1. Mattress topper/ Bed bug protector - If you don't already know then let me tell you now, dorm room mattresses are not comfortable. They feel like they're made of plastic and are not cushiony what so ever. And who even knows what nasty things are on them, considering they have been used by numerous people. What really made my bed comfy was a tempurpedic mattress topper, I need a comfortable bed when I sleep so I did go all out but even a less expensive foam mattress topper will make a difference. I also like to feel like I'm in a clean bed, so a bed bug mattress topper put my mind at ease that no bed bugs were getting me again (yes, it has happened to me before...not fun).
2. Under bed storage - Lofting (or rising) your bed and using the space underneath for storage is a great use of space. I got plastic drawer storage bins to put clothes in considering I had little closet space. I also kept things like shoes and my laundry hamper under there.
3. Slimline hangers - As I said my closet was pretty small and I do have a lot of clothes... Slimline hangers were a life saver. These type of hangers are not as thick as regular hangers which let me hang so many more clothes in my closet.
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| { Bed Bath & Beyond } |
4. Command hooks/ strips - These were another life saver for my roommate and I. A major thing that was important to us was decorating our room and hanging lots of pictures to make our tiny room feel like home. And since most colleges don't allow you to make holes in the wall, command strips helped us stick up those pictures. We also used command hooks around our room for random things like hanging up our towels or even to hang up long necklaces.
5. Rug - This one seems a little more obvious but you'd be surprised by how many girls on my dorm floor who didn't have a rug. I had the advantage of buying a big area rug for my room through my school. This pretty much made our room a room "with carpet" which felt a lot more homey.
6. Full length mirror - This is another obvious one but I wanted to be sure to include it because it's something I used numerous times a day. A full length mirror is much more useful then just a face mirror, because, well you can see your whole body! I always had so many girls in my room using my long mirror!
7. Mini steamer - My friends and I got so much use out of my roommates mini steamer. Since we were not allowed to have irons in the dorm, our steamer was great for getting wrinkles out of our clothes, especially after unpacking all our clothes we had just brought to school with us.
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| { Bed Bath & Beyond } |
8. Fan - You never know how your room temperature is going to be in your dorm. For me, our room was always so hot especially when everyone would get ready in there using curling irons and straighteners. Having a fan or even a mini fan keeps air circulating around the room when it's packed and keeps you cool at night.
9. Planner/ Calendar - An important part of college is managing your time and staying organized and lucky for me, I've always been pretty good at this thanks to my yearly planners. Having some kind of planner or calendar will definitely help you keep your classes and social life organized.
10. Shower shoes/ caddy - If your dorm is like mine was where you have to walk down the hall to the bathroom, having a shower caddy to carry all your belongings is a big help. Definitely don't forget shower shoes because even though the floors get cleaned, you never really know what's on them.
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| { PB Teen } |
11. Brita - Our Brita was great for when we would run out of water bottles or to refill our Keurig. We would just fill it up with tap water and the Brita would filter out all the yucky stuff.
12. Disinfecting wipes/ Paper towels/ Air freshener - Living in a dorm gets pretty messy because you do pretty much everything in there. Disinfecting wipes and paper towels are great for when something gets spilled. And some type of spray or plug in air freshener will help keep your room smelling fresh!
13. Color catchers/ Stain remover - Color catchers were my life saver when doing my laundry. You never know when someone's pink sock will slip into your whites and ruin them. I would use a sheet with every load just incase something like this happened or if I might have missed something while sorting my clothes. A stain remover stick or spray is so helpful because stains will definitely happen...
14. Extension cords - You never know where your outlets are going to be in your room so having extra extension cords are so helpful for everything you're going to need to plug in.
15. Rain jacket - DO NOT FORGET THIS!! You don't realize how much help a rain jacket is until your walking around campus to your classes in pouring rain. Rain boats and an umbrella will probably help too. :)
Keep in mind this is NOT a full list of things to bring with you to school. There are so many more things you will need, these are just 15 things that are easily forgotten when packing so much stuff. What other important things are you packing this semester? Leave your helpful thoughts below!
