The days before you head off to college zip by as your caught up in a whirlwind of hanging out with friends before you head off to separate colleges, spending time with your family who you might not see for months, and just enjoying the summer. You start planning what you need to buy for your dorm room and coordinate with your future roomie. While you may want to take everything from your bedroom to your dorm room, there simply won't be space. Here is a list things you might not know you need, but definitely should take.
1. Shower shoes
Chances are you'll live in a dorm for your freshman year of college. If you live in the dorms, you'll have to share showers with the rest of your hall. While the bathrooms in my freshman year of college were cleaned daily, I still didn't want to take a chance.
2. An ethernet cable
This is one item that I actually ended up buying after I started college. The college I attend does have wifi in the dorms, but due to the mass amounts of students on it, I would end up getting kicked off, or the internet taking forever to load. This was super frustrating, as it would take extra time to do my work due to the internet connection. After getting an ethernet cable, I didn't have any trouble completing my assignments online.
3. A fan
Depending on how old your dorm is, you might not have air-conditioning. If that's the case, I highly recommend bringing your own fan. Even though I attend college in a state that's typically not hot during the school year, the first few days were brutal without air conditioning, and I'm not sure what I would've done without the fan I brought.
4. Noise canceling headphones
If you need absolute peace and quiet when studying, then you should definitely consider buying some noise canceling headphones. Even though most dorms have designated quiet hours, these are still useful to use if you want to study during the day and it's loud, or if you're studying in the library and people are talking.
5. Storage bins
College dorms are small, and you'll all the space you can get. Save some space by packing the things you need for later in the year in bins that you can keep under the bed. You'll appreciate being able to walk around the room without falling over items.
6. A shower caddy
Going to the bathroom to shower with your soap, shampoo, conditioner, and other items can be a challenge. Also, the floor of the shower might not be the most sanitary of places. Having a shower caddy will just make going to the shower easier.
7. A bathrobe
My freshman year, I didn't buy a bathrobe. I thought I'd be able to change in the shower. While that worked for a few days, about a week into classes, the fire alarm went off while I was in the shower. I had to change into clothes while soaked. Having a bathrobe on hand would be a lot more convenient.
8. Tupperware and silverware
Chances are you'll need some Tupperware if you want to store food. It would make it much easier to take food out of the dining hall if you want to have a snack later in the day. You might also need it to store food that you ordered out. You'll also need silverware to eat the food with.
9. An eye mask
Chances are your roommate and you will have different schedules. You might want to go to bed earlier, or maybe your roommate gets up earlier than you. If you need total darkness to sleep an eye mask would come in handy.
10. Several phone chargers
While you might think that having one phone charger will suffice, the cord could easily break. Make it easier on yourself by having a backup charger on hand.
11. Ear plugs
If you're a light sleeper, there might be nights that you can't sleep right away because your roommate is still up, or your hall is loud, or people are loud outside the building. Ear plugs would solve any noise problems you might have and let you get a good night's rest.
