When shopping for a college dorm room, many students and their parents follow a list that the school provides with suggestions on what to purchase. Many of the items on the list are labeled "optional", but they are worth purchasing and can really help out in a college dorm room.

1. Mattress Pad

When you look on the list of provided items and see that a mattress is provided, don't think that it will be comfortable to sleep on by itself. Many colleges provide simple mattresses that aren't very comfortable to sleep on, so purchasing a mattress pad to put on top of the mattress is worth the money.

2. Laundry Basket/Bag

Rather than trying to carry all of your laundry to the laundry room in the dorm, a basket or bag allows you to carry all of your dirty and clean laundry back and forth without dropping any of your clothes along the way or needing to take multiple trips for one load. They can also be used to hold your dirty laundry in your room instead of leaving it on the floor.

3. Desk Lamp

You never know when moving into a dorm how the lighting will be in your room. Going to the library is always an option to have a place to study, but if you prefer to study in your room, a desk lamp is a great way to provide reading light that won't strain your eyes.

4. Shower Caddy

A shower caddy is a great way to keep track of all of your bathroom items as well as a way to transport your needed items to the showers. They are designed to be able to go in the shower with you because of the holes in them that provide drainage for the caddy.

5. Small Fan

You can't always control the temperature in your dorm room and if it is too cold you can always put on more clothes or have lots of blankets on your bed, but what do you do if it is too warm? I can always trust my small fan too keep my room cooled off either by facing it directly towards me so I am getting cold air on me, or by putting it in front of the window facing out so it is forcing the hot air out of the room.