1. Full-Length Mirror

Hang it on the back of your door and you are golden. This mirror was my saving grace the entire school year, whether it was to easily do my makeup for going out or just to check to see if I looked alive when I woke up for class in the morning.

2. Backrest Pillow

I've been doing school for way too many years to not know my bad habits, one being that I spent most of high school doing my homework on the couch. While people probably think that is extremely unproductive, it worked for me and I graduated so hey. Unfortunately, my comfy couch could not make it with me to school, but that just meant for another new habit: doing homework in bed. Yes, bed. However, it was this comfy cozy backrest pillow that saved me from not falling asleep in the process.

3. A Rolling Laundry Basket (with a lid!!!!)

Coming from a girl who lived on the penthouse aka floor 13 in my dorm this past year, I couldn't have been more thankful for this precious gem. Doing laundry in college already sucks, so why not make it easier with a laundry basket that you don't need to carry nor worry about things falling out. My dad went all across the North Shore to hunt one of these down, and it was truly worth the hassle.

4. Power Strips

It's 2019, which means there is an absurd need for everything technology right at your fingertips. Having multiple power strips, especially the one that laid right next to my bed came in handy to A) scroll on my phone before bed, B) reach for my laptop in the middle of the night to double check that I've turned in an assignment, and C)

5. Zinc Tablets

Your bound to get sick in college. I'm not going to sugar coat it, it sucks and all you want to do is be home and have your mom feed you soup. So to prevent this misery, I suggest buying the greatest thing ever. They taste like shit, but pop four in your mouth a day, and your cold will go away asap rocky.

And here are the five things to not waste your money on...

1. A Lamp

Okay, you're really going to sit there and tell me that you spent your late nights doing homework? Yeah, right. I bought both a desk lamp as well as a clip on lamp for my night stand I don't think I turned on either once. What you'll learn quickly during college is that homework is a day time activity.

2. A Purse

Going out in college and making sure you get your actual body home is already difficult, so why are you making it harder on yourself by remembering an additional item too? Personally, I just found it most efficient to carry my ID, credit card, and license in my phone pocket on the back of my phone. It took to convince my parents that a wallet wasn't necessary because they reminded me that if I lost my phone, I'd lose everything. Of course, they are 100% right, but what is best for me is to just keep everything all in one place. It's also not worth it to carry a purse around just to have things like lipgloss or perfume. Unfortunately, when you go out, you are entering a pit of sweat and beer and the only cure is a special place called a shower.

3. A T.V.

Now this one was a real bummer. For my birthday present last summer, my parents bought me a small T.V. that I could bring to school. I thought it would come in handy often--it had an HDMI adapter that I could hook up often to watch things off my computer, and I could be that person who would host the movie nights with friends. Well, life happened and I regret to inform you that I probably used my T.V. at school a total of four times. It didn't help that A) the T.V. was too small and too far away from my bed to watch it before I went to sleep, B) most of the time I was just too lazy to set it up that I just watched things on my computer and C) that one of my good friends at school brought a T.V. that was much, much bigger than the little one I had brought. So if I were you I'd just save your parents the money and trouble (that I still feel extremely guilty about) and don't even bring one to begin with.

4. Office Supplies

This goes for things like post-it notes, binder clips, looseleaf paper, etc. I literally never used any of it. The truth is, you really don't use that many school supplies in college because most things you need are online. I'm serious, all you need for school is a laptop, pens, pencils, and notebooks if you prefer taking notes by hand (or if your professor requires it).

5. Your entire wardrobe

I guess this isn't really something to not buy, rather just to proceed with caution. This one is an extremely useful reminder now that I am about to start packing up for this upcoming year. The truth is, a majority of my clothes that I brought to school I never touched. To class, practically all I wore were sweats. And then for going out I wore jeans and a cute top/bodysuit. So basically all of my sweaters and nicer tops that I may have worn to school during high school if I was looking to dress a little cuter or to a dinner out with family sat in my closet all year because I honestly never had a use for them. Don't even waste space in your car on extra clothing...worst case scenario your parents can send you what you need or bring it down later. You also should definitely not bring everything at once--like for instance wait to bring your winter coat til the fall and also have your parents take home all the summery clothes you don't need anymore over Thanksgiving. It's better to save some room in your closet and dresser for some new things you want to purchase rather than things you'll never wear.