With summer slowly coming to end, many of us have begun to go shopping for the upcoming school year. For most of us, we getting ready to embark on a new journey. That new journey being college. I have been there before, this can be one of the most exciting times of your life. I am going into my sophomore year of college so I have been in your shoes before. Shopping for college can either exciting or stressful. For me it was a little bit of both. You are given a recommended list of what you should buy and usually everyone buys what is on that list, I am guilty of this. To be honest, you don't have to buy everything. So here is a list of things that you should buy.
1. Extra long phone charger
How many times have you been trying to use your phone while it's charging but you can't because the cord is too short? I wish I would have bought one because my charger is just the charger I got with my phone. I always had to use extension cords to make my charger longer. This honestly will make your life easier.
2. Portable charger
While talking about phones, I would highly recommend that you buy a portable phone charger. There were times where I would either forget to charge my phone or my phone would die. It is nice to have something to charge your phone instead of having to always find an outlet. I have a portable charger and it was honestly a great investment.
3. Keurig coffee maker
I love my Keurig! It is easier to make coffee or tea in your dorm room than having to find a place on campus to get coffee. With a Keurig, you can make a cup of whatever you want and there is no clean up. 
4. Clorox wipes
This is commonly not item people think to bring to college. I would highly recommend you buy Clorox wipes. On move-in day my Freshmen year, I wiped down everything in my room. I think I went through one tube of wipes of month. Whenever I was sick, I would wipe down everything like doorknobs, my keyboard, microwave, remote etc... 
5. Academic planner
At first I didn't use a planner but then I changed my mind and began to use one. Honestly, it will be a life saver. It is a lot easier to keep track of assignments, presentations, meetings and appointments. It will make your life easier, trust me.
6. Water bottle
Instead of carrying around plastic water bottles, you can carry around a reusable water bottle. Most colleges have places where you can fill reusable water bottles. This is a lot cheaper than buying a case of water every month, especially if you are like me and only drink water.
7. Foam bed topper
Dorm room beds are not comfortable. You pretty much have to make the bed the way you want it. Some people don't mind not having one but I would recommend having one. It will make your bed comfy. I got mine from Walmart. You can get them anywhere. 
8. Sewing kit
Trust me on this, it truly is a life saver. You would surprised how many of my friends ripped something. Having sewing kits makes your life easier. I learned this the hard way. I didn't have one but one of my friends had one and it saved me couple times. 
9. First aid kit
You can either buy one or make your own. I bought one and I made one that had personal things in it. I always had extra of everything in the first kit as well. I cut my finger with scissors trying to open a package and it came handy to be able to have what I needed. This is truly a great thing to have for your dorm room. You never know when you might need it. 
10. Slippers
It is nice to come back after a long day of classes and take off your shoes and put on something comfy. Slippers are also a nice thing to have just to walk around your dorm in.
11. Personal Printer
You are probably thinking, why should I bring my own printer? Well, I brought my own printer to school because it is more convenient to have your own printer. With having your own printer, you can easily print out assignment or lectures from comfort of your room. At my university, there "Printing Dollars," each time you print something from a University computer, it would take out Printing Dollars. I personally likes having my own printer because it was easier to print something for class quicker than running to the library. 
Sometimes these items aren't on most college shopping lists but these items in my opinion are items you should have. I hope this helped your college shopping a little bit. Best of luck to all the freshmen starting college!
