<p>I need to do alittle dorm shopping and who know's better then mom's.</p>
<p>My mom, isn't involved and if I ask for her help I will get the "you can't depend on me" speech.</p>
<p>So as far as sheets, and stuff where and what should I get for my dorm. I have no idea :-/</p>
<p>Ask your school's Dean of Residential Life or someone like that if there will be mailings over the summer telling you what you'll need.</p>
<p>Most schools these day have beds that are extra-long twin size, so you'll need to buy extra-long mattress pad, sheets, etc. </p>
<p>Some schools let you bring coffee pots, microwaves, mini-fridges, TVs. Others don't.</p>
<p>You might want to wait to see your room before you get "decorating" stuff like curtains.</p>
<p>but you'll need a comforter (well, you're in FL, so maybe just a cover), and towels, and something to carry your toiletries down the hall to the public bathroom. And a laundry bag.</p>
<p>My son had a mini-ironing board and an iron and found it useful. </p>
<p>And various hooks and organizers. And a desk lamp. Maybe also a floor lamp, depending on the light in the room.</p>
<p>The best place to go is BedBath&Beyond, or Linens&Things. Make sure you have one of the "20% off for one item" coupons. If you're really lucky, you'll find a "20% off your entire purchase" coupon!</p>
<p>There is a thread in the Parents'Cafe called last year's bedding thread or some such, at the top. </p>
<p>For sheets and stuff, find out if your college has extra0long beds, in which case you will need X-long sheets. You can get an X-long sheet set from Bed, Bath and Beyond or Target (look for sales, usually in August). You will need two sets at most. You will also need some blankets (perhaps fleece, as these are lightweight) or a comforter. But you could wait to buy these items when you get to your college. Or order them online and have them shipped to your college. You may need to buy your own pillow. Get yourself a pair of shower sandals, a toilet caddy for your toiletries.
You will need a laptop with accessories, an emergency kit, and office supplies such as staples, stapler, paper clips, etc.. Will your college be close to some stores where you could buy these?
Anyway, this is just to get you thinking. Check out the bedding thread.
Oh, and how are you doing these days?</p>
<p>Do you have a big-box mall store in your region called "linens n' things" or perhaps "bed, bath and beyond"?
If so, ask about dorm packages, bed-in-a-bag and see if you like that.</p>
<p>My 2 kids told me the second set of sheets was not necessary because on laundry day, they stripped their beds and did the first set, same day. So I ended up taking home the second set. Maybe others do it differently, feeling as though if they can't get to laundry, they'll laundry-bag the first set and have some more days to go.</p>
<p>Most important, will your beds require "extra-long sheets"? Many schools put in extra-long beds today for everybody, so first check with your college website under Housing, or perhaps phone the Residential Life administrator on campus to ask by phone. </p>
<p>If you hate hard beds, you can also buy a egg-crate or foam pad. There are lots of prior threads about what-to-buy for dorm rooms, here on CC.</p>
<p>My d's favorite item was a garment that was an elasticized terrycloth towel-wrap with two terry shoulder straps, so that doubled as her bathrobe and towel from the shower! She had a second small towel just for her hair, a washcloth, the shower caddy thing, and that was all she needed.</p>
<p>We're so happy you're asking about this, bbecker. Your journey continues..!</p>
<p>Ask the school first--make sure you get the right size sheets. Many schools will have a list of suggested supplies. </p>
<p>A lot of people will get a "bed in a bag" that has sheets, pillowcases, & comforter altogether. These are pretty reasonable at places like BB&B, Target, WalMart, etc.</p>
<p>Most importantly, check in with your own college's housing people. Each school is different, and CC comes from everywhere!</p>
<p>Even things like a desk lamp can be too much, if your particular school has built-in fluorescent bulbs in those study-carrel desks. But if it's a plain desk surface, then you'll need a desk lamp, etc. etc. </p>
<p>The basics are the bedding linens, the ability to get to a shower down-the-hall (if that's how YOUR college does it), a system to wake up (even the alarm clock isn't necessary if your cellphone has an alarm built into it). </p>
<p>Some colleges have ironing boards and irons available to borrow, although some say it gets hard to locate them when needed. Some colleges have mini-kitchens in the dorms, or rent you the fridge/micro, so you shouldn't really be buying this at all at this moment. </p>
<p>Will you get notification of a roommate this summer? Hopefully so; if so, you can email and perhaps she'll be bringing in the fridge, microwave, etc. </p>
<p>Point is: concentrate now on what's personal to you (bedding, showering) and
find out a bit more from the college on all the rest. Most dorm rooms are small and kids bring too much! (spend too much, also)</p>
<p>Important for now, I believe, is to understand what your college will need you to bring (if anything) regarding COMPUTERS, so you have time to look for deals. Laptop vs. desktop vs. none at all. Call the campus technology people and get the necessary advice. Sometimes you can buy it from the college...etc. but if you don't and want to bring it with you, now's a good time to understand what you'll need to bring, if anything. As I understand it, the college always has a computer lab, so technically nobody "must" bring a computer or laptop.. but you need more practical advice: will it be available to you at what hours, so you can write and print out a paper. Or some kids buy everything except a printer, so they compose their papers on a disc in their rooms but run to the computer lab (or a friend) to print it out, so they avoid buying a printer. </p>
