by Isabelle Esteves

Created on: March 11, 2013   Last Updated: March 13, 2013

College spring break  has a reputation as a time for heavy drinking, half naked coeds and non-stop partying.  While that may be what happens for some people, it is not the only way to spend spring break.   Staying at home for spring break can be a very productive time especially if you have a plan. 

Most college students share their dorm room with at least one other person. It is very hard to clean this space when other people are always there. If you are really lucky, your room mate or rooms mates will be off in Fort Lauderdale enjoying the sun and you can drag out the vacuum and some storage containers and keep the health department at bay. Get under the beds and get those half eaten pizzas out and control the giant size dust bunnies. It is always a good idea to have your roommate’s permission if you plan to clean in their space.

When was the last time you did your laundry? Why not take this week to get all your clothes cleaned, repaired and do some stain removal?  It is time to access what has worn out, especially underwear and socks and throw them out and make a list of what you need to buy.

This will be a quiet time on campus and it is the perfect time to do some research for a paper that you have coming up or a project you are working on.  You may not want to spent your entire spring break doing school work but you can make your work load lighter as the end of the year is within sight.

If you are a working coed, you can talk to your boss and work full time during spring break. Especially if you work off campus in retail, it might be possible to work a lot more hours and stash away some cash that will come in handy, especially if you have done your laundry and found out that you are really low on some pieces of clothing.

Doing volunteer work during spring break is a great way to be productive. You can try to arrange volunteer work that will give you credit toward your major or at the very least will give you experience in the field you are majoring in. Places such as hospitals and senior centers are often in need of volunteers as are soup kitchens and food pantries.

If you haven’t enjoyed the area where you live this is the time to do it. You are an adult now and it’s about time you visited the local museums, hiked the local trails, enjoyed the great outdoors and just got to know your home.  

Spring break is what you make of it and if you are the type of person who wants to be productive during the down time instead of just having a seven day hangover there are lots of opportunities for productive activities.

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