Away from their parents’ supervision, many college students start to neglect their rooms. Those routine cleanings that were once a frequent habit quickly get put on a long to-do list and often are completely forgotten. Soon enough, junk piles up, trash overflows, a film of dust covers everything in the room, and students find themselves living in a pig pen.

If you’re a busy college student with plenty else to worry about, you may think you’re unaffected by the mess. However, a chaotic room creates chaos in your mind, making it difficult to think clearly and focus on school work.

By cleaning and organizing your room, you can start to clear your mind for effective and efficient study, thereby helping you become more successful at college. The cleaning process not only helps you organize yourself and the work you have to do, it also gives you more energy, allowing you to accomplish your everyday tasks and your long-term goals.

Here are ten easy steps to help you successfully clean your college dorm room:

1. Wash bed sheets in hot water. During sleep, you perspire and shed dead skin cells on your sheets and pillow cases. Dust mites breed easily on your moist bed sheets. To keep these microscopic arachnids at bay, wash your sheets in the hottest water possible every week.

2. Open the windows to ventilate your room. Clean indoor air is vital to good health, but your room’s air is probably more polluted than you think. The air you breathe affects your brain function, so the purer your air, the better you will function.

3. Pick up and put away your clothes. When clothes are scattered about your room, your thoughts can become scattered, thus impeding your ability to focus. If your clothes cover your floor, you may be affected emotionally, feeling dragged down and hopeless. Putting your clothes away will lift your spirits.

4. Sweep your floor and/or vacuum your rug. A clean floor will help you feel more motivated to start your assignments. Use a vacuum with a HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) filter that best removes dirt and grime from your carpet.

5. Clean and organize your horizontal surfaces. Symbolically, your desk and bureau tops and your bedside table are landing pads for your ideas. If completely covered with stuff, you have no place for your ideas to surface. Organize your books, magazines, notebooks, cosmetics and personal care items so you have some empty space on your horizontal surfaces. Dust with a microfiber cloth or clean with a plant-based household cleaner. To make your own, dilute vinegar with warm water and apply with a microfiber cloth.

6. Empty garbage can. Overflowing trash can sap your energy. Dorms usually have a place to empty trash on every floor, simplifying the removal of trash from your room.

7. Throw out stale snacks and leftover fast food. Odors from leftovers and stale food distract and annoy anyone within smelling range. Remove these items from your room and throw them in the hall trash bin. To freshen the air, open the window and/or spritz with an air freshener made from essential oils.

8. Clean out your refrigerator. A sticky, gooey refrigerator becomes a breeding ground for germs, leaving the food you still plan to eat vulnerable to contamination. Remove old and outdated food, and clean the inside of the fridge with a microfiber cloth.

9. Organize your back pack. Remove old papers and items, and put in the work and materials you need for the week. You will find what you need easily.

10. Throw out old school papers. Outdated school papers clog up your precious space and your thinking. Throw out or file them for later use, making room for new information and knowledge.

A weekly cleaning will keep your room in good condition and you on the fast track for college success.