I’m just so stoked to go to college in the fall! For people who have been or are attending college right now, what are some essentials that you brought or wish you brought with you that you didn’t think you’d need?
I’m the mom of 2 college students. I’m not sure about “unexpected” but these are some of the things that they’re particularly happy they had:
- A fan. In New Hampshire, believe it or not. The dorms are WELL heated, and get pretty stuffy even in the dead of winter. And August was hot and muggy.
- A doorstop. Incredibly valuable on move in day. And a great way to encourage introductions; people are more prone to stop by to say hi if your door is open.
3.Lots and lots and lots of Command hooks. Strong ones for hoodies and jackets; less strong ones if you want to string lights over your bed.
- Loctite Fun-Tak Mounting Putty -- available at amazon. Pretty much the only thing that worked to attach photos and posters to cinderblock walls.
- A storage cart. The one she got was about $25 at amazon. It's great for snacks, for cosmetics, for so many things.
- If you have your own bathroom, a plunger. Enough said.
- My daughter got a bad case of bronchitis this year. I sent her up a vaporizer for her room; it helped a lot.
- A tool kit. Nothing fancy; I got each of my kids one for about $20.
- A medical kit. Basic first aid stuff, basic OTC meds. Everything from Aleve to Claritan to Dayquil/ Nyquil to Tums. We stocked it fairly close to college departure, and restocked as necessary.
- A full length mirror if your dorm doesn't have one.
Water proof hiking boots for miserable weather.
I heard that mini-fridges are helpful.
And when you said vaporizer did you mean like an air refresher machine?
Don’t get a minifridge until you speak to your roommate. Typically one gets the fridge and the other gets a micro,or a Keurig, or a rug.
No, I meant the old time vaporizer, the kind your mom or grandma used to put Vicks into when you were sick. Though, to be honest, I should probably remove that one from my list. Unless you’re pretty sick you won’t need it, and if you are that sick you can get one pretty quickly.
Consider starting a student membership to Amazon prime. They’re wonderful!!! And the student membership is a great deal.
Second on the medicine kit. General first aid items plus cold, headache and allergy medicines, Pepto and other things for an upset stomach.
The longest phone charger cord you can find. Outlet placement is unpredictable, especially in the older dorms.
My son changed climates (Wisconsin to Louisiana) and we were warned he might be allergic to the different pollens there so we got a plug in room air purifier.
How about those fancy plugs where u can plug multiple chargers in?
Don’t bring humidifiers or air purifiers unless you need them. They take up room.
i agree with the fan if 1) there is no air conditionng 2) It gets hot in Aug/Sept and May
I did send a first aid kit with meds but forgot to include a thermometer. My daughter was sick a few times and that would have been nice to have. I sent her one of those small essential oil diffuser/humidifiers for her dorm room. Her roommate appreciated that too.
Don’t buy too much stuff and consider how it will be packed up in May. My son goes to school across the country. He flies home on SWA with the max allowed suitcases. Large suitcases can be stored under the bed, and he also stores some belongings. IKEA blue zippered bags are handy for storage units but aren’t long lasting. Some lightweight but sturdy duffle bags would be helpful.
The suggested VERY LONG charging cord is great. First aid stuff, a Leatherman multi-tool and an electric kettle are all helpful. My son uses the kettle a lot, and I purchased one for myself on his recommendation. A supply of teas, hot chocolate mixes and Starbuck Vias will save money. My son’s dorm came with a fridge and microwave.
Ethernet cable to hardwire in case WiFi is slow.
As far as any electric appliance-- kettle, Keurig, anything of that sort-- check with your school. There’s a list on their website of what you can-- and cannot-- bring. They’re always concerned about kids forgetting to turn something off and causing a dorm fire, so they’ll be pretty specific on this front. Generally you’ll have more luck with something that turns off after each use-- like a Keurig or electric kettle-- than something that stays hot-- like an iron or a Mr. Coffee. But check the website.
one thing we ordered as a result of move in day was a step stool. My daughter’s bed was set up pretty high to have space underneath and the step stool is useful to get in/out of bed. Her roommate tried my daughter’s and ordered herself one right after that.
If you have your own bathroom you might want (talk to suitemates first) - a better quality shower curtain (perhaps this only applies to my daughter’s school but it comes with a very flimsy curtain), plunger, and toilet bowl cleaner and a bath mat.
@bjkmom I’m from NH so I’m laughing at your fan - yes it can get very hot and muggy in NH.
Don’t overbuy ahead of time. Amazon delivers everywhere and you really don’t want to have to pack it all out again at the end of the year. Many schools have a night at the beginning of the year where they’ll take freshman on a bus to Target or Walmart or whatever is in the community that is like that to fill in gaps.
Google “Fresh Wave”! Take a large container of it up, open it and hide it under a bed in the dorm room and they’ll never know.
Agree–more is less. Don’t overbuy, especially big, bulky things. I made S a desk kit of things he often “borrowed” from my desk and it was the 1st thing we opened when we got to his dorm room. It had an assortment of tape, scissors, permanent and washable marking pens, scissors and more. It also had envelopes and postage stamps for times when such things are needed, correction tape, mechanical pencil with spare leads, eraser, stapler with staples and more.
Also, because we didn’t know how big/small his room and storage would be, we had him pack his things in one regular 22" rollerboard suitcase and one duffle bag that collapsed to nothing that could easily be stored in the suitcase and put in the closet taking up no room.
@bjkmom , @BearcatFan2 and @ momtogirls 2 super helpful, thank you!
So far my D19 just got an ear thermometer in her stocking, but love the step stool, super long phone charger and all items you mentioned @bjkmom
Love all this info!
Oh yeah, D’s favorite thing is “shout color catchers” that allow you to wash laundry without separating whites from colors that will run. It keeps her whites white and allowed her to do laundry less often. It can be purchased online or at Laundry sections of pharmacies and groceries.