<p>The big choice, if you bring a computer, is between desktop and laptop. What I'm hearing, including from a computer science major (d's b.f.) is the laptop is portable so you can bring it home to work on papers at vacation, but in fact "nobody" actually takes classnotes on them! Most end up writing notes by pen into notebooks, after all. The desktops are big, unlikely to be stolen whereas a laptop can be lost or stolen in a flash, unless you are great about putting it into your bookbag/ never leave it unattended. The desktop is more to transport to campus, so some wait until they're in that town to buy a desktop. </p>
<p>In our family, finances are of issue. In truth, with everybody telling you what you might buy, keep your wits about you. If finances are of concern, you really only need to arrive on campus with the list provided by your college administration, and everything else is an extra convenience and personal choice. There is a certain amount of inconvenience to dorm life, so when they say they have a vacuum cleaner to loan, it might or might not be there when you want it, might be broken and need to call in to get it fixed, etc. So the next family (even your roommate's) might say, "ugh, don't bother with that nuisance, just buy a mini-vacuum "dustdevil" or whatever. Don't let that make you feel you have to buy it! </p>
<p>Your real basic needs are to sleep well, groom in a public bathroom (although a handful of dorms have private bathrooms), keep your notebooks/books/pens etc. in order, and it's still optional (but I believe "necessary") to have your own computer system IF you can manage it financially somehow. </p>
<p>Some dorms might even supply a pillow and blanket, so you only have to bring the sheets and pillowcase, and not deal with comforters and pillows. If it's hot, you can be creative and just find a great African cotton fabric that will cover your bed and make it handsome each day. (Last I looked, bed-in-a-bag was perhaps $100? or am I mis-remembering...?)</p>
<p>Anyway, my vote is: focus on your sleeping, grooming, books/papers, computer, and ALL else is "extra", IMHO. Once you are in the dorm, you might find the wallls are bare, so buy a paper poster and put it up on the wall, and done. The college will put you in a room with some system to shut out light, even if it's a flappy old window-blind. Then, when you are there, if that troubles you, you can find a fabric or buy a curtain a few weeks later, etc.</p>
<p>Other families feel as though, once they know the window measurement, it's very important to buy curtain rods, curtains, etc. That stuff is NICE but not necessary, so again, keep your wits about you and don't feel you have to buy stuff even if your roommates (or roommates' moms) mention it!</p>
<p>First and foremost, you are going to be a student. You'll live in that dorm for 9 months, then have to pack it away until the following year. Making it "home-y" is helpful to your feelings, but for happiness, a dorm room doesn't have to have ALL the comforts of home (TV???? omg, I don't get it...there are dorm lounges with tv's...). </p>
<p>Good luck. (I know I'm a Spartan, but I say, Live light and dance a little!</p>
<p>I believe Bed, Bath and Beyond and Linens'nThings have college dorm suggestions right on their website. You certainly won't need everything they list, but you'll get an idea of what basics are necessary.</p>
<p>We found extra long at Walmart for less. If there is a Walmart or Target etc within 5-10 miles of your dorm, you can save alot of time and money by buying only absolute basics (sheets, shower supplies, towels) now, and waiting until you get there to move in for the rest. Then, depending on if you need a desk light, if the desk drawer is deep or tall enough for an organizer, etc, you can dash out to get just what you need. You can see if roommate has this or than also. Most bring too much and have duplicates they didn't need.</p>
<p>p.s. even cellphones aren't necessities, according to colleges, because they run a phone line (usually with message machine) into every dorm room. I know many kids have cellphones, but they are paying exta for that service...so just realize that it's only a necessity if it's on the college list. You can weigh the convenience factor against your own budget. If you can afford one, it'll help your social life because friends can find you all over campus and you can meet up. </p>
<p>If your mom and you already use cellphones, it might be worth her looking into changing to some kind of "family plan" system over the summer that includes your new location in the plan. Then, you can stay in touch more easily.</p>
<p>The college will GIVE you an email address and internet account (double check but I think that's now universal). So if you have that and Mom has her own email system from home, that's another way to stay in touch.</p>
<p>If you are assigned a roommate in advance, it would be a great idea to talk to him/her about what s/he might be bringing. Not enough space for duplicates, so coordination is important. </p>
<p>A power strip for multiple plug-ins can be very useful.</p>
<p>The two most important things to have for your dorm room are extension cords and power strips. The electric outlets are never in the right places, and there are rarely enough of them. And if, by some unlikely chance, you bring one more extension cord than you need, you can make your first college friend by lending it to somebody.</p>
