How to Organize Your Dorm Room and Pack for College
Moving into a new city and into a dorm room with another freshman can be intimidating. Most dorm rooms reserved for "frosh" are single rooms with two or more beds, a shared bathroom down the hallway and often lack kitchen facilities. You'll have little in the way of privacy, so keep this in mind as you pack and organize for this exciting new phase of your life. Regardless of what you bring, leave enough room for the new things you'll accumulate.
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Instructions
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Pack up small bedroom and bathroom basics such as sheets, pillows, comforters, towels, laundry bags and flip-flops to walk to-and-from the shower down the hall. Your bed will come without bedding, so use this time to buy new, comfortable sheets. Dorm rooms usually come unfurnished, without any small chairs or comforters, so plan on having your college friends coming into your room to sit and hang out on your soft and cushy bed.
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Plan ahead for any possible mishap by packing a small first-aid kit, locking cables for laptops and other valuables and a handheld vacuum cleaner. It's likely that at some point during the school year, you might end up giving yourself a paper cut, someone could spill a bag of potato chips during an all-nighter or your laptop might disappear if not locked up during a dorm party when dozens of people try to cram inside your small room.
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Bring organizational supplies such as lightweight shelves, a side table and a caddy for bathroom supplies. You won't have your own shower to store shampoo, conditioner and other toiletries, so you'll need to lug your own things down to the showers. Check with your school to see what shelving units and furniture already exist in the dorm room.
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Discuss with your new roommate how the beds should be arranged. Some dorm room beds are meant to be stacked on top of each other to form bunk beds while other people prefer to have their beds on opposite sides of the room. For example, by moving both beds to opposite sides of the room, you'll free up the floor to have space for impromptu dance parties -- or a place to sit on the floor and do push-ups.
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Pack snacks that don't require refrigeration, such as cookies, crackers and granola bars. If your dorm room has a small fridge, or allows you to take one, pack additional food.
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Bring photos of friends, family and other things that make you happy to post onto your dorm's walls. Whenever pangs of homesickness hit you, you'll be happy to have some photos around.
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Tips & Warnings
Consider purchasing curtains once you've moved into your dorm room. Not all dorm rooms come furnished with blinds or curtains.
Make sure that you check the list of acceptable items for your dorm room and whether your room will come unfurnished or semi-furnished.
Check in with your roommate before you move in to make sure that neither one of you end up bringing too many of the same things; after all, you'll only need one TV, if you decide to bring one.
Don't bring too many clothes; your closet will probably be about as wide as you, so pack just enough clothes to last you until the next time you visit home.
Use removable adhesive, not nails, to stick up your photos, as nails aren't allowed in most dorms.
Find out what type of stores surround your dorm room. If you're going to school in a small town, you may want to pack more supplies than if you have department stores, pharmacies and grocery stores within walking distance.
Never bring anything that's considered off limits at your college or university. Common items not allowed within the dorm rooms include microwaves, portable heaters and anything with an open flame.
References
- Photo Credit James Woodson/Digital Vision/Getty Images
