Dorm Essentials

Parents Forum
1

<p>Dorm Room Essentials
• Bedding
• Alarm Clock
• Refrigerator
• Microwave
• Clothes/Shoes
• Clothes hangers
• Towels
• Toiletries
• Hair dryers/Straightner/Hairbrushes/Hairspray
• Drying rack
• Laundry Basket
• Laundry detergent/fabric softener/dryer sheets
• Ironing board/Iron
• Desk and Floor lamps
• Laptops/Carrying cases/Chargers
• Printer
• Extra Ink cartridges
• Printer Paper
• Flash drives
• Digital Cameras
• Cell phones/Chargers
• iPods/Chargers
• Television
• Debit Cards/Licenses
• Snacks/Drinks
• Brita water pitcher
• Sunglasses
• Rug
• School supplies
• Book bags
• Storage containers
• Shelving unit
• Shower caddy
• Shower shoes (flip flops)
• Small vacuum
• Headache/Sinus/Cold medicine
• Small first aid kit</p>

<p>Am I leaving out anything vital?</p>

2

<p>bed risers might come in handy.</p>

3

<p>wall calendar, white board, bulletin board</p>

<p>my D loved these little toys I packed for her- and a nerf football was perfect</p>

<p>gave guys something to do when hanging out</p>

<p>as well-</p>

<p>PASSPORT!!!!! should get one before they leave, will last 10 years and if a program comes up, they are ready</p>

<p>SHOTS</p>

<p>Tool kit (my D has a pink one- and some guys were helping a girl down the hall fix something and asked for tools- my D brought out hers, and they laughed and said Real Men don't use pink tools...and my D retorted, well ,real men would have their own tools....they meakly used hers)</p>

<p>Duct tape- the magic material</p>

<p>A decent desk chair- the dorm one was horrid, so I had one shipped from target, cheap enough, but much better</p>

<p>Photo copies of records- transcripts, etc</p>

4

<p>our beds are loftable...we (my twin and I) are lofting them to where the dresser and desk can go underneath....</p>

<p>but thanks....will add all of that on.</p>

<p>We start college this June...was hoping to talk mom into going to some black friday sales (Jcpenney for towels, sheets, etc....) no go as of yet, lol.</p>

5

<p>there is a very detailed thread on this:</p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/82285-z-what-bring-college.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/82285-z-what-bring-college.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

6

<p>future HsT8,
Not sure where you are attending, but son is still using the 3 fans he brought. Needed them Aug. and Sept for cooling off and now to blow hot air out of room. They have very little/no control on temp. in room. Might have to wait until next spring to find these though</p>

7

<p>Ours you can control in the room...air or heat.</p>

<p>I do not put my jeans ro shirts in the dryer...so I'm wonderinf if one of these wouldnt come in handy? Hamilton</a> Beach Quick Dry 4-Shelf Garment Drying Station - Wal-Mart</p>

8

<p>Microwaves are forbidden in some college dorms.</p>

<p>If you wear glasses, you need a copy of your eyeglass prescription. Stuff happens.</p>

<p>If you have ever had even the slightest inkling that you might have hay fever, you will have this problem in college because you will be outdoors a lot (walking around the campus). If your dorm is not air conditioned and you have a fan going all the time, you are for all practical purposes outdoors 24 hours a day during warm weather. Bring over-the-counter antihistamines and expect to be making some trips to the health center.</p>

<p>In some older dorms, irons are of limited use because they blow the fuses. In my daughter's dorm, she can only iron in the laundry room. She does not do that often.</p>

<p>During the summer, try to get a photo of the dorm you're going to be living in, to see what the windows look like. If the windows will accommodate a window fan, that's probably the best fan choice. (My son, at the University of Maryland, which is like an oven for the first six weeks of school, had two of them.) In other buildings, though, the size and design of the windows may not accommodate a window fan, and a fan inside the room may be the only option. (My daughter, in an older dorm at Cornell with small windows, had to settle for that. Fortunately, it does not stay hot for very long at Cornell.)</p>

<p>Do not buy bedding until you know what college you are attending. Some schools have beds that require twin-extra-long sheets; others have standard twins. The sheets for one type of bed will not fit the other.</p>

<p>Neither of my kids ever required lamps beyond what was provided in the dorm rooms, and lamps take up a lot of room in the car. You might want to wait until you arrive in the college town before deciding whether to buy one (presuming that you have a parent with a car who can be sent on errands for you).</p>

<p>My kids would both agree with the need for a decent desk chair, but they take up enormous space in the car even in the box, and even more if assembled. Have it shipped, and try to find a way to store it at college over the summer if it survives the school year.</p>

<p>Depending on the climate and whether the campus is flat or hilly, a bicycle may be either wonderful or useless.</p>

