Campus Living Tips

CLICK HERE: Resources for Incoming First-Year Students

Get Ready for Life on Campus with Carolina Housing

It’s never too early to start preparing for your journey as a first-year Tar Heel. Carolina Housing is here to support you every step of the way, with a wide range of resources designed to ensure you’re informed, confident, and ready to settle into your new home.

To make things even easier, we’ve compiled all of our key materials and helpful links into one centralized hub: the Resident Resource Webpage. Bookmark it, review it often, and explore everything it has to offer. It’s your go-to destination for getting fully prepared to arrive on campus and thrive in your new community.

Our Summer Education Series features expert-led sessions from Carolina Housing staff, providing 101-style overviews on essential topics such as room assignments, package centers, residential life, tech setup, and student employment opportunities.

As you get closer to arrival, our comprehensive Fall Move-In Guide will walk you through everything you need to know—from move-in procedures to what to pack (and what to leave behind).

If you still have questions, we’re always happy to help. Reach out by email, give us a call, or stop by our office. Whether you’re joining us for the first time or returning for another year, welcome to Carolina Housing.

Daily Cleaning Tasks

Clear Off Surfaces

This means moving gum wrappers, food wrappers, yesterday's notes, your hair ties, etc. off the top of your dresser and desk.
Put away all those tiny things you don't think about leaving out - it builds up quickly and can be avoided with a two-minute sweep of all the surfaces in your room.

Disinfect Commonly Touched Surfaces

Clorox and Lysol wipes. Grab a wipe and rub down the most touched surfaces in your room to kill germs and keep everything clean.
Some commonly touched surfaces would be the TV remote, light switch, doorknob and drawers
- Doorknobs and Handles
- Desk and Chairs
- Counters
- Light Switches
- Shared remote controls
- Phones
- Computers
- Keyboards and mice
Note: Computer keyboards are difficult to clean. Shared computers should have signs posted instructing proper hand hygiene before and after using them to minimize disease transmission. To facilitate cleaning, consider using covers that protect the keys but enable use of the keys.
It is not necessary to routinely apply disinfectants to surfaces that are not high-touch or high-risk (e.g., floors, bookcases, tops of filing cabinets). Soft surfaces such as carpets, rugs, and drapes can be cleaned using soap and water or a cleaner appropriate for the material.

Make your bed!

Your bed takes up most of your space and, if its made nicely, it will make your room cleaner.

Weekly Cleaning Tasks

These things can be done on a weekly (or bi-weekly) basis to keep your dorm feeling extra clean! Don't forget to pick up the clutter to make your space less stressful!

Vacuum your rug, sweep your floors.

To remove crumbs, hair and dust.

Bonus: To keep your floors and carpet cleaner, try to take off your shoes while walking around your room.

Organize your papers.

At the end of each week put everything away or toss it out in order to avoid the desk from becoming blanketed in paper.

Take out the trash.

This is especially important if you have food in your garbage. Sometimes this must be done more than once a week - it all depends on how much trash you manage to have during the week.

Bonus: Spray your trash can with air freshener in order to keep your room smelling fresh.

Do laundry.

Doing laundry on a weekly basis ensures that you'll always have clothes to wear and that your laundry won't become a daunting pile of smelly clothes.

Monthly Cleaning Tasks

These are tasks that should be done monthly or whenever you see fit!

Clean mirrors and windows.

Use Windex and scrub down the mirrors and windows in your room to remove dirt and dust.

Clean out the mini-fridge, stove and microwave

Toss anything that's expired, or you know will not be eaten. take out the contents and scrub down the fridge with a Clorox wipe - clean up those spills that have probably been in the fridge for weeks.

Go through your food

Toss anything that's expired or stale and be sure to re-organize everything.
If you have bins or totes under your beds with your snacks, this can easily become a mess when you are looking for something specific.
Don't let anything get moldy or expired and if it is, toss it!

Wash your sheets and bedding

Just like your clothes, your sheets and bedding need washed regularly! Plus, it is always the best time to take a nap right after they get out of the dryer.