DIY Life

College students: want to go green? Even if you call a dorm room home and you're on a serious budget, you can still pack tons of positive changes into your lifestyle. Here are a few easy and budget-friendly ideas to try:

1. Go solar. Buy an inexpensive solar desk lamp, like IKEA's Sunnan, which comes in a bunch of vibrant colors. Consider a solar charger for your iPod, cell and other electronics, too.

2. Buy organic. If you can't afford an all-organic diet, don't fret. Most of us can't. But you can commit to buying organic versions of some of the foods you eat most often. At the very least, skip the "dirty dozen" – the 12 fruits and veggies most contaminated with pesticide residue. While you're at it, pick up some Fair Trade Certified coffee and feel better about your caffeine breaks.

This weekend we hosted a goodbye party for my cousin who's off to college and I gifted her this book [but not before taking a peek myself!]. I was amazed at the detailed projects that were both colorful and age-appropriate; perfect for any young decor-lover on a budget.

I even found a few ideas myself that I'd love to incorporate, dorm room or no dorm room! The book begins with helpful tips on what may not be allowed in a dorm room, furniture that can serve multiple purposes, and choosing an inviting color scheme. There's even a section on making those cinderblocks look a bit more... luxe.

My favorite tutorial is, BY FAR, a felt zebra-print rug. A no-sew and fully functional rug, the "cut-it-out felt rug" tutorial includes a template for the look, as well as color scheme ideas and an easy-to-use pattern. I have a feeling I'll be trying this in my own home this month!

From messenger bags to lamps and fleece robes to message boards, this is the co-ed's guide to living with style. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if this read inspired incoming freshman to switch their majors ASAP. To interior design, of course!

Dorm Decor
Authors: Theresa Gonzalez and Nicole Smith
Chronicle Books

The box air-conditioning unit is a necessary evil for many apartment dwellers. (Those of you about to head off to college, take note!) These things come with a few big cons: they are noisy, they are unsightly, they block the view out of your window, and they are a pain in the neck to install and uninstall.

At least the unsightliness factor is something you can fix! Here are a few suggestions for hiding your air conditioning unit from New York Magazine:

• Decorate it with something pretty like wallpaper scraps.
• Build a decorative cabinet around it, but be careful not to block air flow.
• Disguise it from view with a sheer curtain.
• Hide it with a screen.
• Cover it with artwork and frame it.

[via Apartment Therapy]

Are you heading off to college in the fall? The dorms are a great place to live. It's been a few years since I was there, but I'm still in touch with many of my college friends. I'll never forget the late-night Euchre games, parties, reluctant study sessions, and (unfortunately) the complete lack of space.

Even though dorm rooms are usually off-white, bland spaces roughly the size of a shoe box, you can still make them your own. In addition to posters, photographs, and other wall art, decorate your room with items that do double-duty by looking great and serving a purpose.

Storage and other multi-use items are important for your dorm room. You're not limited to milk crates "borrowed" from a local restaurant (not that I know anyone who did that... ahem). I'll share some fun, decorative, and useful dorm room ideas after the break.

Graduation day is coming at us fast. For those graduating from college, and some from high school, this ceremony is the final hurrah before settling into the world of labor and taxes. Yuck. So it's generally traditional to get a little crazy.

At my high school graduation, the gimmick was this: the first person to fake tripping while strolling across the stage to accept his or her diploma would be awarded a jug of rum. Somebody beat me to it, darn it! Here's a great idea, though: make a spinning graduation cap.

To prepare for this nifty stunt, you'll need a CD-ROM motor, a switch, batteries, wiring, and a good sense of humor! Put it together and wow your friends. Um, you might want to be in physical possession of your diploma before activating the magic mortarboard!

In about a month, college students across the country will throw their caps in the air to mark the end of their campus careers. It's an exciting time of life that's marked by new jobs, new friends, and often new apartments.

Living on your own isn't quite the same as living with roomies or in a dorm, and even with a shiny new paycheck, things can be tight until you get on your feet.

Erin Doland of Unclutterer (a website which is now, officially, my best friend) recently wrote a guest post at Gen Pink on how to organize your first apartment. The idea here is not to run out to the nearest Container Store and buy every colorful plastic box in sight. Instead, Doland recommends that you:

• Spend some time thinking about how your kitchen will be used and unpack your boxes accordingly. Glasses near the sink, for instance, and pots and pans near the stove.
• Ask for household gifts as graduation presents. Since people don't get necessarily get married any more before setting up house, it's too bad we don't throw "first house/apartment" showers instead.
• Reuse items from your college apartment in a new way. Those milk crates, for instance, can become recycling bins.
• Prioritize what you need and focus on acquiring that. You'll be amazed by how little it takes to get by.
• Don't store your trash can under your sink where it can overflow and draw pests.

Let's hear it, DIY Life readers: what kind of advice would you share with first time apartment or home owners to get their living space in shape?

It's a universal law of freshman year: Whatever can go wrong the first few weeks at college, will. Your calculus book will fall in a puddle, your cell phone will get knocked off the desk and break, you'll sleep through your first class of the day at least once, and you'll lose a button off your favorite shirt the day before Pledge Week starts.

Don't worry, DIY Life is here to help. Use book covers, a cell phone case, and a good alarm clock.

Now, about that shirt. When you were getting ready to move into the dorm, did you remember to pack a little sewing kit? Great! From replacing buttons to fixing a hem, there are a bunch of ways that little kit can save your bacon. Oh, and if you have any leftover thread, I'll also tell you how to kill time with your roommate on a Friday night before your dates get there.

Are you about to jump out of the nest and head to college for the first time? When your mother starts boo-hooing into her hankie (she will -- I know, I'm a mom), tell her you'll be fine and that you won't starve to death because you learned a few basic cooking tips at DIY Life.

• Even if you can't have a hot plate in your dorm room, you can still eat well. Most large grocery stores have pre-made meals in the deli and meat departments. All you need to do is heat and eat. The selections you'll find aren't like gas station food that's been sitting under a heat lamp since yesterday. Meals are typically meat, poultry, and side dishes that just need a bit of time in a microwave or toaster oven, which is easy enough to find in the student kitchen or cafeteria.

Hungry yet? Read on.

A great way to prove your independence when you go off to college is to show up wherever you go in fresh, clean clothes instead of rumpled togs that look they've spent a week at the bottom of the hamper. Staying on top of your laundry situation isn't very difficult and doesn't require a whole lot of expensive supplies.

Forget all those fancy laundry balls, ionizers, and other gadgets. All you need is a plastic laundry basket, some inexpensive detergent, a stain pre-treater, and some hangers. With the right tools and a few good habits, laundry day can be a snap.