9

<p>Where both DS and DD attended school, you could not remove furniture from the room and store it elsewhere. SO the desk chair had to stay in the room, and there was precious little space for another chair. We bought a nice chair pad at Target for the chair in the room. That worked very well, and was WAY less expensive than a chair. I'm not sure how "essential" an iron/ironing board is (unless your child already uses this independently at home, or is a music major who needs dress up clothes), or a drying rack (neither of my kids had one and both survived just fine), or a microwave (for some kids this may be essential and for others optional). Personally I don't see a TV as "essential" either, but many students do like having one. Re: any storage things like drawers or shelves...you really need to know the size of the dorm room to decide if this is essential or not. Many dorm rooms simply don't have enough floor space to accommodate any extra trappings. My son's suggestion: put everything you THINK you need in one room of your house (maybe your LR), and then take 1/2 of it with you. You won't miss the other half, and your room probably isn't big enough to accommodate it anyway. Surprisingly, my daughter agreed....but she was going to the opposite coast. She took everything she needed except the mattress pad, desk lamp, computer printer and TV (yes she wanted one) in three suitcases. And she says she has more than she needs. In fact every time she comes home, she brings stuff to leave here.</p>

<p>The OTC meds kit was one that my kids both used and appreciated having. Don't forget to include bandaids.</p>

10

<p>If you really want a good desk chair, I wouldn't worry about the one supplied by the dorm (although it's true that many colleges will not allow you to remove furniture from the room). It makes an excellent holder for your computer printer. Or you can shove it in the closet and pile stuff both under it and on top of it.</p>

<p>Also, in terms of setting up crowded rooms, my son would tell you that the TV goes on top of the refrigerator. (Duh, as he would say.)</p>

<p>It just occurred to me that futurehsteacher8's otherwise admirably thought-out list does not include the most essential items of all (besides duct tape): power strips and extension cords. Many dorms were designed long before everyone became addicted to the constant use of multiple electronic devices. There are NEVER enough electric outlets, and they are ALWAYS located in the wrong places in the room. In fact, one of the main purposes of your duct tape supply is to enable you to tape down wires and computer cables so that people won't trip over them when they walk across your room.</p>

<p>In terms of OTC drugs, if you happen to be one of those people who has difficulty swallowing pills, bring chewable or liquid versions of the OTC drugs you use most often with you from home. The on-campus pharmacy is unlikely to sell these products because they are (technically) children's medicines, and campus pharmacies do not cater to the needs of children.</p>

11

<p>I also made up a small Ziplock of "useless office supplies" - paper clips, rubber bands, little plastic pencil sharpener, safety pins!!!, other little items. D became the dorm source for these items, and met many people that way - even though i never refilled the Ziplock.</p>

<p>Another vote for the chewable, or now the meltable meds. Both of my kids only learned to swallow pills as almost adults, and only when they are really sick - 16 year old son still prefers chewables - you can wash them down better when your throat is sore.</p>

12

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<p>This just affirms the comment made above by someone about knowing the dorm room your child will be living in. In DS's case, his clothes barely fit in his closet. A chair would NOT have fit at all. And putting an additional chair in the room would not have worked either...no space on the floor. They used the top of the fridge for the PRINTER.</p>

<p>I will say....I'm guessing that the OP's list was for a female college student. In my experience, the girls do have more "essentials" than the boys.</p>

<p>Some colleges have floorplans of the rooms online. Just look carefully at the measurements. And remember too...if you have a double, your roommate will also need space in the room. </p>

<p>Lofting beds is a good idea for many students. DD did this and they put the fridge under the bed. </p>

<p>Agreed...one essential is a power strip with a long cord.</p>

<p>Do kids still use alarm clocks? Mine both use the alarm on their cell phone.</p>

13

<p>I can't imagine bringing an ironing board and iron and drying rack--don't they have them in the laundry room?
I can't imagine that a refrigerator is "essential" unless you have unusual dietary needs. I knew precisely one person who had one in college. A microwave???? Most dorms I've seen have kitchenettes with this stuff--why take up space?
I can't imagine bringing a television. Doesn't the dorm have one in its living room? Again, I knew precisely one person who brought a TV to college. There are better things to do than watch tv.
Brita water pitcher? Why?
Desk and floor lamps? If they don't give you a desk lamp, okay, but floor lamps? How much floor space do you expect to have? Most rooms are far too small for all of this stuff.
If you are going to bring all these storage units, they had better fit under the bed. Another idea, depending on closet space, is to get one of those closet organizer things that enables you to hang two sets of things in one vertical space.
Things not on the list that I agree would be a good idea: duct tape, extension cords and power strip/surge protector, extra pillows, window fan depending on the climate. A couple of mugs and a small coffeepot or water heater for tea, if allowed. A few knives and forks and spoons would not go amiss, either.</p>

<p>You and your roommate might want to get curtains after you arrive. And a bedspread.</p>

14

<p>Social security card. My daughter has lost hers. She didn't have a problem getting a work study job. She just can't get paid without showing her S.S. card. All those checks piling up will help with next semester's tuition. On second thought ... maybe no card could be a good thing.</p>

15

<p>FurtureHSTeacher,
I asked the same Q a few months back. 240 Responses. Here's the thread:</p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/378931-items-college-most-parents-overlook.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/378931-items-college-most-parents-overlook.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

16

<p>digital thermometer.Didn't think of that first time around and should have.</p>

17

<p>
[quote]
I can't imagine bringing an ironing board and iron and drying rack--don't they have them in the laundry room?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>In my daughter's dorm, there is only an ironing board available for public use. No irons. No drying rack. Students who wear a lot of sweaters that cannot be dried in the dryer or who wear lingerie that requires hand washing might like to have a drying rack, but it does take up substantial space. My daughter has one in her dorm room, but her room is larger than average.</p>