier at the dorm isn’t that hard. You simply have to use the right strategy. Follow the suggestions listed here to enjoy a great year of clean living at the dorm.
