Dorm shopping can be overwhelming. While it's exciting to be decorating a new room in a new place where (no doubt) lots of memories will be made, it's also time-consuming and stressful. And if you're like me, you're a big fan of being prepared, but some things just aren't necessary for dorm life. So learn from the packrat tendencies and enjoy these dorm shopping tips.
Don't bring sentimental stuff: it might make you feel better to bring something sentimental with you, especially if it's your first time away from home, but I would recommend keeping it to a minimum. Dorms aren't exactly safety deposit boxes, nor are they spacious and luxurious. Bringing your entire rock collection from third grade may make your room feel more like home, but it will also take up a lot of space, and it is probably safer staying at your house.
Don't bring recreational books: you won't have time to read them, and you'll hate yourself come moving day when you have to carry all seven Harry Potter books that went untouched all year down a flight of stairs. Books are heavy.
Don't bring clothes that are not in season yet: limited closet space is a thing. And I mean limited.
Don't bring every tee shirt you've ever gotten from high school: you'll get plenty of shirts just from being a college student. Trust me on this.
If you don't use it at home, you won't use it at school: I have an iron from Bed Bath and Beyond that is still sitting in an unopened box.
Dont go overboard with decorations: again, you will hate yourself when you have to move out a bunch of decorations at the end of the year, most of which you won't be able to use again because either a) they're broken or b) you don't want/like them anymore. It's tempting, but try to resist the urge to go to Hobby Lobby all the time.
Bring the shoes you actually wear/buy comfortable shoes: out of all the tons of shoes I brought with me and envisioned myself wearing regularly, I ended up sticking with the three or so pairs that didn't make my feet bleed.
Bring stuff like band aids, scissors, safety pins, tape and a stapler: it seems random and like stuff you wouldn't really think to bring, because it's just always around in your house or you could ask your mom for them, but they may come in handier than you think. I speak from experience: a stapler is sometimes harder to find on a college campus than you might think, so you might as well get one of your own.
