If you are going away to college, roommates are most likely in your future. Whether you are two feet away from each other in the same room (hello Freshman year!) or simply share a common living room area, other people will probably be in closer quarters with you than you may wish! However, no matter how different you think you and your roomies are, getting along and remaining happy (from everyone's perspective) depends mainly on one thing...Communication!

My roommate and I were quite...

My mom and I just went on a little shopping spree today and ended up with a few things to use in my dorm next year (I mean...next month...). We went to Hobby Lobby, TJ Maxx, Bed Bath & Beyond, Sears and Target. Each store offered something a little different, but here's what I ended up with...

Hobby Lobby: This is the place to go for decorating stuff, picture frames, etc. While they had tons of cute frames and knick knacks, I ended up only purchasing a set of four square corkboards...

Think long and hard about which dining plan you want to purchase. If you are a very health conscious individual, like myself, I would reach for the lower dining plan. You will probably be buying many of your own foods at the grocery store (veggies, fruits, cheese sticks, cereal, etc) and you will most likely not use your dining plan up as fast as you may think. Plus, at least at my school, you can always add more dining bucks to your account; but you cannot get a refund for unused dining bucks....

Oh the joy of doing laundry! I mean I have so much extra time while I am away at school, so doing laundry fills up that void just perfectly (sense the sarcasm?). Well, it is something that has to be done, so why not make the most of it! I have actually found the “wurr” of the laundry room to be quite soothing when I’m trying to study. Hey, it’s better than all of the yelling and blasting music that accompanies you in the dorm room.

Our laundry room in the dorms has a little ledge...

Ceramic is not an option. I lived in a dorm my freshman year, where my roommate and I shared a sink about the size of a basketball (weird comparison?! ) and had beds that were about 2 feet apart. My not-so-tidy roommate chose to eat her beef-a-roni out of a ceramic bowl and then would leave it in the baby sink for a few days (piling it high with coffee mugs and drinking glasses) before finally cleaning up all of the grimy dishware. Interesting, considering that we were supposed to wash...