Everyone knows the basic essentials of packing for college – laptop, TV, gaming system, large sum of cash that you will surely blow through in your first month on food. These are all the things that our older siblings, friends, and even parents have told us about in the journey towards freshman year of college. However, oftentimes there are items that fly under the radar of the general incoming freshman population that could really come in handy. Here are 5 unexpected items that are very useful to an incoming class.
Screwdriver
Whether you need to tighten up the bed frame, screw your window screen back in to avoid a damage charge, or remove your closet door to use as a sled/table/anything else, having a screwdriver around to do the small pieces of maintenance work can be really useful. Instead of having to pay for the buildings and grounds crew to come to your room every time something small goes wrong, you can have the freedom to do it yourself.
Tape
Building off of the earlier point about maintenance, sometimes a little DIY fix-up can be your best friend in your dorm room. Many dorms have lights with caps or covers over them that have the wonderful tendency to fall off constantly. Instead of waiting for your housekeeping crew to come and install a new one, fix it temporarily with tape, and then report the issue during a break so that they have plenty of time to respond to the request. Additionally, tape is really useful for attaching your friends to walls and other fun adventures.
Surge Protector
In addition to being useful in the event of a lightning strike/brown-out, surge protectors also add the valuable commodity of extra outlets, which tend to be rare in a college dorm. While you may not think you have a lot of things that plug in, by the time you add your fridge, laptop charger, phone charger, coffee maker, printer, fan…it can really start to add up. Additionally, unlike extension cords, there are hardly any colleges that don’t allow surge protectors in the room.
First-Aid Kit
This is an item that always flies under the radar during college packing. Most people go with the mentality that if they get hurt, they will just go to the health center. However, if you have a small injury, such as a cut, that is not worth going all the way to your health center for, or if you sprain your ankle on a Saturday night and the health center is closed on Sunday, you might find yourself wanting some basic medical supplies. Be sure to include Band-Aids, antibiotic ointment, one or two wraps, gauze and medical tape – the basic supplies that you could find yourself wanting.
Earplugs
Sometimes you have to get up early on a Saturday morning for a club event, class, or any other outside reason, but your neighbors are partying it up like there’s no tomorrow (which you know darn well there is because you have to be up at 7 am). Instead of trying to drown their noise out with more noise, invest in some foam, in-ear earplugs. You can get them for very cheap at most drug stores, saving you money and aggravation down the road.
