Are you moving into a dorm this year? This post is all about the best dorm room essentials list for your freshman year of college.
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There are so many dorm room packing lists out there that have an endless amount of things to buy for your college dorm room. From a futon to a shower caddy, what do you actually need to buy for your dorm room?
In this post we’ll tell you the absolute essentials you’ll need for your dorm room. I couldn’t have survived freshman year without these dorm room essentials and I know you’ll need them too!
Before we get into the dorm room essentials list, download the free printable comprehensive dorm packing list below!
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Dorm Room Essentials List For Freshman
1. Mini Vacuum Cleaner
One thing I did not know before living in a dorm: two girls+one small room+long hair=tons of shedding! Some dorms have a communal vacuum that the whole floor shares, but I brought this mini vacuum and it was a life saver! We used it for vacuuming up hair, crumbs from our popcorn, and any dust that would accumulate.
2. Bedside Shelf
This bedside shelf acted as the perfect nightstand for my lofted twin xl bed. You can set your phone on it, your water bottle, or anything else you need next to you before going to bed.
3. Long Charging Cord
Most people charge their phone when they are sleeping at night, so a long charging cord is a must-have in the dorms. This 10 ft cord can reach all the way to your nearest outlet to your bed!
4. Vanity Mirror
The bathroom lighting is the dorms is not great. Plus if you share a bathroom with your whole floor, a vanity mirror is a must-have for getting ready. I put all my makeup and the vanity mirror on my dorm room desk and got ready each morning hassle free!
5. String Lights
Lighting in the dorm room can be very harsh. When you just want to have a chill and relaxed night in, you’ll want some soft lighting to set the mood. My roommate and I would turn on our string lights every night and it would set the perfect chill vibe in the room.
6. Plug-in Air Freshener
Since candles are not allowed in the dorms, these plug-in air fresheners are a must-have! There’s a lot of weird smells that can accumulate in a dorm. Keep one of these on in the room and you won’t have to worry about your roommates dirty laundry smelling up the place.
7. Laundry Hamper with a Divider
You need a laundry hamper with a divider! It’s not only good for seperating whites/darks, but I also used it to separate dirty/clean clothes. This basket is perfect for the people who sometimes you get too busy to put away their clean laundry right away (*cough* me).
8. Bathrobe
All dorm room bathrooms are different, but most of them don’t have a lot of room to get changed in. You’ll need a bathrobe to stay covered and cozy from the bathroom to your dorm room.
9. Mini Steamer
My boyfriend’s mom got me one of these my freshman year and it was seriously a life saver. I didn’t always put away my clothes after washing them right away, so things would get pretty wrinkly. This mini steamer was super easy to use and got the wrinkles out very fast.
10. First-Aid Kit
Bring a first-aid kit or make yourself a homemade first aid kit to keep in your dorm room. You should include bandaids, neosporin, nyquil, dayquil, advil, tylenol, tums, a thermometer, and cough drops. You’ll be thankful you have all this medicine on hand when the first dorm flu sweeps through your floor.
11. Water Filter Pitcher
You never really know what’s in the dorm room water. Your safest bet is to get a water filter pitcher that stays in your fridge for fresh filtered water all day.
12. Extra Blankets
You’re going to want some extra fuzzy blankets to snuggle up with on colder winter nights in your dorm room.
13. Hanging Shoe Organizer
You are not going to have a lot of closet space in your dorm room. So, if you are like me and plan to bring a lot of shoes, then you need this hanging shoe organizer. This seriously saves so much closet space and is super useful to store shoes, belts, scarves, mittens, or anything else!
14. Portable Fan
Some dorm rooms at my university didn’t have AC, and it can get seriously hot in those dorms. If you like to stay cool while sleeping or need some white noise to sleep, then get this portable fan!
15. Reusable Plastic Plates and Bowls
It’s always nice to have bowls and plates in your dorm room when you want to make a quick snack. My roommate and I used our bowls to make ramen in the mircrowave and often used the plates to warm up leftover pizza. I know, super healthy eating habits freshman year.
16. Multi-purpose cleaning spray
Your dorm room will accumulate a lot of dust very fast. It’s good to wipe everything down with this multi-purpose cleaning spray at least one a week to stay clean and dust free!
17. Small Trash Can
This is a very important item but usually a forgotten item. A small trash can is super useful to keep in your room so you don’t have to walk all the way down the hall every time you want to throw something away.
18. Command Strips
Since you can’t put any nails into the dorm room walls, you will literally use command hooks to hang EVERYTHING. I bought many of these to hang my pictures, tapestry, and string lights in my dorm room.
19. Keurig
I’m not a huge coffee drinker, but I did use my keurig a lot freshman year to make tea or hot chocolate at night!
20. Dry Erase Wall Calendar
I still use this same wall calendar today. I hung this wall calendar above my desk and it helped me keep track of all my important assignment due dates and exams. It was a good reminder of anything important I had going on because I could always quickly glance at it before bed!
This post is all about must-have dorm room essentials list for freshman
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