Before starting my freshman year of college, I was the usual mix of excited and nervous just like anyone else. I was beyond ready to make new friends and take classes that I actually had interest in, but the one thing that made me feel like a kid on Christmas Eve was the prospect of being able to decorate my own dorm.

It's not like I didn't have my own room at home (I was the only girl, so I basically got handed one as soon as we had enough rooms to fit the rest of my brothers), but college is so different when it comes to decorating. It's another way to explore your creativity and express your individuality in your new environment, and I could not wait to get started.

I became a poor college kid roughly around the time I turned 14, so of course I didn't have money to buy expensive, aesthetic-y decorations or even the materials to DIY them. This would not stop me, however. In the spirit of having the Tumblr-esque dorm room I'd always dreamed of, I found a way around it.

Duvet covers are everything.

I scored the duvet above for $20 at Urban Outfitters. $20! While that is basically half of a paycheck for me (gotta love working minimum wage summer jobs), it is still incredibly cheap.

Duvet covers, if you know where to find the right ones, are generally between $20 and $60 and are so important for creating the perfect dorm. And, if you get a reversible one like the one I scored above, you're golden.

No bedside table? Try a shower caddy!

My dorm sophomore year was practically perfect, but it drove me absolutely crazy that I didn't have something to put things on that was close to me. I was not about to walk across my room at night just to take my contacts out. No, thank you.

I got this at Walmart for about $10, and it hasn't failed me yet.

Pictures everywhere!

Pictures are so important when it comes to creating the perfect dorm. My room is always covered in them and I often get distracted by them when I actually try to study, but that's a different story. They cover wall space (trust me: the less white wall space, the better) and come pretty cheap-- it doesn't get much better!

Snapfish gives you 100 free prints when you sign up-- all you have to pay for is shipping! It's also very convenient as it lets you pick photos right from your phone or any social media you have, so you can do it all in one transaction.

Use blankets/ tapestries to cover boring blank walls.

That nifty little striped blanket was only $20 at a roadside stand in Delaware, and it fit perfectly with my theme. It is so unnecessary to buy a tapestry that can cost $40-$50 when you can just re-purpose something you already have!

And speaking of re-purposing--

You can get use out of nearly everything.

From glass bottles to old laptop cases (yes, I have one on my wall), you can re-purpose so many things if you put your mind to it.

One of my favorite re-purposements is using old scarves to cover up ugly areas, like the underneath of desks or storage spaces in closets. It makes things look so much more organized and, as a very unorganized person, this is extremely necessary.

String lights are SO important.

Besides the glaring "aesthetic" caption across this, what is the first thing your eye is drawn to? If you didn't say the lights, I really hope you noticed the bag of gummy worms next to me.

String lights are truly essential for the perfect dorm room. Not only do they give you a little extra light (which is a very good thing in dorms that don't have overhead lighting), but they're pretty and relatively inexpensive-- I got these for $7 at Christmas Tree Shops.

Make it yours.

As your "home away from home" for the next few years, you will be spending a lot of time in your dorm. No matter how you choose to decorate it, make sure that you feel comfortable and at home in it. Just try not to break the bank in the process!