Dorm Room

The expensive dorm meal plan you're paying for might cover most of your meals, but hunger doesn't schedule itself around study sessions, and sometimes you're just too busy to make a stop at the cafeteria. Whether you're lucky enough to have a fully operational kitchen in your dorm room or you need to spin mealtime gold out of the proverbial straw, we've provided a few ideas on how to stock your pantry to ensure your hunger pangs don't undermine Chaucer or Copernicus.

What to stock if you have no appliances:

• Granola bars
• Tuna
• Crackers and chips
• Beef and turkey jerky
• Apples, bananas, and other fruits that don't require refrigeration

What to stock if you have a compact refrigerator and freezer:

• Cereal and milk
• Yogurt and cottage cheese
• Lettuce and fresh produce for salads
• Baby carrots and veggies for snacking
• Salad dressing
• Bread
• Cheese
• Sandwich meats
• Mayo, mustard, and other condiments
• Juices, soda, and other beverages

For food ideas if you have a microwave or hot pot, just keep reading.

A few weeks ago, I asked you whether you lived on or off campus during college. Whether you lived on the quad or on the far edges of your college town, I'm sure you had some memorable experiences. I lived both on- and off-campus during my college career, and "memorable" is putting it lightly when it came to my living situations during undergrad.

There was the girl who played bagpipes at 6 a.m. on the lawn outside my dorm window my freshman year. Sophomore year I lived in a campus theme house, and one of the residents was an OCD cleaner — not such a bad thing, now that I think about it, but this did mean she often could be found cleaning the bathtub at midnight. I could go on and on about the weird roommates, drafty, funky houses, and funny situations. I'm sure you lived with plenty of strange or memorable living situations during your college years, too. What's one of your most memorable?

With walls that can't be painted, uninspiring furniture that can't be swapped out, and small square footage, dorm room decorating brings up a few more issues than the average bedroom. To help you make the most of your university quarters, I've enlisted some tips from interior designer Taniya Nayak, who you may recognize from HGTV's Destination Design and Designed to Sell series. Here's her advice for spicing up that boring dorm room:

1. Love to have friends over but don’t have enough seats? Create a day bed! Turn your twin bed with the long side against the wall. Load it up with pillows upright to serve as the back of the day bed. Have fun with textures, colors, and prints.
2. Furniture can be expensive! Back-to-school season also means end-of-Summer sales. I’m talking about patio furniture friends! I love outdoor wooden folding furniture for a dorm room. It’s lightweight, durable, colorful, and really practical. Check out adirondack chairs, small bistro sets, benches, and more.
3. Dorm desks and beds can be SO generic! Personalize it using electrical tape. Make zigzags, stripes, or crisscrosses. It's a great way to get a cool look that will last all year and is completely removable when it’s time to go.
4. Vertical storage that doubles as art!? 3M makes hooks that stick to the wall and pull right off without damaging the paint. Hang your purses, baseball hats, framed photos, and your favorite necklaces.

Continue reading for more of Taniya's tips!