<p>If you live on a campus where people usually move off-campus after a year or so, it may be more economical to rent a refrigerator than to buy one. But check with your roommate first. Some people, especially those with older brothers or sisters who've already been through college, already own mini-fridges.</p>
<p>If you have a cellphone and if cellphone service on your campus is good, you may want to look into the possibility of not getting the dorm room phone at all and saving money that way. Whether this is possible or not depends on the specific policies at your school (and perhaps on whether you and your roommate are expected to share one phone line or would each have your own).</p>
<p>It is hard to imagine a degree of poverty that justifies using the college linen service (sheets and towels provided by the school). I made the mistake of using that service my first year in college, and it was awful. Scratchiest blankets I've ever seen. And I don't know what all those stains on the sheets were, and I don't want to know. You are better off getting the cheapest possible bedding at K-mart or Target rather than resorting to that.</p>
<p>Not all colleges have extra-long beds. My son's doesn't. So find out your college's specific requirements.</p>
<p>Whether or not you have to buy duplicates of things that you have at home depends on what kind of transportation you will be using to get back and forth to campus during breaks. If you will be using your own car or if someone from home will be picking you up in a car, you can bring home your clock-radio, your pillow, your hair dryer, your one nice dress and dressy shoes, your bathing suit, and other such things every break. Just throw them on the back seat. You can even bring home your entire desktop computer (my son did this). You don't have to own a second set of everything. But if you will be traveling by plane or bus, it may be a better idea to own two of everything -- one for home and one for college. My daughter, who will routinely come home from college (7 hours away) on a charter bus with a 44-pound luggage limit, is going to have to do this.</p>
<p>You might also check with Residential Life at your college and ask about a shopping trip during freshman orientation, especially if your college is across the country (too far to drive). It seems like a group outing to WalMart or Target is frequently part of freshman orientation, so you might wait to pick up bulky things like desk lamps, pillows, blankets. I'd go ahead and buy the X-Long Twin sheets now, though, because those can be difficult to find in stock. I second all of the recommendations for BBNBeyond and LinensNThings.</p>
<p>Some colleges will send an order form and you can choose what you need and it is delivered to your room when you move in. </p>
<p>We didn't use it, didn't know about it ahead of time. All of the basics where there and at a good price.</p>
<p>I think most if not all colleges send out a res life brochure during the summer telling incoming freshmen what they need to know/bring.The Res Life website would also be a good source of info,S's Uiniversity published their info online as well as sending it.
S's best source of info last summer was Facebook.He joined various groups having to do with his new college, and found plenty of advice about his new dorm,even one RA who had a knowledge of each room in the building (important since they were not uniformly sized).People were able to tell him what he really needed,what he could buy there,what wasnt necessary.
He found his power strip squids,extension cords,tool set and duct tape to be pretty important.</p>
<p>bbecker - it matters if you are a boy or a girl. I don't know why. :) My boys need a few t-shirts, some jeans, a couple towels, a set of sheets that stay on the bed the entire year, and a few gadgets - like their computer. My D seems to think she will also need carpets, curtains, matching comforters, lots of new clothes, decor, bath set, etc. ;) </p>
<p>Actually, since we are cheap (not poor, just cheap) she will be taking the sheets and comforter off her bed here, just like her brothers did. (Her jersey sheets that stretch will fit the long beds, too.) I said she can have some of my old towels and <em>I</em> will get the new ones. She will have a new laptop and all that goes with. I plan to help her buy appropriate desk supplies, etc. But so much of what she will get will be done "as needed" after we see the dorms next month during orientation. We will then make decisions about laundry basket vs. bag; storage cubes; type and number of lamps; fan; electrical cords; and so on.</p>
<p>Since neither my H nor I, nor either of our sons, stayed with their freshmen roommate after the first year (or semester, in my case) I am strongly discouraging my D on basing any of her purchases on a roommate's opinion.</p>
<p>Not a mom, but what's the transportation situation at school? Can you get to big box stores while you're there?</p>
<p>Short of sheets (you'll be told what you need), most of what you need (that you can't think of now) will be determined by how much you like/need to eat outside your dining hall, and your interior decorating preferences. Set aside a bunch of money now and buy what you wish you had after your first week or so. I know it's hard because you have nothing better to do the summer before freshman year than to shop for your dorm and wish you were there already.</p>
<p>As for other stuff, think moving your room, but only the stuff you are most likely to need: sheets, clothes, towels, toiletries, hangers, books, etc, but only the most crucial stuff.</p>