<p>It's probably incredibly premature to be thinking of buying dorm stuff even before I've gotten any acceptance letters, but HomeDepot sales wait for no man or woman. :)</p>
<p>If current college students and alums could just drop a line about items that are vital (but might not be mentioned in any handbook) as well as less-than-useful items, it would be really appreciated. </p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>No advice about dormrooms Tebro, but would you be interested in an arranged marriage? You were the only one who spoke up for Chinese on the beautiful languages thread, which I had checked because my son majored in Chinese, is fairly fluent and plans to study it further in grad school. In looking at your other posts, I realized I had read and admired them before-- especially the one about your parents marriage! You sound great. Anyway, if you do end up at Smith by any chance, said son's little sis is a first year there at the moment so it's not impossible paths could cross! My son just spent two years in China and has come home rather annoyed with us for not being Chinese as he says Chinese girls and Chinese babies are the most attractive. Good luck in your college search. As has been expressed here before, any college would be lucky to have you!</p>
<p>You need a mini fridge for sure. Get those big ass tupperware type bins to store crap under your bed (great space saver) If you can try to loft your bed to get more space. Also get some of those fold up chairs (tailgate style) so that your boys have some place to sit when they come over during march madness. Thing you will most need is your George Foreman. Other than that, its pretty much up to you.</p>
<p>I would recommend a desk lamp, a laundry bag of course, a surge protector b/c youre gonna have like 238973 cords everywhere, couple of picture frames or bulletin boards to hand them, air freshener b/c your room is gonna STINK at random times during the year, hmmmm....a great comforter and sheets. Dont underestimate their importance!!! Having a comfortable bed is one of the best things you can have--my bed in college is better than my bed at home.</p>
<p>Febreze and a lot of paper towels because in my room it always seemed like we never had enough paper towels.</p>
<p>I second the Febreeze and plenty of change for laundry.</p>
<p>Is a mini-fridge that vital? Especially if you're on a meal-plan?</p>
<p>Question
What is the one most essential thing you forgot to pack/ what is the thing you are most likely to forget but most likely to need?</p>
<p>Cleats for IM football</p>
<p>
[QUOTE]
Is a mini-fridge that vital? Especially if you're on a meal-plan?
[/QUOTE]
</p>
<p>For me, it kind of was. I tend to eat a lot of yogurt and dairy products that I couldn't find at my dining hall. Also, when I went out and couldn't finish a meal, I liked that I was able to put it in my fridge and not throw it away. Most people probably don't need it, though. I just liked not leaving my dorm for the nearest hall just to eat something.</p>
<p>Check first if the college doesn't already provide the fridges. I don't know what else you could get from Home Depot that would be needed.</p>
<p>enjoyingthis: I laughed SO hard when I read the first line of your post, that I managed to fall off my chair in the process. Congrats to your daughter for being in Smith--a few of my ex-senior friends are attending it now, and from what I hear, it's fantastic! </p>
<p>joev: I've heard a lot of people talking about "raising the bed." How would you attempt this--I assume this is without nails since colleges generally don't let you make holes in the walls. </p>
<p>lilnessa: what is Febreeze? </p>
<p>I was thinking of an electric kettle, since I love tea and drink gallons of it. In addition, I drink special blends of jasmine, Earl Gray and green. I know some universities don't allow hot plates because of the fire hazard, but what about electric kettles?</p>
<p>Most universities allow electric kettles, although some will require you to purchase a preapproved model (probably from the U-Store). In most cases, though, it's not something that is going to be a problem...even if they're not allowed, you're not going to get in trouble for such a trivial violation.</p>
<p>Some schools have size restrictions on mini fridges-so you might want to wait. Son's school allows electric kettles w/automatic shut off. </p>
<p>Used cinder blocks to raise the bed. Legs fit though the holes and just pile up the blocks-best if you get poor mom to lug them up the stairs while you are off w/orientation meetings.</p>
<p>Stuff my son & husband laughed at but son uses:
Lysol spray-roommates often have stinky sides, shower flip flops get sprayed often by son.</p>
<p>DUCT tape-son is on second roll. Mend music books, wrap around cinder blocks to avoid leg scratches, seal windows to keep out wasps, lend (????) out to others who taped in a door-student then ran into it & tried to stick. </p>
<p>Mini tool kit-hammer, screw driver, SCISSORS-got cheap cooking shears at 99cent store to cut all the packages and heavy tape.</p>
<p>Febreeze is a odor remover but I prefer Lysol to maybe kill the germs.</p>
<p>if cinder blocks aren't your style, Bed Bath and Beyond (and a couple other stores) carry risers, such as this: <a href="http://altura.speedera.net/ccimg.catalogcity.com/210000/211700/211737/Products/8404670.jpg%5B/url%5D">http://altura.speedera.net/ccimg.catalogcity.com/210000/211700/211737/Products/8404670.jpg</a> that raise it about 5-6 inches.</p>
<p>If you want it high enough to be able to sit under in a chair / put a desk under, that will involve more work.</p>
<p>a TOOL KIT is very important (good way to meet people on move-in day too, haha). Shower shoes are important as well. Surge protector or two. They have ones that you can run ethernet cables into, as in, wall to surge, surge to computer. A fan is another good thing, probably a window one. I second the folding chairs as well (or just 1, if you want to sit somewhere other than your desk chair possibly). A matress cover is good as well... and the bins that can go under your bed, they come in all shapes and sizes.</p>
