This past week, while I was about to start class, one of my classmates pointed out a sign to me in the basement of Xavier. It had text about a page in length, with both bolded and italicized words, pictures and was encased in a plastic cover.

What was this sign, you may be wondering?

It was an instructional guide on how to wash a dish. Yeah.

So, seeing as something like this actually exists in a residential hall because apparently newer and older students don’t know what cleaning means, I thought I would make my own instructional guide for all of you who need a little bit of help in terms of simple or difficult cleaning.

How to clean your bed

If you’re like me, you’re a restless sleeper who usually wakes up with your sheets and covers all messed up around you. Not to worry! Simply pull the fitted sheet all the way up to where your pillows are situated. Then put the duvet cover on top in the same fashion. If you have any blankets, fold them up and place them at the foot-end of the bed to look extra-fancy.
If you want to class up your bed anymore than just with the above basics, head over to Target or Urban Outfitters and find some cool pillows that will add some more decoration to your 9′ by 11′ cell–I mean, dorm room.

How to clean your sink

Let’s be honest, sinks–especially dorm room sinks–can get pretty nasty. I mean, do people understand that 1. they aren’t an alternate urinal, and 2. ramen should not be put down them?
When cleaning your sink, make sure to have dish soap and a sponge. Put some soap on the sponge and lather it up. Then, rub the soapy sponge all over the basin of the sink. If there are any tricky spots with a ton of grime, try to use a wet wipe to get even closer to getting rid of the grime. Once done, rinse with water, and let air-dry.
And remember, don’t put drain cleaner down them–you don’t want to hurt anyone on the Custodial Services if they have to come up and help.

How to clean your desk

Have you already forgotten that you have a desk in your room? Well, you do.
To clean it, I would first recommend finding where it starts underneath all of your dirty clothing, trash and empty food boxes. Once finding the top of your desk, get a wet-wipe and use it all over the desktop and inside of the drawers.
Once thoroughly dry, organize your textbooks, notebooks, writing utensils and other school supplied in a way that you will be able to utilize to the best of your abilities. Make sure to also throw out anything that you don’t need (that 150-stack tower of Post-Its? Unnecessary).
If you want to spice up your desk a bit, head on over to a local thrift shop to find some cool trinkets (that can also be useful). I currently have dinosaurs, an owl and a crayon skull on my desk–what’s your excuse?

How to clean your floor

Depending on where you’re living, the answer to this question could be different. If you have carpet and a vacuum, put the two together at least once a month (especially if you’re like me and shed like a dog).
If you have a hardwood or linoleum floor, get some pine-sol and a rag and scrub with all your might over the entire surface. If you prefer to utilize a simpler option, I would recommend getting a Swifer Sweeper–you won’t break your back cleaning and will most likely add five to seven years to your lifetime.
If you’re not in the mood to clean your floor, but have space under your bed, move all items on floor into that cave of nothingness. You may not be able to find your yoga mat in a few weeks, but hey, at least your floor is clean!

How to clean your storage spaces

If you’re a college student (which I’m assuming about 98 percent of you are), there’s a pretty good chance that you have storage spaces, whether they be in the form of plastic under-bed boxes or shelving. While these storage spaces can be fantastic, they can also get pretty messy–I’m a girl with a lot of different toiletries, okay?
To clean these spaces, I recommend basically dumping everything out. I know, you have to make a mess to get rid of a mess sounds a bit odd, but trust me on this. Once you’ve sorted through all of the things in specific storage bins, you can sort them based on necessity, as well as get rid of things you don’t need. I would recommend sorting them into different sections–use one bin for extra clothing, one for extra cleaning supplies and toiletries, and one for study material (if necessary).
If you have more things than room for them, you can always donate. Trust me, you don’t need every single ugly Christmas sweater you have.

Hopefully that helps all of you who weren’t taught about cleaning at any point in the last 18 to 22 years. Good luck conquering those mounds of mess!