When I thought back through my years of dorm living, I began to wonder which year was my favorite of them all. Which year stuck out the most? And why? The first year I ever spent away from home in a dorm was the best of them all, sixth grade. But how is that possible? Because as my mother will be the first to tell you, there was plenty of drama and lots of adjusting. Granted I was a child, and I was on an adventure. So I didn't really care that my room was dimly lit, or that my rug wasn't the right size, and the fact that I never seemed to be in dress code was hardly an issue. What I do remember was having two amazing roommates that year, one of whom is a close friend I still talk with to this day (shout out to Casey Murphy). For this post I would like to just give you a brief overview of things I learned, and found useful no matter what stage of dorm life I was in. For future posts, I hope to give links to products or stores that were a saving grace.
Firstly, you have to be willing to go with the flow. There are so many things to add to the list, and then checked off. But what about the issues you never expected to have? For example, my first year we paid for laundry service. That meant once a week I put all my laundry in a white bag, set it out, two days later it was dry cleaned and returned. It should have been fail proof, and it was fail proof until we realized my clothes were shrinking faster than normal. At the time I was 11, at about 5'5", and still growing quickly. It was hard enough finding clothes long enough to start with, but then we started to realize every polo shirt I owned was becoming a midriff top. Then the clothes that weren't becoming doll sized, were disappearing. So the lesson I learned in 6th grade, and remembered as a freshmen in college, just do your own laundry. Most schools (prep schools as well as colleges) provide a dry cleaning service, and while it seems worry free there are many problems that come with it. You don't have to worry about your clothes being returned damaged (this happens more than you think), clothes being returned to the wrong owner, or clothes slowly shrinking. This service is also around $600-$800, so its a way to save if you happen to be on a budget.
Second issue that needs to be addressed in dorm life is hygiene. It is easy to say that this is common sense and it really doesn't need its own paragraph. But no, trust me, its an issue even with females. The million dollar question in dorm hygiene relates to the shower. Do I wear flip flops in the shower or not? Let me tell you, after 10 years, I never wore a flip flop and never had any crazy toe eating viruses. In fact, some girls wearing flip flops, ended up with some funky mold because they kept wearing them without letting them dry properly. For the health conscious, invest in some Scrubbing Bubbles and avoid squeaking down the hall in wet flip flops. The foam cleanses any surface you suspect of carrying a foot eating virus, then turn on the shower to drain it away. Last note on hygiene, and I can't believe I have to say this. But no, two extra squirts of perfume does not equal a shower. You may get caught up in your studies or social life, but showering is a must, regardless of the flip flop situation.
The top necessity that needs to be on every dorm bound students shopping list is extra lighting. Desk lamps, floor lamps, decorative lighting or all of the above. Trust me, the two light bulbs that come standard in every room will not be enough. You can't study in that amount of light, and you definitely will not put your make up on properly. Throughout the years I have accumulated so many desk lamps, floor lamps, and rope lights. But I cannot stress how much having extra lighting will help you in your day to day life. If you are really feeling adventurous, you can add a black light/strobe light. We did that in the 6th grade, and we could not keep people out of our room (including our always suspicious dorm parent).
Lastly, but one of the most important aspects to dorm life is the move in/move out process. So what is my go to product for this issue? Storage containers. Yes, they are more expensive then boxes. But they are far more reliable, plus no messing with mass amounts of box tape. Because lets face it, the incessant use of box tape sometimes leads to feeling like you have ripped off your finger prints. The storage containers also prove beneficial if you are going to school out of state. They can be shipped, or thrown into cargo holds of planes without fear of being crushed or ripped. Another added bonus is that they can be packed, stored during the summer, and easily returned back to school. If this is done with a cardboard box, issues like the box being soaking wet, box being eaten by bugs, or most terrifying of all is finding bugs INSIDE the box. Plastic containers have never failed me, and many of the original containers are still in the garage today. Do yourself the favor, invest in the plastic bins, they will save you a lot of worry.
These things have all proven to help me throughout many years of dorm life, and I hope they are the start to a worry free year of dorm living for you. Next, I hope to make a list of products and stores that maximise your time, space, and sanity. Until then!
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