<p>Just a note about the lofted beds. Some schools provide the materials needed to loft the beds and won't allow you to use cinder blocks, etc. to raise the bed because of safety concerns. You probably should check with whatever school you're going to (or looking at) to see their policy on this. On my school's website the info is in the Res Life section, but I'm not sure about others.</p>
<p>Some other ideas- an iron and small ironing board (you and your roomie can probably share one) in case you have to get dressed up, a mini sewing kit, and a medicine kit with stuff like band-aids and allergy meds to save trips to the drug store or campus shop.</p>
<p>Try to get a majority of things before you go to college, like the summer before, anywhere you can but at the school you're going to. If you try getting it at the school's convenience shops or bookstores, they will overprice you so much.</p>
<p>thank you for all the tips! </p>
<p>I checked the policies of all my schools and it seems that only one out of my ten allows cinder blocks. And only one "strictly" forbids the use of electric kettles although I'll need to do a bit of research on whether or not these kettles have pohibited "hot coils." </p>
<p>Oi. But I don't think I can live without my tea...mmmm. Earl Gray and jasmine and green and oolong...</p>
<p>And buhopeful, you are entirely too accurate on the shameless overpricing of stuff in college stores. oi vey.</p>
<p>Tons of extension cords and a good surge protector.</p>
<p>Lamps! Dorm rooms can be dim.</p>
<p>Window fan - doesn't take up floor space and cools the room quickly.</p>
<p>Velcro. It sticks to cinderblock, brick, or anything - I use it to hang up my posters.</p>
<p>Microwave - heat up a mug of water and add your tea.</p>
<p>Your tea and a tea pot. ;) (Tea fanatic here.)</p>
<p>Drying rack. You'll save money on dryers, and letting clothes air-dry will humidfy your room during the winter. Alternatively, get a humidifier.</p>
<p>Extra towels and sheets. I hated showering and drying myself with the same chlorine-covered towel I used at the pool earlier that day.</p>
<p>Really good hole punch. I don't know how, but college seems to generate more paper than you can believe. </p>
<p>Tall, narrow bookcase. Not much floor space, but you can have an organized place for your books, notebooks, and the like. </p>
<p>The AriesAthena whiteboard - not for your door, but for your desk. Get one with a little bulletin board on it too. On one half, write down your assignments and the due date. The other half has your "to-do" list (laundry, pay phone bill, call parents, email prof). Erase when complete. Important things (like bills) get tacked on so you don't lose them. It took me until senior year to develop the system - but I love it. Works beautifully.<br>
Cordless phone.</p>
<p>Febreeze is wonderful. It's for spraying on clothes and fabric, basically. Didn't get time to do laundry, gotta yank something out of the hamper for some reason, spray it a few times, and you're good (enough) to go. The wrinkle removing spray (forget the name...it's by Bounty, maybe?) is quite nice, too, because I tend to just take stuff out of the dryer, shove it in the hamper, roll it up in a drawer, etc., and it looks pretty awful by the time I get around to wearing it. Spray, tug, and it looks quite a bit better :-)</p>
<p>Cleaning products in general are the best things, ever. Even if you think you won't clean or won't care, it's a REALLY good habit to get into, and you might surprise yourself. I really never cleaned at home, and I am a TOTAL neat-freak at school. Spray Lysol, Clorox wipes, Windex, air freshner, vaccuum (you can find a small stand-upu one for like $20)...all very handy. Also, whoever said paper towels was right on...we go through them like water (although I also find it works well to just borrow rolls of toilet paper from the utility closet across the hall).</p>
<p>Some kind of container to hold quarters for laundry...a box, cup, mini-safe, whatever shoots your rocket. It's helpful to have them all in one place.</p>
<p>Some kitchen supplies...bowl, silverware, paper plates, napkins, ziploc bags. Even if you think you won't need them, you probably will. You don't need a whole huge stockpile, but some are good to have. Some in-room snacks (ramen, easy mac, granola bars, pop tarts, peanut butter) that I expected to be useless have turned out to be really handy (breakfast on the way to class, late night snacks, missed meals, etc.). Even if you don't have a fridge/micro in your room, all that I listed are non-refrigerated and your dorm will probably have a kitchen you can use. </p>
<p>My best suggestion would be to WAIT until you get down to school. A lot of things (raised beds, how many drawers will fit, what your walls are made of, i.e. how to best stick up posters/boards/etc., where fans will fit, extra furniture) will be totally specific to your room. You can buy things before, but don't get too attached, and save the receipts so you can return what doesn't fit. There will almost certainly be Target, WalMart, CostCo, Linens-n-Things, Bed Bath and Beyond, or some combination thereof near your campus and, if your parents help you move in, you will be able to do errand running. This is especially useful if you're coming a long way, flying to campus, or whatever and can't fit a lot of stuff (b/c you can store it over summer). Also, my school chartered buses to do Target runs for freshman, so check and see if maybe you'll get to do something like that. Most of what you'll need that you won't find in a handbook will be specific to your own preferences and situation, and you'll realize the need once you get to school. </p>
<p>All things fail, there will almost surely be plenty of people in your dorm willing to lend you what you need (as far as tools and supplies, but short of clothes, toothbrush, etc...) for the beginning of the schoolyear. It's a good way to meet people :-)</p>
<p>You'll be fine, good luck with the Home Depot sales!</p>
<p>Oh...one other thing I've found helpful (for my raised bed and high shelves in closet): footstool.</p>
<p>thank you so much! I'm definitely saving this thread for the months to come. I'm 5' on stocking feet, so I expect the footstool will definitely be a necessity!</p>
