Paper #5: How to Clean Your College Dorm Without the Help of Mommy

Courtney Hamilton
Adam Weinstein- EN 101
11/20/07

Every new student to the University of Alabama applies for rooming their first year and either decide to take a gamble with a random roommate or room with someone they all ready know. I chose to take the gamble. The roommates I was placed with are named Sarah, Megan, and Caitlin. Fortunately for me, I was given a suite in Tutwiler. My first impression of the three girls was they seemed easy to get along with, which made me feel quite at ease. However, as the year progressed I became aware of each girl’s different personalities and living styles. Sarah, a cute brunette with a bubbly personality, might be the messiest person I have ever known. Since I kept up with my room at home, this bothered me when I saw just how grungy a room could get.

Sarah, I love you to death, but this article is dedicated to you and your messy self:

How to Clean Your College Dorm Without the Help of Your Mommy…

Where I come from, people have a lot of money and have no real sense when to spend it or how to control their spending. East Cobb is full of rich parents with stuck up, bratty children. It’s a sad state of affairs but unfortunately, very true. Most parents spend all of their money on their bratty children and unnecessary purchases. One common expenditure popular in the suburbs is a maid. This may be great for the moms of the household, but does not help to raise children with respect for what they own.

Sarah came from the same background that I did and she falls in the category of a spoiled child. Although her mother thought she was doing Sarah a favor, she only made it harder for her. By hiring a maid, her mom gave her the privilege to be as messy as she wanted. However, once she strayed away from her parents and got roommates, people did not put up with her filthy ways. Being messy makes it hard to live with a person and can really take away from a potential friendship. Due to Sarah’s untidy habits, I will not be rooming with her again next year. So if she EVER decides to change her ways these are the steps to follow:

Starting with the bedroom:

1.) You must first start with picking up everything off the floor. Ranging from dirty clothes and underwear to empty slushy cups. You must make sure that everything gets put away in an organized manner so that finding things later on will not be so difficult. After following these steps, you will be amazed at the treasures and lost items you will recollect.

2.) After clearing some space in the room, you will all ready start to feel cleaner and feel the weight lifted from your shoulders. However you are not even close to being finished. Next, you need to clean the necessities such as: the toilet, the windows, the mirror, etc. This is probably the nastiest step in the whole process, especially since you probably have not cleaned in awhile. Make sure to get every corner and hard to reach places.

3.) Now, look in the closet for the vacuum that hasn’t been used in months and prepare to use it for the first time. Some may find it annoying to unwrap the cord and dump out the previous load, but it must be done. This step is crucial for a room to appear clean to visitors. Most college vacuums are cheap, so be sure to go over a spot twice to get up any difficult objects.

Moving on to the kitchen:

4.) Please, for everyone’s sake, DO THE DISHES! The smell of unwashed dishes has the power to leave you lonely and friendless. Trust me, it is the rankest smell you will ever encounter. Mold develops in places you didn’t know was possible and dishes become unusable.

5.) Next, take the trash to the trash room. Over flowing trash cans do not give the room any attractive appeal whatsoever. It may also add to the smelliness of the dishes. The combination of the two makes me cringe just thinking about it.

6.) If you haven’t bought a mop yet, go buy one. It is a very important investment. Most people know how to clean up spills, but for those who don’t (cough SARAH), please pay close attention. After breaking a glass with fluid inside it, you must first pick up the big chunks of glass. Next, get paper towels and soak up as much liquid as possible. You may also get a wet towel and wipe it up to decrease the possibility of stickiness. After the spot has dried, you must sweep for glass you may have missed some. Finally, mop again, because chances are you didn’t get it all up.

Once you have followed all of these steps, your room should shine and breathing will finally be an option. People will marvel at the cuteness of your room and no longer focus on the clutter. Even you will feel a difference. You will be cured of any stress that you may have felt before and can finally concentrate on your studies. For the feeling of purity to remain, you must repeat these steps every week. Once the trash accumulates, the determination to clean may diminish.

Sarah, I hope you have taken note of these steps and in the future become a more cleanly person. Happy cleaning!