Oh August… the month when students everywhere move in or move back in to their college dorms. I can’t hardly believe it’s right around the corner! I remember my Freshman year of college as a time full of anticipation, nerves, and excitement. But what I remember more is the time leading up to moving in to my college dorm. My mom and I designated our living room as my “college dorm stuff” spot and for weeks, yes weeks, leading up to my departure date, we loaded that room with all of my belongings. I think we had six or seven lists that we checked, double checked and triple checked. We even cross referenced the college dorm checklists with each other.
All this to say, that was a crazy time for me and I’m hoping to make it easier for you! There were some key items that made my first (and successive years) in a college dorm super easy. Some of the things you may have heard of before and some may be total surprises- which is why this list will be helpful. I hope you can find these things as useful as I did! Let’s get into the list.
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1. White Noise
One of the most important things to college living is sleep. Until I got to school, I had no idea how loud dorm buildings were. Everyone failed to mention to me that the walls are paper thin and you can hear just about everything. Enter- the greatest purchase I made for my dorm- a white noise machine. My roommate and I were so thankful to have a machine because it helped us block out the noises of our hall-mates and suit-mates. If you want to prioritize your sleep and get the best rest possible, I’d HIGHLY recommend a white noise machine.
Zzzzzzzzzzz
If you are someone who just wants simple white noise, my family has this machine and we love it! It helps cancel out other noise and has variable volume levels.
If you are someone who would like other nature sounds like rain, beach waves, crickets chirping, or even different types of white noise, this machine might be a better option!
Trust me, a white noise machine will help immensely. It saved my sleep every night!
2. Portable Power Bank
I don’t know many college students that go anywhere without their phone or laptop or other electronic device. Some days I had super long class days and I wouldn’t be back at my dorm room the entire day. A portable power bank saved my phone and even my headphones throughout the day and ensured that I wouldn’t lose battery power.
For years and even now, my entire family uses this power bank and has lots of success with it. It is small and pretty light weight which makes it a perfect addition to a college backpack. Also, it is super helpful for traveling or long days away from campus!
3. Magnetic Paper Towel Holder
Ok now this item might make you scratch your head in wonder. But this was probably one of the greatest, underrated items I had in my college dorm. Actually, I have to give credit to my mom though because she found it and shipped it to my school. It was amazing! My roommate and I had a mini fridge in our room and always had a roll of paper towels floating around. But when my mom sent this to us, it made a world of difference. We just placed the holder on the side of our fridge and bam- perfection.
The other thing that is really nice about this holder is it’s not fixed- so you can adjust it to whatever size roll of paper towels you have. I’m telling ya, this is such a helpful little tool! It is also really secure so it doesn’t come off the fridge when you pull or tear off a paper towel.
4. Bedside Caddy or Shelf for College Dorm
Until my Freshman year of college, I had no idea these things even existed. But wow oh wow am I happy I got one! My roommate and I decided to loft our beds and so the beds were too high from the ground for a traditional nightstand to work. I found so many options at Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Amazon that all could have worked. There are the pocket style ones that slide under the mattress and have multiple sections for your belongings and then there are the shelf ones- my preferred choice!- that clips to the side of the bed and provides a platform for your stuff. One benefit of the platform style is you can put your drink or water bottle on it without it spilling.
Here is a great pocket style one that a friend of mine had and loved. It also comes in a ton of different colors so if matching is your goal, this is great!
This shelf version is almost exactly the same one that I had. The benefits are that it is adjustable to fit any kind of bed frame and there is a cord holder that will help keep your charger on the stand!
5. Extra Long Charging Cable
The previous item I listed reminded me of how crucial it is to have a long charging chord for your phone! When I lofted my bed, my regular chord wouldn’t reach from the outlet and so I picked up a 10 foot cable and it worked wonders. I could slip it in the outlet behind my bed and have plenty of length to reach all the way around to the top of the bunk. I’ve used Amazon chords for a long time and haven’t had any issues. They stand up really well to bending and twisting which is super great!
It is definitely a bit of an investment up front, but you won’t be disappointed in the quality. Use this link to get two 10 foot chords! This is for an iPhone lightning charger. But not to worry, there are longer chords of other versions too!
6. College Dorm Shoe Mat
I have to give my sweet roommate credit for this one. Truthfully, I didn’t even think about this until she brought one to our room. We go to school in Chicago and all times of the year, especially in the winter time, we track things inside on our shoes. She purchased a small shoe mat that we kept towards the entrance of our room that we used to put our shoes or boots on. It helped keep our room so much cleaner!
This is again something that I wouldn’t have thought of but was so beneficial to our dorm room. It also gives your shoes a designated spot so you don’t have stray footwear strewn across the floor. 😉 One thing that is also great about it is the rimmed edges. This way, if you track in water or snow on your shoes, the moisture will stay on the tray and not on your floor.
This is a must have if you’re planning on going to college in a cool-weather environment. But is also incredibly beneficial for any college dorm because it keeps the dirt on the mat and not on the floor!
