With the anticipation of upcoming school year approaching the excitement of moving away to college, there is one minor detail that we cannot yet predict: the compatibility of your roommate.  Whether you are planning to live with your best friend from high school, or expand your horizons with a random match, you will have to learn to get along and live together for at least 9 months of the ensuing school year.

This could be an amazing experience ending in you standing up in each other’s wedding or, in all-out feuds possibly including items mysteriously breaking on their own or sprouting legs and tip-toeing away.  To avoid this problem I have one simple suggestion that may seem to be easy enough; however, it seems to be a hot topic even at the executive level of CEO meetings.

Your secret to success is: Open Communication.

If you are both 100% honest with each other, there will be no expectation let-downs, there will less fights about what you “thought” or “assumed” or “expected” from this roommate.

In the olden days, you know, before Facebook or texting, or really, Nokia phones; roommates possibly talked to each other once or twice on the home landline telephone.  Understanding your roommate was left up to interpreting the sound of their voice on the other end of the receiver.  “Do they sound nice?  Do you think they’ll be a total party animal?  Are they smart?”  It was up to you to make these assumptions prior to stepping foot on campus to meet the person you were slated to live with.

Now, you can avoid the awkward 15 seconds where you first introduce yourself to your roommate while secretly making more rash first impressions about this person.  You are attempting to look cool despite profusely sweating from hauling boxes in from the van outside containing your prized possessions, like your underwear.  Then, you start to think, “man, I am going to have to change in front of this person!; I wonder if they like the same TV shows as I do?, wait did they bring the TV?; do they like to go to bed at 7:30pm?; and finally the realization, I think we’re going to have a pretty good time at college.”

Thanks to technology we can Facebook Stalk our new roommate and try to get a image of what we’re up against (or with) the coming year.  Despite this, I recommend sitting down the first week of school and fill out a sheet of loves and hates, preferred study time, preferred time to go to bed, preferred time to get up in the morning on weekdays and weekends.  This may sound trivial, but it will help the two of you understand each other a little better and avoid the ranting to your friends about your crazy roommate and eventually having the overemotional talk or god forbid, a deathly screaming match.

Also, grab a few of our chalk and dry-erase sticky wall art.  There you can leave notes for each other that can help facilitate open communication.  In addition to awesome decorations for your room, you can erase and re-write anything you would like on a daily basis!  Tell your roommate you love them, ask them to clean the dishes, let them know you used the last of the coke in the mini-fridge and you are on it, play Pictionary while taking a study break, or put up your list of reminders for the day!

Check out our website for our circle dry erase and chalk stickers.  Also, click here for a sheet you can print out as a template for this discussion.  Regardless of your living situation, it is good to know what to expect so that it doesn’t surprise you later.  Have a blast at college and enjoy the new endeavor!

You’re taking a huge sigh of relief as you enter  your final  semester. You’ve taken the AP classes, pulled the all night cramming, listened to the boring lectures and now it’s  paid off for you. You have been accepted to the college of your choice. Congratulations!!

You’ve heard the line, I’m on easy street now. Read the following article to make sure you don’t make a wrong turn and head down the slippery road of Senioritis.

As you are deciding on how to decorate your new dorm room don’t forget to bring some life to your new home by adding some color with wall art. Everyone wants to make a personal statement and outfit their room in a way that reflects their own personality. After you have selected your bedding you can add a splash of color to those bare white walls with peel and stick wall décor. Wall art in the form of peel and stick can go a long way in a short and simple way. It easily brings that wanted flair and unique touch to your new home. At the end of the year the peel and stick art is easy to remove leaving the walls undamaged walls. It’s that simple.

It may be on your thoughts right now – just how to make your tiny dorm room feel more homey and inviting? By adding a few unique dorm accessories to your dorm room you can easily transform your space into the place to hang with your friends.

Wall décor is sometimes overlooked in the dorm room. Why not use functional art work to add that homey touch – like some of this great wall art from Dorm Digs. Butch and Harold have also created unique peel and stick frames that are perfect for your dorm walls. These are just a few suggestions, but with a couple items from Dorm Digs it’s easy to bring the walls of your dorm room to life.

Closet accessories are made to solve storage problems. Dorm Digs has some storage and organization essentials that can go a long way in that tiny dorm room space of yours. After you evaluate your space, then choose over the door shoe racks, belt and scarf holders, under bed storage units and collapsible bins to help organize your space and accessories. After all, a girl can’t have too many accessories.

