Name: Priya K.
Location: University of Georgia
Practice: Living with less in a small space
When I moved into my dorm freshman year, I showed up with way too much stuff. My mom and I had spent weeks shopping for everything I “needed.” Matching bedding, a mini fridge full of snacks, bins of supplies from Target that I’d never open.
By December, half of it was shoved under my bed. By spring, some of it went straight into a dumpster during move-out.
Sophomore year was different
I moved back in with one carload. That’s it. I bought my textbooks used. I borrowed a mini fridge from a friend who’d graduated. I skipped the decorative stuff entirely.
And you know what? My room felt better. Less cluttered. Less stressful. I actually knew where everything was.
The social pressure is real
People post their dorm “transformations” online and it looks like a Pinterest board. There’s pressure to have the aesthetic. But most of that stuff gets thrown away in May. I watched it happen — perfectly good furniture, lamps, organizers, just piled up by the dumpsters.
What I tell other students now
Wait. Don’t buy anything for your dorm until you’ve lived in it for two weeks. You’ll realize you need about half of what you planned to bring. And check your school’s free exchange groups first — there’s always someone giving away exactly what you need.
Sustainability for me isn’t about buying the “right” products. It’s about buying less of everything.