7. Mini Vacuum!!
Following up on the shoe mat, this was a crazy practical item that my roommate and I used frequently. Some college dorms have communal vacuums for the hall or floor, but those are often big and cumbersome. The benefit to a smaller vacuum is it gets in all the nooks and crannies of the room and is also nice and light weight.
This is the exact vacuum that I used and actually still have. It is really three vacuums in one and is perfect for cleaning up small messes or tidying up the whole room. It also comes in different colors which is kinda fun! As the name implies, it’s really lightweight and is perfect for college dorm living!
I’m a big advocate for a clean living space. College dorm rooms are small enough as is- I think it’s like living in a shoebox. So, keeping the room clean makes a world of difference on the living environment. No longer is the room claustrophobic or cluttered due to mess!
8. Two Lamp Light
One of my biggest pet peeves of college dorms is the hideous fluorescent lighting. It actually would give me headaches if we kept our big overhead light on and so my roommate and I each got a two light standing lamp. Not only was the lighting softer than the overhead, but it was also adjustable for our needs. If I wanted to read or study, I could turn on the reading light and it wouldn’t impede on my roommate’s sleep. They also lit the room nicely when both lights were turned on.
Let there be light!
The lamps we got were from Target and were really lightweight- which is a great feature all around! But there are also fantastic options like this one that have large shades and a three way switch. This feature is fantastic because you can adjust the lamp depending on how much light you want.
9. Over-the-door Hooks
These are immensely helpful for coats, towels, bags, clothes, umbrellas, bags, etc. etc. I actually brought two over-the-door hooks and put one on the back of the bathroom door for towels and robes, and then one on the end of my bed for my backpack, jackets and bags.
This one is great for smaller things like bags or sweatshirts because there are 11 hooks on it. Perfect for holding all of your belongings! I like having all the hooks to keep things organized and separate.
If you want something to hold heavier items like wet towels or robes, these are great. It is helpful to make sure when you get these that the door will still close with it on top. We had to put a command strip on the inside of ours so that it would stay level and the door would shut. Necessity is the mother of invention! I also like that this one comes in various colors if you don’t like plain silver.
Yay for organization! Trust me, having a place to hang things up keeps them off of your bed, desk, or floor. I found my towels would also dry so much faster when I hung them up versus throwing them over my chair. Pro tips right there. Hang up your stuff. 😛
10. Spray Wrinkle Remover
So in all of my time looking at college dorm packing lists, almost every single one mentioned an iron and board or a mini steamer. While those things are ok, they are more appliances/tools that can take up substantial space. Sure, they’re helpful, but one of the things to ask yourself is how much you are really going to use something. Do you see yourself needing to steam or iron your clothes frequently? Like more than once a month? If the answer is yes, maybe you’d want to invest in those tools. But for the normal person who doesn’t anticipate needing to de-wrinkle your clothes, I found the spray wrinkle remover absolutely perfect!
Not only is it a small bottle, but it lasts a good long while. I’ve had the same bottle for two and a half years and still haven’t run out. I use it on my dresses or business clothing or even t-shirts I wanted to re-wear before washing (here’s to hating doing laundry in college!). It’s nice too because it refreshes the scent of your clothing so you don’t stink. Yay!
Sniff Sniff- Fresh!
Here is the exact bottle I used. This stuff works wonders and it also removes static which is helpful.
If you want less product and also want a travel size, we’ve also purchased this before and it’s great. The travel bottle is perfect for planes or trips that you know you’re going to need good looking clothing.
11. Bonus Tip: Extra Supplies for Your College Dorm
I couldn’t stop myself from adding an additional tip. While I was purchasing things for my room, I bought an extra or two of each item (within reason) and it saved my butt. Truthfully, so much happens within the first few weeks/months of school that the last thing I would’ve had time to do is go off campus to pick up shampoo. It was great to have a small bin of extra stuff that I knew I had if I ran out.
Things I had Extras Of….
Heres a list of things I made sure to have extras of in a bin I stored in my college dorm room closet.
- Shampoo and Conditioner
- Skincare products
- Paper products (tissues, cotton rounds, q-tips, paper towels)
- Deodorant!
- Brita filters and Keurig filters
- Baby wipes and makeup remover wipes
- Wrinkle remover and laundry detergent
- Floss and toothpaste
- Soap (body and hand soap respectively)
- Makeup
Honestly, my “extras” bin was a time and money saver. When I bought things before hand, I wouldn’t have to go to the store and then be tempted to buy more stuff (I would buy anything I saw just cause I could if I did that).
All in all…
College dorm living is a fun experience. It grows you and gives you new perspectives on life. I learned so much about myself and others when I lived in a dorm. It was also hugely beneficial to learn how to live with other people in a shared space. This list only scratches the surface of all the things I took to school. Actually, we had to rent a mini van to hold all of my stuff and we still took a second car AND made trips to the store! Admittedly, I took way too much stuff. But the things I listed in this post are all things I took back year after year and still use today.
I hope this list is helpful and provides you with some tips for easy college living! I wish you the best (and easiest!) dorm experience possible. College move in is right around the corner- do you have everything you need?
