How to make your halls feel like your home

I don’t know about you, but walking into my flat for the first time felt a little…anticlimactic. It’s always difficult going from our childhood bedrooms to an unfamiliar, little box of a space. Granted, it seems to have everything you might need, but it doesn’t feel like home, does it? To get there, I find that you need to achieve a combination of practical organisation and personal comfort. Let’s get into it!

Organisation 🧮

I think we can all agree that accommodation flats tend to be quite small, which often poses an organizational issue. It’s, therefore, important to figure out what you’re lacking and how to make up for it. Here are some things I recommend:

1. 🪝Over-the-door hooks or shelvesWhy waste space with a coat rack when your door can serve the same function? Over-the-door hooks are great for hanging coats, umbrellas, shopping bags and even your outfit for the next day! They can also be life-savers if your bathroom has no hooks and you need to have a towel or robe hung up.
2. 📦 Storage boxes for drawers If you’re anything like me, the contents of your drawers back home require a map to navigate. However, when you’re at uni it’s more important to have what you need on hand instead of having to waste your time rummaging through your drawers. Getting a few small boxes can help categorize what you keep in each space! For example, a separate box for makeup supplies and another for accessories. You can tailor this to anything!
3. 🔌 Multi-socket extension cord Personally, my room doesn’t come with a socket close to the bed, so this has been super helpful! Extension cords can work wonders when you’re experimenting with different study spaces around your room too, or if you have multiple devices you want to charge at the same time!
4. 🌪️ Small vacuum Keeping in mind that most accommodation comes with a communal, big vacuum, this one isn’t a necessity but is certainly a great help! Having a small, cordless, handheld vacuum can save you so much time when you need to clean out more small and narrow areas or just a few crumbs that you wouldn’t be willing to lug around a huge vacuum for! They’re also more accessible and can be used to vacuum your whole room.
5. 🧺 Multiple laundry bagsThis is more of a personal time-saving preference, but it has helped me tremendously to have 3 separate laundry baskets for different loads. This way, you can just pick up the one(s) you need and get your laundry done so much faster rather than having to sort through it all and then be left with piles on the floor that you have to keep going back to get.

Personal Comfort 🧘

Now that we’ve talked about practical comfort, let’s talk about personal, mental comfort. This is so different for each one of us that it’s difficult to categorize, but here are some ideas to get you started: 

1. 🗒️ Bulletin Board or Whiteboard Most flats come with one of these, but if you’re one of the unlucky ones I suggest you look into it! Either one of these can be a great way to organize your thoughts and your to-do list, but also to personalize your room with some quotes, photos of your loved ones and more! 
2. 🎀 General Decor and Atmosphere This ranges from fairy lights, to posters, to adding a few plants for greenery, and so many more! It’s really up to you when it comes to what makes you feel at home (even if it means your parents having to ship over half your bedroom). Aside from the basics, think about what scents you like which would make you feel more relaxed and happy in your room! 
3. 🍁 Seasonal Decor Are you obsessed with a certain holiday? Sad that you can’t make it home to be with your family during it? Decorating your room to remind you of that seasonal/holiday spirit might just help. Personally, I’m already ordering a small Christmas tree online!
4. 🥞 Self-care An easy-to-forget category! Whether it’s stocking up a drawer with your favourite snacks, setting reminders to watch that football game you’ve been dreaming about or treating yourself to some takeout, it’s important to focus on the little things that make you happy!

To sum up, it’s really not as difficult as you think to start building a little home for yourself. All it takes is meeting some practical, organizational needs and tapping into what makes you feel at home, whether that’s a smell, a weekly football game, a meal or covering your wall in photos and posters! Just remember to check your hall’s policies before you get into it!

Maria

Sidney Webb House Resident