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Dorm Must Have & Must Not Have
CupCakeMuffins
1012 replies96 threads Senior Member
in College Life
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Replies to: Dorm Must Have & Must Not Have
Under-bed storage was a must (especially if you have a girl who will likely need more clothes space). My son liked the milk crates since they were open and he could see what was in them. Used them to store food/drinks/laundry supplies under the bed and books/binders on top of his desk. We did bring a small all in one printer - he and his roommate shared it. Was nice to be able to print in their room.
Anything that makes storage easy will help. Many schools are more than happy for tiny dorm rooms because they force the kids to be out and about and part of the community. They are intended for sleeping, not living!
@gardenstategal & @booper I agree with minimalist approach, dorm rooms are tiny. A comfy bed is a neccessity, will order a memory foam mattress pad.
Personally, I found a hanging mesh kit worked for me, but it's really personal preference.
Avoid packing too many clothes. If you need multiple sets of seasonal clothes and have the opportunity to store the extra elsewhere and switch out, it's highly recommended. Speaking of shower caddies and communal bathrooms, make sure to get a pair of dollar-store flipflops to use as shower shoes, and a bathrobe. It's way more pleasant to have a bathrobe than to have to walk down the hall of your co-ed dorm floor in a towel.
https://smile.amazon.com/LUCID-Ventilated-Memory-Mattress-Topper/dp/B00GIBRYAO
Costco also has Novoform, 3 inch thick, which is really good, but hard to find Twin XL especially now. When it’s on sale it’s $99. Novoform does have an advantage in that it also includes a cover for the mattress pad itself, whereas the Lucid one doesn’t. However, if you’re putting a fitted sheet over both the pad and the mattress I don’t think it matters that much. Just make sure you know the depth of the mattress and make sure that the fitted sheets you will use can go over both the pad and the mattress.
I think freshman year I brought too many Knick knacks and leisure items, like favorite books I’d already read, multiple pairs of slippers, adult coloring books (that was a must have...), and other solo activities. To each their own, but I had no time or interest in any of these things. They just took up space.
Less is more! I found myself overpacking in almost every area but sticking to essentials would’ve been nice.
https://www.target.com/p/mattress-pad-room-essentials-153/-/A-53216643?preselect=53103502#lnk=sametab
Some dorm bathrooms do have cubbies. I saw them at Smith on a tour. However, I'm sure there is some looting that goes on.
My daughter had about 1/8th the stuff she had her first semester by her final semester (dorm v sorority house room, but about the same set up). One blanket instead of 4, one towel instead of 2-4, the shower caddie long ago ditched, one or two coats not 8. Shoes? She had a case of them at first and then only a few pairs and some boots. No lamps, alarm clocks, coffee makers, extra pillows, 'books she really likes and might reread', trinkets from high school friends, stuffed animals, hangers, hangers and more hangers.
Pretty much anything on that list the schools suggest? Nope, not needed.