Hello all! Looking for recs for dorm room essentials like bedding, sheets, alarm clocks, desk lamps, etc. We have a list from our BS, but was hoping for some recs for ‘the best’ of these things… Whatever ‘the best’ means to you. Just curious to know what people have purchased in the past and are happy with. Particularly interested in sheets: needs soft and durable, something that will hold up after numerous washes if using school laundry service. Thanks!!
Target Threshold 400 ct is great. Comes in twin XL. My DD has Brooklinen ones, which we have at home as well, but not as good of a price point.
Generally speaking, less is more. A better desk chair can be a good purchase.
1 Like
Twin XL will limit your selection. And that’s not a bad thing! The LL Bean ones feel good and hold up well. Bonus: they have flannel for winter.
My kid did NOT wash his sheets frequently, so I would also recommend a pattern in a not light color. Won’t make 'em clean, but won’t make it obvious they’re not.
A mattress topper is very nice to have on top of the mattresses schools use.
Over all, keep it to a minimum. Some people like a small mat with edges for wet shoes snd boots. Great idea for a kid who will use it.
3 Likes
I definitely agree with the less is more approach. BS kids get really good at ordering from Amazon.
If the room isn’t airconditioned, I do recommend a box fan to blow the hot air out of the room and this fan to circulate cool air. It’s compact, a bargain and really cools the room. Target always carries them this time of year. Honeywell Turbo Force Table Air Circulator Fan : Target
These are great sheets. Top and bottom labels and elastic all the way around make making the bed easier and they don’t slip off which is especially important if their bed is lofted. Twin/twin Xl 400 Thread Count Solid Performance Sheet Set White - Threshold™ : Target but, don’t kid yourself, if your kid is anything like 95% of the kids in BS, even though the laundry will do the sheets, they are not going to take them off the bed and put them in their laundry bag. Every year I send two sets only to find the second set unopen when we pack up to head home for Christmas break.
A cart like this was useful to hold his shower caddy and additional toiletries. Michael’s usually has a great price on specific colors. Lexington 3-Tier Rolling Cart by Simply Tidy™ | Michaels
One of the things I didn’t think about was tupperware and some utensils for the room. DS23 liked to pack up an additional meal if he knew they’d be coming back late from an athletic event or he’d want a snack while studying. (The school supplied each kid with a mini fridge)
A desk lamp and clip-on lamp are both useful.
We got DS a small safe for his passport and cash.
Bring plenty of command strips, hooks, duct tape, extension cords and power/charging strips.
Things to think about, but you probably want to wait to purchase once you see the room:
A storage cube they can use to climb on if they have a lofted bed
A clip-on bedside table or a tall storage unit to use as a bedside table if their bed is lofted.
If the school is in New England a drying rack and boot tray may be useful to dry wet and muddy clothes/shoes. My son likes to have a doormat to keep the dirt off of his floor.
Shoe storage
2 Likes
Wow! Sounds great everyone! Would not have thought about any of that, especially the shoe drying rack and the clip-on desk lamp and that business about the loft bed. How about swiffers and things to keep the room clean? I’m sure that doesn’t happen… haha!
If it’s not on the list from your school, I wouldn’t recommend it. That’s something that can come from Amazon if needed. The main part of the dorm and bathrooms were cleaned by maintenance (they even came into my son’s room to clean his private bathroom) and there was a closet with cleaning supplies if the kids wanted to use them. Their room got checked on a regular basis, so they never got bad. Perhaps maintenance did their floors as well?
2 Likes
Especially since things vary from school to school, and even from dorm to dorm. In this day and age, it is better to move in and determine what would really make the space better.
2 Likes
There is a good thread on here somewhere with good packing info… when in doubt though, dont pack it. Both of my kids have asked for less stuff in their rooms each year they go back. The less stuff, the less they have to keep organized.
