I’ve been doing research on where to buy/what bedding essentials I will need to bring with me to college this fall…I’m struggling to find any consistent information. Would a duvet be better than a comforter? What about different kinds of mattress toppers? Where should I look to purchase these items? I’m looking for high quality items that will last for a decent while, but not break the bank. Thanks
@dnhart I got my twin XL comforter and sheet set at Bed Bath & Beyond. It’s a little pricy, but you can find pretty good sets there. I’m sure you can also easily find everything you need online, e.g. Amazon.
For mattress toppers, I got a cheap $10 topper from Target, but even that makes a noticeable difference in the softness of the bed.
Target or Bed Bath and Beyond with coupons. Before you spend a lot on higher quality bedding that will last a long time, consider how long you will actually use it. At my D’s university, most students move to apartments after the first year. Now it is her second year, she’s in an apartment, we have her freshman-year bedding (from Bed Bath and Beyond) here, it looks brand new, and we want to find a local buyer.
We got quality XL twin sheets through the sale bin at Pottery Barn Teen with free shipping. They were very inexpensive because they were on sale and a discontinued print.
I bought a mattress topper (I actually don’t know what it’s called, it just slips over my mattress and has extra padding) at Bed Bath and Beyond and it’s working pretty well. I bought a sheets & comforter set from BB&B too and it was a pretty good deal, it comes inside a hamper so if you don’t want to buy a hamper you can keep that.
ALSO try TJ Maxx for pillows! Bed Bath and Beyond was selling pillows for $20 and at TJ Maxx I found two pillows that work great for $10 total!
No fuss stuff is best.
You can either get an inexpensive comforter set or a plain white medium weight twin size polyfill comforter (I got one from JC Penney with coupon for $40) and a twin size duvet cover. Pbteen had a big sale (some 50%off) last summer. That way you can change your look by buying another cover later. Or pass it on to a sibling when you move off campus and might want a double bed.
We bought two sets of microfiber twin XL sheets from Target in bright colors, that’s plenty and will only be used probably for two years.
We got a mattress pad and a one inch foam topper, it makes the bed more comfortable without being too soft.
Target or Walmart have them.
If you’re driving to the college campus I’d shop sales and use coupons, like BB & B and Target. Pottery Barn makes awesome quality sheets and they go on sale pretty regularly. If you’ll be flying to campus I’d suggest buying all you can at the B,B & B near campus. They usually give students a 20% off entire order coupon. You’ll save the hassle of packing it all. My kids like a good mattress pad and topper, the school mattresses are pretty bad. They also prefer a duvet and duvet cover. The cover can be washed often with the sheets in a single load.
If you are possibly thinking about moving off-campus next year, it’s not a bad idea to buy full/queen/king or whatever size bedding so you can take it with you.
My son’s school will have Twin XL beds. I see a fair selection of Twin XL comforters and sheets and was able to find a Twin XL down comforter. But I’m not seeing a lot of options for Twin XL duvet covers. For folks that have done this before, do you think selection will improve as we get closer to the summer when more people are focused on outfitting dorm rooms?
I have not seen twin xl duvet covers. I only bought the sheets and mattress pad in twin xl since they have to fit the mattress. I bought a regular twin comforter and duvet cover. The mattress is about 40×80 inches in size, the comforter about 68×86, plenty big enough for the bed.
You might be able to make a duvet cover from two flat sheets to fit your comforter.
We used a double/queen duvet & cover on D’s XL twin in the dorm freshman year. Since the bed was on risers, having a larger cover worked well. When she moved off campus, it fit the double bed in her room.
@adlgel dormify.com is having a crazy sale on bedding right now. Today I got D a set of sheets and a duvet cover that say they are twin/XL. They were only $10 each! There were several options in the clearance section. But there are also plenty at the regular prices too. First order is 15% off-even on the clearance prices. We’re moving D long distance next fall, but at those prices I couldn’t leave them there.
^^^yes! I guess dormify’s twin/twin xl duvet is a bigger size
SIZE/DIMENSIONS
Twin XL measures 68" x 92", fits Twin XL beds (39" x 80") AND Twin beds (39" x 75"); Queen measures 88" x 90", fits Queen beds (60" x 80") AND Full beds (54" x 75"); Standard sham(s) measure 20" x 26".
Thanks for the heads up @sseamom . I will definitely check it out.
Check and make sure it’s a twin XL before you buy! Most school beds are but mine was not, and there are a few other schools that are regular twin.
.The difference between twin XL and twin is five inches of length on the fitted bottom sheet. Get the twin XL. If the mattresses turn out to be merely twin you just tuck the sheet a little more. Sheets that are too small would be difficult. You do not need Twin XL comforters or quilts. Twin will work fine. @yauponredux has a great idea using a full/queen comforter to cover the mess under the bed. I hate seeing the clutter under the bed.
I went to dorm it up
We got sheets twin XL from BBB, and a mattress pad as opposed to topper, and a comforter on sale that was very sot and cuddly. It was just a regular twin comforter – anyway, the dorm is so overheated in the winter that the comforter is hardly ever needed. And, because of allergies and also, paranoia, we got a zip on mattress barrier to protect against any critters that might take up residence in a mattress, i.e., dust mites and bedbugs.