dorm essentials

Since the beginning of the school year is getting closer and closer I've started thinking about what I need to pack. I know that last year at this time I was freaking out. I had no idea what I needed to take and was really worried that I would end up forgetting something, or worse, not have enough room for all the things I was planning on taking. Now that I'm starting to pack for my second year at college, I have a better idea of what things I really needed and what things I probably could've lived without, so I wanted to make this post to help those of you out who are in the same position I was in this time last year.

one ///// storage

Most dorms have furniture already (mine had a bed, desk, and a dresser), but that didn't give much space for storage. You'll have clothes, cleaning supplies, your school stuff, food, and whatever else you want to bring that you need to put in a drawer. I took these plastic drawers from Walmart. They are very affordable, but also still really nice and well made. They come in four or five sizes, and I took all of them. After going through one year of school I don't think having all of them is necessary. I filled a lot of the drawers with stuff that I really didn't even need to have there. I think I'm just going to take one for cleaning supplies, one for on my desk, and one for snacks this year. Between the closet and the dresser that will be in the room already, I think I'll have plenty of room for clothes.

two ///// clothes that you will definitely wear

I took way too many clothes with me last year. I took things that I never wear when I'm at home thinking I might wear them when I'm at school which looking back was really dumb. I wasted a lot of space and drawers storing clothes that I wore once or never at all. My biggest tip is to only take clothes that you know you'll for sure wear. If you're like me and you go to a school that isn't far from home, you can always take more clothes back with you if you go home one weekend if you feel like you don't have enough options.

three ///// a sturdy laundry basket

I had two laundry baskets in my room. I ended up not liking either of them. The first one was a plastic one that had a little rubber piece in the middle that allowed you  to collapse it down when you weren't using it so it would take up less space. I liked that it didn't have to take up a ton of space, but that also made it not very sturdy. It would collapse even when I had clothes in it and then my clothes would be everywhere. I also had another one that was really cute, but one of the handles broke off one day when I was carrying it upstairs to the laundry room.

four ///// a cute rug

Not only does it make the floor feel cleaner, but it also makes it feel more homey. When the only thing on the floor is the dirty dorm carpet it can feel like just that, your dorm. Even though it is your dorm, it’s where you’ll be living for the next year, so you want it to feel like a home to you and I think a cute little rug really helps with that.

five ///// a shoe organizer

I didn’t have one of these last year, but one of my friends had one in his closet and it made it so much nicer and more organized than how I had mine. I just stacked mine on top of one another on the shelf in the closet which got annoying when I had to move all my shoes around so I could wear the ones at the bottom of the pile. I’ll definitely be getting a shoe organizer for my closet this year. 

six ///// a keurig

I loved coffee in high school, but that love turned into a need in college. I was up late mostly every night doing homework and then had to get up early to go to class every day so I needed the caffeine. Making your own coffee in your room saves a lot of money that you would lose buying some at the campus cafe or going to Dunkin’, and it’s a lot better than the crappy cafeteria coffee haha. 

seven ///// an extension cord & a power strip 

Since the room is so small there’s only like 4 outlets and if you’re sharing the room with someonethat means you only have two yourself, so a power strip is very essential. Between my fridge, laptop charger, phone charger, lamp, desk light, etc I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have a power strip. Same with an extension cord. My outlets were behind my desk and my bed so I needed that extension cord for my chargers.