How to Furnish a Stylish, Eco-Friendly Dorm Inexpensively
72Use the Three R's as Your Guide
- If you ever went to public elementary school, you have probably heard of the three R's. They are:
- Reduce
- Reuse
- Recycle
- In order to make your dorm more ecologically friendly, try to reduce the amount of junk you bring with you. This will also help you keep your space less cluttered. Make a list of things you don't need to purchase, such as a fancy puffy headboard for your bed. Some things are completely unnecessary. Additionally, your school will probably provide some items, like a desk, desk chair, bed, etc. Don't waste your money.
- Reuse: this is the easiest. Look around your house for things that might be useful. Old (not heirloom or terribly valuable) furniture and appliances are underrated as possible dorm accessories. Next, look for as many of the remaining items that you need at garage sales, flea markets, and thrift stores.
I found 5 wooden milk crates for $8 each at a local antique store (they were not antiques; the store was just trying to get rid of them). Items like this have a million times more personality than yaffa blocks and other mass-produced items, and are just as useful.
Look for utensils, cookware, and appliances in the same place. Old-fashioned egg beaters can be found for $5 at antique stores, and are more space efficient than electric beaters. These are great if you wnat to do any cooking or baking in your dorm. Some shops have giant boxes of utensils for 25 cents each, as well. The quality of these utensils will far outstrip the sharp-edged cheapie utensils they sell at Walmart.
- Old jewelry boxes, jars, and other storage containers can be found extremely cheaply at many stores. These are great for pens and pencils, jewelry, and makeup. My favorite storage item is a three-tiered hanging metal basket I bought for $4 at a local antique store. These are very common; they even sell them at Walmart (but try to get one secondhand to be more ecologically sound). To dress it up, get some old holey scarves from the clearance bin at the thrift store and use them as liners. These make great storage for makeup and hair clips.
- If you can't find something secondhand, try to purchase appliances that are energy-star certified. Invest in a powerstrip that you can turn off at night, to prevent "phantom energy" waste. If you purchase a lamp, replace the bulb with a CFL (compact fluorescent light). These put out a lot of light with very low energy consumption, and are now made to put out light wavelengths that mimic incandescent. They are made much better than they used to be, but spend the extra cash to purchase good ones, as they will last longer.
- Nothing is better than free stuff! Job fairs, expos, and other festivals often have vendors that give out pens, magnets, and pins. Take advantage of these, it's a cheapie way to dress up your room.
- Make something. Use posterboard and markers to make a poster if you're artistic. If you aren't, make a collage with pictures out of magazines.
- Everyone loves tapestries in their dorms. If you can, try to find some that are fair-trade certified. It might cost more, but you can feel better knowing that the people who made it were paid a fair wage. If you can't, look on ebay for used tapestries. You'll probably get a better price anyway! Just make sure that you don't get ripped off - only purchase an tem if the seller accepts paypal, and check their rating. These also can double as curtains.
- Think outside the box -- a cliche, perhaps, but think of alternative uses for stuff you already have. An old vase, the bottom filled with rocks, makes a great holder for stick incense. You don't need to light the incense to infuse the room with a great smell, and it is an attractive decoration that falls within most dorm regulations!
- Have fun with it! It's your space. Make it cozy and funky!
- Invest in a recycling bin or 2(A carboard box works well for this... hard to get cheaper than that). One for paper, one for cans and bottles. Once a week, take them and dump them into the receptacles at your school. You can feel good about being a little more responsible. Living cheaply doesn't mean you can't!
This dorm photo from ratemyspace.hgtv.com, shows how an eclectic mix of secondhand and vintage items can be combined to make a space bright, cheerful, and cozy.
mysisters 15 months ago
Great Hub. I agree with your three R's. There are alot of things you can reuse and make it look brand new. Another option for storage is this craft below. All it takes is a shoe box! They sell something like this at Urban Outfitters. Here is the how-to video below:
http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to-make-urban-outfi