<p>I heard once we can get them through the school, but I've also seen a lot advertised at Target, The Container Store, etc. So which way to go is best?</p>
<p>Also, as a side note because I didnt want to start an entire new thread, has anyone found a list of prohibited dorm items online? I looked around a lot but couldn't find one.</p>
<p>You have to order them from bedloft.com. You can’t bring them from anywhere else.</p>
<p>I found this here: [Policy</a> on Prohibited Items](<a href=“http://www.resnet.umd.edu/policies/prohibited_items.htm]Policy”>http://www.resnet.umd.edu/policies/prohibited_items.htm)
but I don’t know how up to date it is, as on the same page it said that freshman could not park on campus. (So it predates comcast)</p>
<p>Policy on Prohibited Items:</p>
<p>The following items must never be used, possessed, or brought into any residence hall:</p>
<pre><code>* Alcoholic beverages (if you are under 21)
<p>But notes on these, lit candles have never gotten us in trouble, but we’ve only used birthday candles.
Also, no one cares if you have a knife.
Hotplates, microwave, etc.: No one is going to look. Just take it home on breaks which is the only time there’s inspection. Same goes for alcohol.
Pets: The actual policy (according to my RA) is it has to live in a tank at all times, but bring it home on breaks.</p>
<p>Do you mean the little five inch risers or the full-out bed lofts? I know for the lofts you have to order them through the school, I don’t know if the policy is the same for the small risers.</p>
<p>As for prohibited items, ResLife sent out a mailing about move-in yesterday and it had a list of prohibited items on it. From what I can remember, it matched gina’s list, but you should be getting the letter soon.</p>
<p>If you’re talking about the 5" risers, you can/should get them ahead of time. The local Target can get pretty picked over if you don’t get there early in the move-in process…</p>
<p>I suggest bringing a bunch of rubbermaid/plastic bins if you use bed risers. You can store an incredible amount of stuff under your bed in a relatively organized way with those.</p>
<p>can u get the bed risers from wal mart, because I saw some but I didn’t know if they would fit the bed, because they have somethin that sticks up in the middle or somethin (sorry if im not describing it good) so does the bottom of the beds have like a hole in it so that the bedriser could fit?</p>
<p>The beds probably have a hole (which is used when bunking them), but I wouldn’t take a chance that it would fit. Look for the kind that have a flat indentation that the leg would sit on.</p>
<p>Thanks I think i will do that, and how big are the posts on the bed, so I know how big the opening for the bed risers can be?</p>
<p>the posts are 2.25" x 2.25", square. the hole for the bunk bed pins is a little under half an inch in diameter. hope that helps!</p>
<p>Thanks! that helps a lot!</p>
<p>Does anyone know the amount of clearance under the bed without risers?</p>
<p>I’ll measure it when I get back to my room and let you know! any other measurements needed?</p>
<p>also of note is that with the bedlofts, you can go for either a full loft or a half loft, where it doesn’t go up as far…you couldn’t fit the desk with the hutch underneath (like you can with the regular height loft), but you could fit a couch under there!</p>
<p>around 16 inches of clearance</p>
<p>Thanks everyone!
Ah, I’m so glad I can bring my electric kettle for tea now :D</p>
<p>Also, I went on bedloft.com and selected UMD, but the website did not list bed risers, only lofts. I suppose I will be getting my risers elsewhere.</p>
<p>You can fit your desk underneath your bed when you buy a loft through the school, right?</p>
<p>“Hotplates, microwave, etc.: No one is going to look. Just take it home on breaks which is the only time there’s inspection. Same goes for alcohol.” –> Just a note, you definitely should <em>not</em> bring a microwave. With the wiring in the buildings, it can (and has in the past) flip the circuit breakers, and the RAs/RD notice and will find out who caused the outage. Just a warning. Hot water heaters / kettles, on the other hand, are fine if the heating coil is not exposed.</p>
<p>Do you actually have an example of this happening or is it just hearsay?
Everyone I know who had something with an “exposed heating coil” was never caught, and no one cared.</p>
<p>It seems like a vaccuum cleaner would use much more power and those are completely allowed.</p>
<p>Also no one will care what size your fridge is.</p>
<p>You can fit not only your desk under a loft, but also your chest of drawers as well. My old boss somehow squeezed her minifridge in there too.</p>
<p>As far as getting caught, the majority of RAs aren’t going to care, but in large part that’s due to kids being careful not to show it off when their RA is in their room.</p>
<p>When I check someone’s room (I’m an RA) if I see it’s placed in a way that could cause fires, i.e. flammable items near the heating element or something, then I will say something. Likewise, if I walked in and they started talking about it and showing it off to me and putting me in an awkward position because of my job, I might ask them to remove it. But if you want to boil water for coffee on your hotplate, and the area around it is clutter-free, then it isn’t an issue for me. Most RAs aren’t going to be in your room often enough to notice small things like that.</p>
<p>On my floors, I’ve never had a vacuum cleaner trip the circuit breaker. However, the majority of residents do not vacuum often, or have the tiny handheld vacuums.</p>
<p>ginab591 – I was specifically talking about microwaves. I was talking to one of the RDs on campus, and this actually has happened in the past. It’s not the exposed heating coil that’s the biggest deal (although that is still prohibited as per ResLife rules), but the microwave more so. I’m not saying it happens all the time, but it has happened in the past and a microwave is a pretty easy thing to see.</p>
<p>Yes, the RD said the same thing before I got there, but I’m going to go with the answer above yours and the opinions of friends who are RA’s rather than a secondhand opinion from an RD who probably knows 1% of what happens in the building they run.</p>
<p>And I’m guessing if your microwave causes something like that most students would have the good sense to hide it before RD’s are knocking on doors searching for a microwave.</p>
<p>Are bed risers necessary, or can most people fit stuff under without buying them?</p>