How to Furnish Your Dorm Room Kitchen

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By Terria Fleming
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typical dorm room

Most dorm rooms don't have an actual kitchen, more like a kitchen area, so one of the most important aspects of furnishing your dorm room kitchen is saving space.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

money to furnish your dorm room
a plan

Step 1

microwave

Before doing anything else, you need to check out the rules and regulations concerning what your college allows in the way of furnishings and kitchen appliances.

Some colleges allow only a dorm sized refrigerator and a microwave while others are more lenient and will let you bring other kitchen appliances like coffee makers, indoor grills (George Foremans Indoor Grill is a favorite), toasters, toaster ovens, rice cookers, hot pots, crock pots, blenders, electric skillets, or hot plates.

You probably won't need all the above items, and you wouldn't have enough space for them all anyway, so choose wisely and bring only what you think you might actually use when cooking in your dorm room.
Step 2

relaxing

You'll also need some kitchen supplies like bowls and containers that can be used in the microwave, plates, cereal bowls, coffee cups, glasses, a few containers for storing food in, silverware, a can opener, and a kitchen knife, and don't forget kitchen towels, dish washing soap, dish scrubber, and useful items like aluminum foil, and cloth napkins.
Step 3

vegetable aisle

The last step in stocking your dorm room kitchen is buying food. Try to find easy to fix items like tuna or chicken in pouches, microwave rice in a pouch, instant oatmeal packages, cereal, peanut butter and jelly, canned dinners like chili and soups, macaroni and cheese, top ramen noodles, crackers, salt, pepper, and other seasonings, as well as bread, and/or tortillas and pita bread.

Stock your refrigerator with prepared salad mixes, fresh fruits and vegetables, butter, yogurt, milk for cereal, eggs, cheese, and sliced sandwich meats from the deli counter. You can buy containers of prepared dishes like pasta salads from the deli too.

If you have room in your freezer compartment, then buy some frozen burritos, small pizzas, and complete frozen dinners. They are quick and easy to prepare in your microwave.
Step 4

have fun

If you have the desire or the inclination, decorate your kitchen area in your dorm room with small items or wall decorations or pictures that look good to you. Be creative here and make your dorm kitchen area unique and fun to spend time in.

Also find some attractive storage containers (milk crates will work), for the food you have in your room. It looks better to have your food all in one place and near where you cook, than having it all over the place. If you have room, a small bookcase in or near the kitchen area can hold food supplies, a microwave cookbook, and some of your kitchen appliances when they aren't being used.