My freshman year of college I lived in a small, one-room dorm with a roommate. There wasn't a lot of space, so I had to only bring the essentials. When I was preparing to move into my dorm, I had no idea what to bring with me. All I had as a reference was a paper with a list of obvious items such as a jacket and bed sheets. I spent hours watching dorm videos on YouTube to get ideas on what to bring. Although I feel like I was fairly prepared and brought up a lot of useful items, there were items I forgot or ended up needing but did not have. Even though summer has just started, I know that incoming college freshman are starting to go shopping and starting to think about what they will bring with them to their dorm. Here are the top ten essentials students need to bring with them:
1. Medicine
In college, students live in close quarters with everyone, so your bound to get sick at one point or another. Some medicine students should have on hand include: NyQuil, DayQuil, Advil, Midol, and cough drops. A lot of colleges recommend that students refrain from bringing a car their first year because there isn't enough parking for everyone. So if it's late and a student can't get a ride to the store to get medicine, they'll be miserable all night.
2. Felt Hangers
Instead of bringing regular hangers, use the felt hangers, aka huggable hangers. The felt sticks to material and allows clothes to fit closer together, so that more clothes can fit in the tiny dorm closet.
3. Febreeze
Students are going to want Febreeze on hand because smells linger in dorms because it's such a small space. Many people end up bringing a microwave so they can heat up food and Febreeze will help to eliminate those smells from the dorm room.
4. First Aid Kit
A first aid kit is always important to have. This is one thing that never crossed my mind to bring, but my roommate actually brought one and it ended up coming in handy. Even if you don't think you'll use it, it's better to have it just in case.
5. Chair Pillow
A chair pillow is always great to have for doing homework or eating on a bed, which is what students do over 70 percent of the time because it's comfier than sitting at a desk.
6. Planner
A planner is important to have because life in college can be crazy and hectic with classes, clubs, events, and work and it's hard to remember everything without writing it down. The trick to being successful in college is to stay organized.
7. Shower Caddy
In most dorms, the whole hall shares a bathroom, so it's important to have something to carry all the toiletries like soap, shampoo, conditioner, razors, and a toothbrush, so that you don't have to make several trips to and from the bathroom.
8. Shower Shoes
Since everyone shares a bathroom, it's important to wear shower shoes. It's just more sanitary and protects your feet from being exposed to bacteria or fungus.
9. Mattress Pad
The beds in dorms are very uncomfortable, so a mattress pad will come in handy to make the bed softer and more comfortable.
10. Fan
Bring a fan! When it was hot outside, it got even hotter in the dorms and wasn't pleasant. Since there is no air conditioning it is important to bring something to cool off the room.
For more ideas check out this video: College Dorm Room Essentials
