At many colleges, resident advisors put up door decorations before dormitory residents arrive for the academic year. In many cases, one of the first decorations RAs put up is a name tag for each student in the room. This practice helps the RA identify which students live where, helps the students feel individually welcomed and also aids with the process of meeting other students on the floor. If you arrive at your dorm to find your name already up, consider adding drawings or craft-like additions to your name tag to make it yours. If your door is unadorned by the time you check in, get out a blank piece of paper and some artsy supplies and let your creative juices flow.
Posters work just as well as a door decoration as they do on walls. Consider putting up a poster on the outside or the inside of your door. If you share a room, double check that your dorm-mate doesn’t mind first. Try to keep your poster selection PG-rated, as your resident advisor may ask you take down a poster that displays nudity or drug use. Check out your dorm’s rules about what you can and can’t use to display posters, as some colleges prohibit the use of tacks or other devices that leave permanent marks in the walls.
Hanging a small whiteboard on your door is another way to add some life to your plain dorm door. Hang the board on the inside of the door and make it into a planner. Write down things you need to remember before you leave in the morning, or use it as a way to communicate with your roommate. Alternately, hang the whiteboard on the outside of your door to write notes to other students on your floor. Encourage communication by writing out poll questions for passersby to answer. You’ll have to leave a pen outside as well, so be prepared for people to intentionally or accidentally walk away with your marker.
Your door is a great place to decorate for the holidays. In October, break out a full-sized paper or plastic skeleton and pin it to the door. When Thanksgiving rolls around, make your own paper turkeys by tracing the outline of your hand and post the decoration on your door. For Christmas, cover your door in wrapping paper and wind a long, wide ribbon all the way around your door. As with any other decoration you place on the outside of your door, however, keep in mind that your decoration may not last the season intact, due to the antics of intoxicated or rude fellow residents.