Going into freshman year, you want to be more than prepared. The feeling of wanting all of the essentials (and then some) is natural. These tips and tricks should come in handy when you're planning and packing for your dorm!
Communicate with your roommate(s).
Chances are as a freshman, you'll have roommates. For example, I had one roommate and we shared a bathroom with two other girls. Before move in, we talked all summer about who would bring what so we wouldn't double, triple, or quadruple up on things. One girl brought the Keurig for our coffee, two of us had a steamer, etc. That made it nice in our room and bathroom to only have what was necessary!
Think about your footwear.
You do not need every single pair of shoes you own, I promise. Think practical - how much room will you really have in your closet? I brought so many pairs of shoes and I wore maybe 6 of them the entire time? College is different. You don't dress up super cute and fancy for class every single day... but if you want to, go for it! You will more than likely wear something comfortable to class.
Closet space is limited.
College dorm closets are small and probably will not fit all that you own. Think about your favorite pieces of clothing, and also some staple pieces, those should be perfect and precise. You will (somehow?) end up with more clothing when you leave than when you arrived. Also, think about where you go to school. I go to Arizona State and for the first four to five months of school it is blazing hot and you sweat through five shirts a day just walking to class, don't bring huge fuzzy jackets that will take up all of the room in your closet.
No iron/ironing boards.
Get a steamer, I promise it is so much nicer to just have a small steamer that you can wrap up and put in your closet. An iron and ironing board will take up so much more room than you really have to spare, wherever you were going to put it.
Sheets and towels.
I had one set of sheets, which I washed on laundry day. Please don't bring ten different pairs of sheets, you really do not need any more than one set. Towels... I had a face towel and two body towels. And the same as my sheets, I would wash my face towel on laundry day and then rotate my body towels.
YES to the mattress pad!
Those dorm beds are not awful, but a mattress pad did make all the difference when it came to getting a good nights sleep!
Mini Fridge?
Do some research and see if your dorm already offers one. Our freshman dorm did... so we didn't bring another. A second one would've been really nice to have, but it would've taken up so much space in our room that we didn't have. If your school/ dorm doesn't offer one, it would be a very nice investment piece!
Toolbox...?
Bring a small toolbox. Nothing huge that your dad keeps in the garage but a small one that you can pick up at Ikea. It will have only the small necessaries in it. There were many times that my roommates and I were thankful for that small tool kit.
Bring toilet paper.
Really weird but, if you and your roommates all bring a pack of toilet paper, you won't have to worry about buying some for a month or so!
Bring your communication skills.
Living with roommates isn't always easy (thankfully for me it was an easy ride.) I have heard horror stories before from other people. Be sure to talk to your roommates about how you will divide purchases for the entire room, split it 50/50? Just be sure to be open with your communication when starting to live with others.
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