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In less than a week, I’ll be sending my firstborn off to college for the first time. For a few weeks now, we’ve been enjoying our lasts – laughing, crying, and loving on each other as family.
Like last night – it was her last Take-Out Tuesday at home. Don’t even get me started. But in the midst of all those lasts, we’ve also been knee-deep in preparation.
There is a lot that needs doing when back-to-school means off-to-college for the first time! We’ve been sorting through her clothes – what stays, what goes, and what needs replacing? Sorting through her belongings – what needs to be boxed up for storage, what needs to be thrown away, and what needs to be added to the college staging area.
Yes. We have a college staging area.
That’s because we’ve also been shopping. For storage containers, towels, sheets, a bean bag, a new printer (we chose the HP Deskjet 3722 All-in-One Printer/Copier/Scanner in awesome Dragonfly Blue), you know – basic college stuff.
So much shopping.
And at some point my husband said, “Please get all this out of the living room.” So we did. We piled it all in the office on a table and said, “This is her college staging area – nobody touch!”
Ready to get your Off-To-College groove on? Hover over the photo to shop this one-of-a-kind printer!
Along the way, we realized she was going to need some way to organize all this stuff so she can find what she needs without opening all the boxes. And some ways to decorate her walls that don’t add to the already broken bank. Enter the World’s Smallest All-In-One Printer. Not only is it a perfect fit for the dorm room, it’s gonna help us organize and decorate too!
Here are some easy ways to organize and decorate your dorm room using nothing but a printer and some paper.
- Containers need labels. We are printing out labels for each plastic box – labels that say UTENSILS, LINENS, and OFFICE SUPPLIES for example. The labels will fit nicely on the end of each container and be clearly visible. You could also print labels for magazine files and any other kind of storage you are using.
- Folders and notebooks need labels. Each folder or notebook will get a cute label identifying which class and which semester it was used in. This is both for usability during the school year, and storage for posterity until she decides to throw away all her old class notes. (What? You didn’t save yours for five or six years?)
- Photos. Whether photos of family and friends back home, or photos of beautiful places – we are going to be printing out some photos to hang on the walls. One thing I love about this is you can print directly from your smart phone!
- Pretty banners and posters. At the end of this post, you will find a free printable with labels, banners, and posters you are free to use to decorate your dorm room this fall. Our banner includes every letter of the alphabet in several trendy colors – so you can spell out whatever you want! You can either print these on full-sheet label paper and stick the banner in place, or print and cut each piece from cardstock and connect it with some kind of ribbon. Either way, it’s a fun and mostly free way to spruce up a boring room.
BTW – did you know that Walmart is hosting in-store demos for the world’s smallest all-in-printer from HP? You can go check out the printer for yourself, see it in use, and pick your favorite color! 
I’d love to know – how would you decorate a college dorm room using only a printer? But before you go comment, make sure you –> click here and download your free printable dorm room decor.
Wow, when you list it all out, there are so many ways to use a printer when getting your dorm room ready! Love it.
Thanks! We expect she will use it a ton once she gets started with classes too!
I love the idea of printing out lettering/pictures and then framing them to hang on your wall! I have also done this by printing out a coloring sheet and then framing it after my daughter is done coloring it. 🙂
Such good ideas
I love the idea of printing pictures with a printer and then framing them. You
can make a gallery wall of favorite people and places. A great way to feel connected to your home, family, and friends.
I have a college bound granddaughter. This would be great for her!
My daughter is a sophomore at Georgetown and she would LOVE this!
These tips are great! I’ll definitely be considering trying These out in the future!
Thanks for the great information!
Good ideas!
Great ideas!
All great ideas!
Thank you for sharing. This would be great to decorate a dorm with pictures from the printer.
Love this all in one printer! It’s compact enough to not take a lot of room and if you pair it with a laminator and a labeler you could have infinite possibilities for decorating and organizing!
Print off encouraging sayings and put in simple frames
I’m so glad I don’t have to worry about college anytime soon, but these are great tips for our house!
My kids are grown but a printer can be used by anyone.
These are some great ideas. They would work great for a kids/teens bedroom as well.
Very cool decorating ideas! Thanks!!
Great post, I am going to share this with my nephew. He is always complaining about his dorm room.
Ahhh..great ideas! Instead of buying labels and posters one could personalize and print their own using the desired colors and designs..great idea! I might just use these ideas for home. Thanks for sharing!