When I moved into my dorm freshman year, I was so excited to make it feel like home. My little shoebox of a room was complete with plastered off white walls, hospital style overhead lighting and some lovely holes left over from the nails of decorators before me. My roommate and I furnished and fixed. Thankfully our Chip and Joanna came out a little bit in those first few days. I never realized how crucial some of those changes were to our sanity in the coming months. Making an 11x14 room feel like home is not easy. Somehow we made it work.

• String lights. Not only is the light that is installed in your ceiling painfully bright, but it will make you feel like you’re at the dentist whenever it’s on.
• A cozy rug that covered the entire area of the floor. Unfortunately, we learned this the hard way. We had a tiny rug. It was ugly. Walking on the tile floor doesn’t feel close to home. It feels cold and foreign. Having a rug feels like a happy little party under your feet at all times.
• Coffee mugs (lots of them).
• Cork boards. Pictures from home. Pictures from college. Pin them up whenever you want and take them down at your pleasure. It’s perfect. Foolproof.
• A big chair or futon. I think I slept on that thing more than I slept in my bed. Also, sleepovers are fun.
• A mini-fridge. When it’s two in the morning and that paper isn’t done, you will be wishing that you had that milk to pour yourself a bowl of cereal the size of your face. Eat and weep, my friends.
• The lamp from your bedroom at home. You forget how much the little things mean to you. Just snag one, even if it’s been in your room since sixth grade
• A hand towel that looks like something your mom would buy.
• Candles (shhh!). Enough said.
• More pillows than you need. Making the bed in your dorm room feel like your bed at home is definitely a big feat. Regardless of how awkward it feels or how unnatural it seems to be laying on a crinkling plastic mattress, having a handful (or four) of soft pillows makes the dream work.