Back to School: Dorm Room Essentials
It’s that time of year again – stores have put out the back to school supplies and are starting on the Halloween decor, can you believe it’s already August?? I remember when I first moved into the dorms 7 years ago (WOW!!!), even though my dorm room was more of a 4 bedroom/2 bath apartment with a full kitchen and living room…on a lake… thank you FGCU. I was so excited to go shopping for my new room, and I learned quickly what was actually useful and what was a waste, so here’s my dorm room essentials list:
Dorm beds are not very comfortable, so a mattress pad is a great investment, trust me! And don’t forget that you’ll need to buy Twin XL size sheets, so those extra tall basketball players can fit on their beds. Bed raisers are also a must to give you extra storage space in your new small room, and these bed raisers even have extra outlets and usb plugins in case there’s not an open outlet close enough to your bed, super handy! Speaking of extra space, which you will definitely need in any dorm room, velvet hangers are SO great for giving you extra room in the closet. I recently invested in a bunch of these hangers and they made such a difference in my closet, plus none of my clothes ever slip off the hanger anymore, double positive; I don’t know how I went so long without these babies!
If your dorm doesn’t come with your own kitchen like mine did, or even if it does, a toaster oven is a great investment and they’re fairly inexpensive. They’re perfect if you don’t have an actual kitchen in your dorm (which most don’t) because you can just plug it in and cook/bake/toast whatever you need, or in my case, to feed my bagel/cream cheese addiction daily. Don’t waste your money on a toaster when this only takes up a little bit more room and can be used for so much more! And a Keurig is a money and time saver for any college student – it’s cheaper, and probably quicker, than grabbing Starbucks on campus on your way to class every day. You just have to find a cute travel mug to trek with you to class and you’re good to go!
Actually decorating your dorm room with pictures can be fun, I personally went for the cliche Marilyn Monroe pictures, but they aren’t really necessary and you will probably outgrow them fairly quickly. I would stick with more pictures of friends from back home and new friends that you meet in school. Thinking about all of the people that have lived in one dorm room and all of the shenanigans that have probably taken place there, they may not have the most ideal smell – unfortunately, schools also ban a lot of possible hazards, like candles, so some students don’t accidentally forget to blow out the candle before leaving for hours at a time and risk burning down the building…oops. But, it looks like wax warmers didn’t make that list of outlawed items, so I’d definitely recommend getting one, especially one like this with an automatic shut-off, just to be safe. It’ll give your room a more homey and pleasant smell. And I know you Chi-Os are l-o-v-i-n-g this owl wax warmer 😉
I know everyone uses their phones for an alarm clock nowadays, but investing in a real alarm clock will definitely help you out for those early classes that you’ve probably already signed up for (you say “I wake up early every day for high school, I won’t have a problem doing it in college”… yes, you will. Trust me… no bed time + no supervision = going to bed at 3am on most nights and not waking up for that 8am Stats class = failing that Stats class and having to retake it again next semester) plus your phone will probably die a few times and you won’t remember to plug it in, so what will wake you up then? This alarm clock also has a radio, speakers and Bluetooth, so you can use it to play music in your room, when you’re “studying” (or partying).
And last but not least, a planner is definitely a good idea! First week at school, take 15-20 minutes to sit down and review all of your syllabuses and write down when projects or papers are due and when you have quizzes/tests. And keep that planner somewhere that’s easily accessible so you won’t forget. And if your sorority is having a toga social the night before an exam, I’d recommend not going (please refer to failing first semester of Stats…) or yolo, do go to that toga party and you can retake Stats next semester, that’s okay too and definitely more fun!
Well, that’s what I can think of for actual essentials for your dorm room, but to be honest, you won’t be in there most of the time anyways. Between classes, studying at the library, and being social, you’ll only be in your dorm to get ready for such things or to sleep, and even then, maybe not – since most girls can’t get ready unless their sharing a mirror with at least 3 of their friends, so you’ll probably take turns getting ready at each others dorms.
If you’re getting ready to go to (or back to) school, I would love to hear how you’re setting up your dorm space! Have a blast and enjoy yourself, you have your whole life to worry about the serious stuff, so go to that toga party and still try to pass Stats! I have faith in you!
xoxo,
