At home, you might take advantage of the cleaning your parents do to keep up with the dust and the grime. Or the chores that you do yourself, even though you loathe them, don’t seem like such a big deal in the face of cleaning your own place by yourself.

It’s important to make sure that your living space is clean and tidy, not just for your physical health but your mental health as well. A sound body means a sound mind. Living somewhere where you don’t feel safe, isn’t going to do you any favors.

Before you go into “move-in mode” you should keep in mind the things you need to buy and steps you need to take to make sure your room is disinfected and clean when you arrive.

Some of these actions will be taken care of by your school beforehand, even more so now with COVID-19 still around, but there are some extra actions you can take upon yourself to make sure your dorm room is the best place to be. 

We’ve put together a list of products and things you should be doing, to make sure this all comes into place. Don’t be afraid to reach out to your school and ask questions as well! They’ll likely have some much-needed answers. 

• Make sure your school has cleaned beforehand
• Get a personalized protection package
• Stock up on some cloth face masks
• Get yourself all the cleaning essentials
• Wipe and wipe everything down

Make sure your school has cleaned beforehand 

Colleges have always cleaned dorms before new students arrive. Sometimes people leave items behind, or they leave their trash full, or they, unfortunately, leave the bathroom a little worse for wear compared to when they moved in.

Now with COVID-19 most schools have taken the extra step in making sure that dorms and common spaces are clean for on-campus dwellers. 

If you’re living in a dorm with a public bathroom the bathroom will most likely be cleaned every day, while you’re there and thoroughly disinfected over the summer by cleaning professionals. 

The same will happen for any dorms with private bathrooms in the room itself. They will be cleaned over the summer and you'll most likely be provided with a bucket of cleaning supplies by the school for the semester. 

It’s your bathroom, so you’ll have to clean it yourself but it's a nice gesture to be provided with some supplies for the upcoming year.

If you’re concerned about common spaces in the dorm or any other deep-cleaning methods that your school will be implementing in your space, don’t be afraid to reach out and ask! Your school likely has a COVID-19 information page for their policies where you can find all the information you need. 

Get a Personal Protection Package

When you move into your dorm, you’re not just going to need supplies to clean the room but supplies to keep yourself safe as well. Masks and hand wipes, a cute little scented hand sanitizer to keep in your bag. 

Instead of buying these all individually, which can really rack up the price if you’re not careful, buy one of OCM’s personalized protection packages which come with these items and many more, bundled in one convenient delivery to keep you safe.

Each kit is a little bit different, to cater to whatever needs you might have. Maybe you already have some rubber gloves, maybe you have way more masks than you know what to do with. Don’t worry there’s a kit here for everyone.

The Super Clean kit is a great way to stock up on soap and hand sanitizer. And each comes with a distinct scent as well, strawberry, coconut, orange, etc. Better options than the typical unscented hand soaps or sanitizers you might find at your grocery store.

Or if you’ve used up a lot of your cleaning and care supplies at home try the Personal Care Around Campus Kit, which as the name implies, has all the things you’ll need to stay safe in your dorm and around campus. Medical masks, gloves, hand wipes, a door opener/button pusher, you name it we got it. 

Stock up on some cloth face masks

Face masks are a must nowadays and might be for a little while longer, so it's good to always stay stocked up on all kinds of masks. Medical masks are, of course, a good bet to always go by. But many people like being double-masked or prefer a cloth one.

Without the ability to express yourself on your face, which can be a blessing or a curse depending on who you’re talking to, decorative face masks often provide an opportunity to put some of your personality on display.

You can get facemasks in all kinds of patterns and designs, it’s quite frankly, a little overwhelming sometimes. 

If you’re not a fan of the more loud colors or patterns then you can stick with something more neutral in solid colors or stripes. But if you’re looking for more personalized masks, with flowers or logos or various pop culture references then OCM has a great selection for you as well.

We’ve got masks themed from the iconic F.R.I.E.N.D.S show, a lovely collection of tye-dye options, and even a grouping of bandanas if a traditional mask is not your jam. 

Get yourself all the cleaning essentials

When it comes time to get cleaning, you’re going to need some basics. It’s not easy to remember everything you’ll need, especially if you’ve never cleaned a whole room by yourself before, but never fear we have a great comprehensive list here.

Lysol wipes

A quick and easy way of cleaning. Lysol wipes you can buy in bulk from your local grocery store or online, and they work wonders in a matter of seconds.

When you’re cleaning up basic spills a wet Lysol wipe can get rid of the mess and the stain without any hassle. They’re also good for when you’re sitting in a space you’re not familiar with. Wipe it down with one of these and feel better staying for a while. 

Trash bags

When you’re cleaning where is all the excess garbage going to go? Thus the need for trash bags. Depending on what dorm you live in you might already be provided with trash bags for your room, but it can never hurt to stock up on extra.

Trash bags aren’t just good for when you’re cleaning the room, they can also serve you well when you eventually move out. You can stuff trash bags with your pillows and bedding, and not worry about squeezing them into your car. 

Febreeze or scented spray

You’re eating in your room, you’re sleeping in your room, just existing in your room is going to make the place a little musty. And so, a scented spray like Febreeze is going to be a godsend.

Buying a couple of these will stave off the leftover food smell or any other unfortunate odor that creeps up. 

A vacuum

This is a product that is often forgotten but sorely needed for a college student’s dorm especially when you’re snacking on chips late at night and you have an unfortunate spillage.

A vacuum can be a hefty expense that not everyone can pay, so before you go looking for vacuums to buy lookup your dorm’s informational site at your school. Your dorm might have a shared vacuum in-house that you can rent out when you need it. If not, investing in a small but sturdy vacuum can save you a headache during an unfortunate accident. 

Wipe and wipe everything down

Now that you have all these fancy cleaning and personal supplies, once you get to your dorm room you should be wiping all of the visible surfaces down.

Lysol wipes are a good disposable option for this, but you can definitely use some cleaning surface spray and a rag or towel as well. As long as it gets the surface clean and disinfected.

Now, there is a slight difference between cleaning and disinfecting. “Cleaning” according to the CDC can be wiping down anything with as little as soap and water. And while this works to get rid of gunk and grime, it won’t be enough to get rid of all of the nasty germs in the space.

So start with cleaning, a general wipe-down with a cloth or towel over the surfaces in your room. Wipe down the windowsills, the desks, the bedframes, and especially places where people are more likely to put their hands on.

Door knobs or door handles are a must, as well any kitchen or bathroom areas. Your sink, if you have one, should also be one of your first priorities.

Once you’ve cleaned everything you should then disinfect it. This means letting a cleaning agent like Lysol or Clorox sit for a minute or so on the area you want to tidy up. Then once the disinfects have done their work you can wipe it off with a sponge or paper towel.

It might sound like a lot of work, but you’ll be thankful for the extra cleaning in the end. Now with a clean slate, you can get to the exciting part of move-in day, decorating! 

Be sure to keep all these cleaning supplies on hand though, you never know when you might need them!