When I showed up to my first dorm
room, I arrived with everything on the list that the school had
posted online. The list was basic, hangers, sheets, shampoo &
conditioner, and the all important sewing kit. Obviously at 10 years
old I was not doing a lot of mending, so the sewing kit was the first
thing to go missing in that dorm room. All the other items not on the
list, were the things I seemed to need the most. But over time I
realized what I lacked, and what I would need to make the coming
years more comfortable and organized.
One thing you will probably learn
pretty quickly is that most dorm closets will be small. Not being
able to fit all your clothes and shoes in your closet will give you
even more reason to just leave them on the floor instead. So first and
foremost, the most understated but most helpful product I ever came
across was “closet doubler rod”. It was one of the best $15
that ever went into my dorm room. There are varying models, some are
more basic and others are adjustable. The hooks just sit
on your original closet rod, and it hangs under the rod to
give you double the hanging space. It also extends so you can make it
wider or more narrow depending on how much you need. This rod
seriously allows you to put twice the amount of clothes in your
closet, and hopefully that equals a cleaner floor.
Another product that you probably
thought about, but very briefly is a laundry bin. You also may have
thought you will just go buy a cheap plastic basket and throw it in
your closet. But I would not suggest that at all. Firstly, the
baskets tend to be small and I can almost guarantee that how ever
many times you think you will be doing laundry, you will do maybe
half of that. Every dorm at every school will be different. But in
most cases you will be trucking your laundry from your floor to the
floor with the laundry room. So that means two things. One, your
laundry bin should be on wheels, because you will be more likely to
do the laundry if you don't have to break your fingers on the bin.
And two, it should have a lid for some very good reasons. If you end
up needing to utilize an elevator in order to get your laundry done,
do you really want your dirty laundry on display for everyone who
gets in the elevator with you? Probably not. But also, while you are
busy ignoring your laundry, a lid will contain the smell from your
roommate and anyone you pass on the way to the laundry room. I had a
hard time finding a bin on wheels, so I ended up using a red and blue
toy chest that rolled. Sure I got some weird looks, but I also got
some nice compliments and I plan on finding a place for it in my
apartment. A laundry bin is also a good chance to add a pop of color,
especially if your closet doesn't have doors. Another option would be a laundry backpack. It makes it easy to transport your laundry, and no one can see your thongs!
It is safe to assume that your
standard dorm room will not include a mirror. If you have a community
bathroom, that means you will be dragging yourself (and your outfit) to
the bathroom and standing on your tip toes to check out your outfit
in a short mirror. Unless you get the clever idea like I did and stand on the toilet in your heels to get a better look. Because that
is how I ended up with a heel, and a foot, ankle deep in toilet
water. So if you don't want a nice shoe ending up in the toilet, a
full length over the door mirror will be a god send. I say “over
the door” because otherwise you will end up mounting a mirror to
the wall. That is usually a bad idea because they tend to either
leave big holes in the wall, or rip paint off. Either way, you may
end up with charges at the end of the year. So I would recommend
putting in the extra effort to find one that just hangs over the
door, because nothing kills the start to summer like a $100 fee for a
damaged room.
This item is a bit of an extra
expense, but honestly, you will sleep better and your friends will
never want to leave your room. A mattress pad of any kind, whether it
be just foam, down, or gel/memory foam will help immensely.
Mattresses at college tend to be rock hard, and they are a made from
a non-absorbent material (probably why they are rock hard) so when
the previous resident spilled god only knows what, it just rolls off
the bed instead of soaking in for you to enjoy later . There are many
different types of padding, at many different stores, with
many different price tags. You can find the one that matches your
budget and your need based on how rock hard your bed is. So unless
super ultra firm beds are your cup of tea, a little research on a
mattress pad will really help for the sleep you
do manage. Even if you can only afford a $10 half an
inch foam pad, it will honestly be better than nothing.
My final product to add to your dorm
list would be a small floor vacuum. They can be easily found, and if
cleanliness is important to you then this is a must. In the dorms I
lived in for high school and college, the floor in your room is your
responsibility to clean. The school only pays to have the bathrooms
cleaned. So the dorms provide a vacuum that you can bring to your
room and use. These vacuums are not always the best. Sometimes the
person who used it previously suck up some “interesting” things
which can either make your room smell weird or destroy the suction.
Either way you will feel like you wasted your time lugging the vacuum
to your room. With a little vacuum always on your side, you can keep
those dust bunnies from accumulating in the corners, or secretly
clean up after your roommate when they are off in class.
These are just a few of the things
that kept my dorm experience running smoothly. There are so many
things to worry about in college like grades and friends. So not
worrying about damaging your walls, or having a stinky unorganized
room, will help keep your stress level low.
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