Free Sock Organizers: Shoe Boxes

I have a ton of winter socks: long socks, fuzzy socks, wool socks, ankle socks. I didn't want to spend any money to organize them, so I wanted a free solution.

Shoe boxes are great to organize socks. They're the right size for socks and still short enough to fit into the drawers of my dresser.

For more crafty folks, the boxes can be covered in scrapbooking or other colored paper for extra decoration.

Free Sock Organizers: Shoe Boxes

I have a ton of winter socks: long socks, fuzzy socks, wool socks, ankle socks. I didn't want to spend any money to organize them, so I wanted a free solution.

Positivity: Spring Commitments

As we enter spring, I always feel the need to tidy up my life.

Spring cleaning is a big deal for me; I started before spring break and feel a commitment to starting with everything clean. I always start with my desk since it's where I spend the most time. Next is the bed, again for time reasons. I'm also going to clean out the fridge and cupboards in the kitchen.

But there's also tidying up my life and commitments.




For spring, I want to refresh my wardrobe. This means getting rid of things I don't wear often but also adding in some new clothes. I did empty my closet quite a lot over the winter, but it feels like I'm missing the bright colors. I always hesitate about buying nice new clothes. Sometimes it's the cost. Other times, I worry that I won't have the confidence to try an adventurous new trend. I would like to overcome this fear!

I realized that I love to do volunteer work, but haven't been making time for it. I want to find a way to refocus on this. I do get the emails for volunteer events but rarely find the motivation. Possibly I should find a volunteer friend who will also enjoy helping others.

I wonder if it would be possible for me to take three classes each semester from now on. I already know that I'm not graduating on time and have a scholarship for a ninth semester. The work load for this semester was so much more reasonable than last semester. I'd have to talk to my advisor about this.

Working out! I need to work out on a regular basis. I was doing pretty well on the yoga in the morning. I can feel how sore my body is, having been less regular with it. Funny story: while walking around Disney and Universal, I would stop and do little stretches. Pdiddy laughed at me for doing this, embarrassed by my old lady stretches. But guess what? The next day, I was fresh as a summer morning. Pdiddy wasn't; her knees and legs were super sore. I want to regularly work out for mood and health.

Positivity: Spring Commitments

As we enter spring, I always feel the need to tidy up my life.

Spring cleaning is a big deal for me; I started before spring break and feel a commitment to starting with everything clean. I always start with my desk since it's where I spend the most time. Next is the bed, again for time reasons. I'm also going to clean out the fridge and cupboards in the kitchen.

But there's also tidying up my life and commitments.

College Dorm: Under the Bed

One of the most important spaces in a small dorm room is also the most overlooked: the space underneath the bed.

If you have a roommate, stacking the beds can save space. Make sure that both of you are happy with stacking and can agree on who has top bunk.

Maximizing the use of space under a bed is really major. For me, I have saved so much space and can store my bulk purchases underneath the bed.

Storing under the bed

Depending on your bed frame, you may be able to lift up your mattress frame so that there’s more space under. If the frame doesn’t move, try out bed raisers.

Bed raisers can give you more space underneath your bed and come in nice colors. A cheaper option is asking after a few cinder blocks to lift your bed frame.

A few large sealed storage pieces can do you major favors. You’ll need large storage bins to store things for the summer; keeping them under the bed can add utility. I have three large blue plastic storage containers and a wheeled storage container. 

Check out this clear plastic storage container (Amazon, $52) or this large wheeled storage container (Amazon, $62).

Suitcases are great for under the bed, especially since carry ons are easy to fit. Filling a suitcase with out of season clothes or extra stationary doubles the use of space. You can see my purple carry on underneath my bed.

Storing over the bed

Amazon Clear Shelving $86

Make sure that it’s okay to mount things on the walls before moving ahead with any nails!

Check to see if your dorm or college has a shop. My dorm has a shop, stocked with wood and band saws, which means that building shelving is really easy and convenient.

Prioritize the shelving so that these are things that you will use when waking up and going to sleep but not things that will tempt you to stay up later.

Amazon Wire Shelving $55

Clear plastic or wire shelving is a good idea, allowing you to see all the things you're storing without being overly expensive. 

College Dorm: Under the Bed

One of the most important spaces in a small dorm room is also the most overlooked: the space underneath the bed.

If you have a roommate, stacking the beds can save space. Make sure that both of you are happy with stacking and can agree on who has top bunk.

Maximizing the use of space under a bed is really major. For me, I have saved so much space and can store my bulk purchases underneath the bed.

Vacation sleeping insights

It's amazing how different MIT students approach their long vacations. A lot of my friends spend most of their vacation sleeping. We travelled all the way to Florida, to see sights and enjoy the warm weather. But most of the day was spent sleeping in. To my amusement, there was great anger at my attempts to have an early start so that we could see more of south Florida. I'm really not exaggerating: Waking up at 2pm and going to sleep at 10pm, sometimes with naps in between.

Why do these kids do this? What reasonable explanation could there be for sleeping away a vacation?





The desire to sleep on vacation is great since most of the school year is spent sleep deprived.

During the school week, most students are sleep deprived not just because of course work, but also by choice. Their logic is that with 24 hours a day, there's however long school work takes and 5 hours of fun. The time that's left over is for sleep. Often a 16 hour work day with 5 fun-hours leaves 4 hours for sleep.

Just 4 hours for sleep.

You might think that I'm exaggerating, but there really most students self report 4-6 hours of sleep a day.

You might be catching the logical paradox that I saw.

If their priority is staying awake for fun, why do these kids spend their vacation sleeping?

To me this makes a lot of sense with a slightly closer look. Your body needs 6-9 hours of sleep, whether you try to convince yourself otherwise or not. The body is crying out for sleep.

For long vacations, there's no work hours. It's just 24 hours of "fun". And sleeping is amazingly fun when your body is crying out for it. So amazing, that a disproportionate time is spent sleeping, trying to catch up on all the hours missed during the semester. An impossible task.

The moral: Work sleep into your schedule. 8-9 hours are the ideal for the college age group. If you don't you may spend your Florida vacation napping.