As far as cleanliness, I disagree with @vwlizard 's “never got bad” statement. Both of my kids have had filthy rooms. Kiddo1 was practically fermenting apple cider in her mini fridge freshman year, and the amount of dust in Kiddo2’s room this year was unfathomable. (Side note…the dyson fan/ air purifier is well worth the investment. Just make sure to replace the filter 2x a year.) Should you send your kids with cleaning supplies / a vacuum so they can clean their rooms? No, that would be a waste, bcs they wont clean their rooms. Should you bring cleaning supplies with you when you move them in / out and visit, so YOU can clean the room? Yes. While dorms do have some of these supplies, they never seem to be around when parents are around. If you’re not in driving distance, do buy cleaning supplies (stick vacuum, clorox wipes, swiffers, etc) to leave in your child’s room, knowing that they will only be touched when you are there.
Sheets are unlikely to be cleaned more than a handful of times. My kids don’t even bother putting a top sheet on their bed, and kiddo1 sleeps on top of her comforter. Don’t invest in bedding. Buy something that is comfortable, will last a few years (about 2 years for my kids), and then you can toss. Do buy a mattress pad. The mattresses are typically covered in nylon/plastic (?), so its nice to have some padding in between that and the sheets.
Buying a desk chair has been worth it for my kids. The flat bungee chair from the container store has been a favorite.
Neither of my kids have ever used a clip on lamp, in fact, I dont even think they’re allowed at one of their schools…Kiddo1 has used her desk lamp, Kiddo2 had a desk lamp provided.
One thing that is a bit “extra” but has been well worth it for my kiddos is a dorm headboard and/or giant pillow. Kiddo1 has the former, kiddo2 has the latter. Both options make the bed look a lot cozier and offer a place for the kids to sit up against, instead of being up against the wall. For kiddo2, it was especially important bcs there was a gap between his bed and the wall, so without that giant pillow, his regular pillows would have constantly been falling down.
As others have said, go with the minimum, and you can always pick up or amazon things you need once you see the room. Dorm rooms are typically tiny…and then when you’re splitting that space with someone else, there really isn’t a lot of room for extras.
1 Like
The two things that my student would absolutely recommend would be:
-
a supportive desk chair because your student will be spending a LOT of time at their desk. The chairs that my kid’s school provided in the dorms were wooden, non-adjustable, and extremely uncomfortable. Almost every kid, even the international kids, bought their own chairs and put the school-supplied ones in the dorm basement for the year. We purchased one from Office Depot (school was extremely particular about the fabric on the chair, apparently it’s a fire code thing so make sure that you read any instructions on types of chairs allowed).
-
a mattress topper. Check out what school supplies on the bed frame but chances are it’s a basic mattress block that is designed to have some kind of more comfy cushioning on top. We purchased a topper from Bed Bath and Beyond but I hear that Lucid from Home Depot is popular. I don’t suggest you open it until you get to the dorm or you’ll be wrestling it back into its packaging for a few hours before you depart for orientation. We also bought a non-slip pad from Amazon to stop the topper sliding off the mattress.
As a parent, I’d recommend packing an easily accessible bag for move-in day with command strips, scissors, Clorox wipes, a door stop, extension cords and power strips, duct tape, a sharpie, a trash bag, a mallet and a cooler of cold drinks (for you, your student, and to hand out to other parents. It’s a good way to get to know the parents of kids living in rooms next to your kid!)
3 Likes
Add a tape measure to that move-in bag - far easier to measure whetger something will fit before you move it than to move it and find out it doesn’t. And make sure you can get to that bag FIRST!
2 Likes
Lots of kids will be moving in with snacks as well. If you have room left in your car, load up. Or, you can make a quick run when you get there. Having snacks in your room is a good way to meet people the first few days.
2 Likes
I really think kids and schools vary on what they need and what’s allowed. We live a plane flight away, and a desk chair was considered, but we’d be storing it every summer. That’s probably $65, $70 a summer. Not worth it, we are already storing a ton. Same with a stick vacuum-- if we bought it for $40 on Amazon, we’d be storing it each summer for more. The three luxuries we did get and are storing are: a foam mattress topper, a window fan and a mini fridge. Oh, also a little IKEA cart that gets disassembled and stored in a box with stuff. The school pretty much demanded we get the window fan. Some schools don’t OK the fridge. Really depends. I do agree with snacks (ALWAYS needed), and I’d say bring more chargers than you think you need (they die or get lost and when they need one, they need it NOW; the school store’s don’t work well often) and maybe 2 multi-plug surge protector things. The rest you can kind of order as you need.