Dorm Essentials

<p>Thanks guys. That really helped. And again, really sorry about before. Not myself that day.</p>

<p>Yeah, they’re co-ed but the girls get one half of the floor while the boys get the other half. It’s not too bad honestly, and I actually preferred having a co-ed floor. ^^ The only thing to be nervous about is when you shower, usually people walk around in their towels… if you’re uncomfortable with that, you could always get a robe. :]</p>

<p>Thanks. That helped.</p>

<p>My son was in a single, so keep that in mind with the reply.</p>

<p>(1) A chair or chairs–possibly folding ones. Look–you are going to want to entertain sometime–and not everyone wants to sit on your bed (nor do you want them to)–so figure out what you will do in that case.</p>

<p>(2) Stereo or ipod or computer with great speaker attachments. My son went for choice #3. He said that his system could drown out anyone else’s in the dorm (and I believe it since they are now at my house). This comes in handy when your next door roommate refuses to turn down their rap song at midnight when you are trying to study for the next day’s test. My son just turned his stereo up to drown out the next door neighbor’s by a factor of two and left the dorm for a few hours. Funny how they agreed to work together on the music thing the next day. P.S. Also consider headsets for these–it is the considerate thing to do–especially if you and your roommate don’t like the same kind of music.</p>

<p>(3) The small fridge is very important. You’ll want to not spend every few hours walking down to the central commons of your dorm to have a cold drink after a few weeks. This also allows you to stock up–and carry some other basics, like milk, butter, cheese, etc. in your dorm if you want them. </p>

<p>(4) Ditto for a microwave–especially one that fits on top of the frig. But remember–if you do the microwave popcorn thing, the smell will stay in your apartment for hours. So you might want to consider using it for other items.</p>

<p>(5) Plastic storage bins to store folded up T-shirts or blouses (besides the cabinets already in the dorm). If you are like my son, you could go a month without doing laundry–and he occasionally did, since he had so many clean clothes available.</p>

<p>The other basics have been mentioned.</p>

<p>Enjoy your freshman year–and enjoy IU-B!!!</p>

<ol>
<li>Shower Caddy</li>
<li>If the room is not carpeted, def a rug</li>
<li>small fridge and a microwave (You can actually rent this)</li>
<li>Extra storage space</li>
<li>laptop and headphones</li>
</ol>

<p>Thanks. Does anyone have some ‘bizarre’ things that helped? Like out of the norm things? Thats what I was wondering.</p>

<p>Just to clarify, since Global Village has kitchenettes, does that mean Foster International has kitchenettes too since they share the same building. </p>

<p>And to the OP, this might help, [What</a> to Take to College | Facebook](<a href=“Facebook”>Facebook) and there’s alot of “what to bring” threads in the Student Life section of this website</p>

<p>Gaille, I don’t think they share the same building. The Global Village has a building all to itself.</p>

<p>Does anyone know if you have to request the beds to be ‘bunked’ before move in? My son and his room mate want to have the beds lifted, so they have their desk under their beds. Can this be requested before move in? Or is this done by the students?</p>

<p>I think what your talking about is lofting both beds. I don’t think students are allowed to do this. I believe they can either be bunked or lofted in an L-shape, but even these depend on which dorm your son is in. I’m also wondering if we have to have them requested. I would suggest looking around the RPS website. That’s what I should do too.</p>

<p>You can loft the beds, but you have to buy the frame/service from a certain company I think. It was on the RPS website somewhere but I can’t find it.</p>

<p>From the RPS website: Residents are not allowed to provide their own materials to loft or bunk beds. In Read, Eigenmann, and Mason Hall, the beds can be lofted or bunked using existing furniture. In Briscoe, Collins, Forest, Foster, McNutt, Teter, and Wright, beds can be bunked or set up in an L-shaped loft using existing furniture. For safety reasons, our staff must loft or bunk the beds. Contact your center desk about this service.</p>

<p>Also, when I took a tour of McNutt, they said the beds come bunked, but can be put in an L shape or unbunked, but L shape (and maybe unbunking) has to be done by the staff.</p>

<p>Does anyone know if my roommate and I can light a menorah during hanukkah? And if not, what are the chances we’d get caught if we did anyways? And what would the discourse be?</p>

<p>Thanks Toffa813…
my son will be in Read, and he saw them bunked/lofted when he was there for orientation. Do you know if we can contact the center desk before we move in? or is this request done the day we move in? It would be great to put in this request so the beds were lofted prior to move in.</p>

<p>I don’t know. I say you should call the center desk (the 22nd is the first day of move in, so they would definitely be there to take your call then) and ask what the deal is. I feel like they said something about doing it once you’re there but I could be entirely wrong.</p>

<p>When my daughter moved into the dorms last year (McNutt-Crone, KLLC) the beds were already in the bunk configuration. There were workers wandering the hallways to unbunk them if you wanted. It was a quick and easy process, but try to find the guys right away because they get really busy. You can buy bed lifters at Bed Bath and Beyond that raise the beds enough to store stuff underneath.</p>

<p>S is going to be in a double with a shared half bath. Does this mean they need to plan cleaning their own bathroom, in which case he needs to bring some cleaning supplies?</p>

<p>@Jazzkat</p>

<p>My sister at another university had a suite bathroom, and she had to clean it on her own. I’m pretty sure only public areas (hallways, hall bathrooms) are cleaned by the IU staff</p>

<p>jazzkat, I had a friend in the same situation as your son and I believe the cleaning staff comes by 1x/week to clean.</p>

<p>ElizaB, I like your answer! My son is also in a suite bathroom, and I would hate to think about what it would look like after a few weeks! I sure do hope that there is someone to come by and clean it weekly!!</p>

<p>D was in Read last year with a shared half bath. It was cleaned by the cleaning staff once a week.</p>