These are just a few suggestions to get you started in transforming your dorm room into a space you’ll love. For more dorm room accessories visit Dorm Digs.

Roker and Today Show’s Elizabeth Mayhew walk you through the dorm room essentials for that first time college student.

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When you are sending your student off to college there are many details to finalize before you hit the road with a packed trailer. Here are some important and sometimes overlooked items you should add to your departure list that are student and dorm essential.

1. Keep all college correspondence in one folder. Some of the info might be time sensitive and it is easier if it is right at your fingertips.
2. Get all dorm room info if possible, a floor plan of the room and what’s all included. Be sure to check the closet space, shelving and additional storage space.
3. When the school calendar arrives copy the vacation and break dates.
4. If you are planning to rent a van, trailer of semi to transport your child to school, make the arrangements immediately. Back to school is one of the busiest seasons.
5. Make appointments for physicals and dental, especially if needed over breaks. Get copies of prescriptions, immunization records, and glasses and contact lens prescriptions and also doctor’s phone numbers
6. Get the phone numbers for clinics and student health for your child’s school and leave a copy of those numbers at home.
7. Have insurance cards in your students’ wallets and a copy in their room.
8. Make two photocopies of everything in your wallet and your important papers. Keep one copy at home and one at school.
9. Study available student banking packages for college students. How is the money deposited and withdrawn?
10. Find out the move in date. Will they accept packages before the move in date? Where are the packages kept and how can they be retrieved?
11. What is the computer situation? Are they direct hoop-ups? Do they need an Ethernet card? How accessible are the printers on campus?

There are a million things to do and remember when your child is off to college for the first time. I hope this list helps to get you started on this big transition for you and your child who will soon be living in the dorms. This college list is not comprehensive, but it’s a great place to start!

Your new dorm room will be a completely blank canvas to add your own personal touch of style and design. The walls will be painfully white to begin, but with a little help from Dorm Digs it’s easy to transform your dorm room into a colorful fun place to hang with your friends.

The following posts will cover the three main categories of dorm room design: wall decor, dorm room accessories and storage & organization. The Dorm Dig’s website is organized around these three main categories, and if you simply focus on these areas it’s easy to transform that new dorm room of yours into an amazing space to hang.

Living with someone new is always tough, especially that first year of college. We’ve all heard the horror stories from someone and their first random college roommate, but is it really that bad?

I think moving off to college and living with someone completely random is all part of the adventure in going off to college. It’s an important step in growing up away from the comfort of your home. It’s easy to live with someone you know or went to high school with, but what’s the fun in that? Living with someone new brings on the opportunity to experience unfamiliar things and potentially a new best friend. Of course, some times it doesn’t work out, but years down the road you’ll be able to look back and laugh at how weird your first college roommate was. I say pass up the comfort of living with one of your friends, and start college with something new by living with a complete stranger.

It’s your first time off to college to live in the dorms, and you have no idea what to bring or decorate your dorm with. Not a problem. Dorm Digs has all the fun and fashionable college dorm essentials you need to create a space you love.

Dorm Digs is here to help you organize your new home while not compromising on style and fun. Dorm Digs has you covered from great wall decor, to simple dorm room storage and organization and stylish college dorm accessories. Join us on facebook and twitter to receive all the recent gossip on new featured items and great sales.

Moving away to college is a very exciting time. Finally, away from your parents and off on your own to make new friends and enjoy new experiences. With that comes the task of getting ready for life in the dorms. We’ve created a simple dorm room checklist to hopefully make the transition a little bit easier. These are some of the essentials, but feel free to post your additions in the comments below.

Bed needs

• Fans
• Alarm clock
• Bed linens/towels Carpet/throw rug
• Compact refrigerator
• Computer
• Cup/mug/glass/plate/bowl/silverware
• Dish soap
• Posters

Bathroom

• Shower caddy
• Toiletry items/soap dis
• Medicine

Food Related

• Small microwave
• Cups
• Coffee mug
• Tea mug
• French press
• Dishes
• Small towels

Desk

• School supplies
• Plants (real or fake)

Social Needs

• Radio/stereo
• Bean bags
• Chairs
• Futon
• TV/VCR/DVD player

Closet & Clothes

• Small repair sewing kit
• Rolls of quarters for laundry
• Clothes drying rack
• Hangers
• Iron
• Laundry bag
• Laundry detergent