How to make your dorm a home away from home. Option 1: Pack the basics and buy what you need when you get to college. Cons: the first couple weeks, the mailroom is crowded and packages might get lost. Or you get whatever is left at the stores near campus. If you have no access to a car, you mi...
Sections
10
For a Good Night's Sleep
Luggage, Backpacks, & Bags
Bath
Women's Winter Coats
Lighting and Charging Station and Gadgets
Kitchen Electrics and Cooking
For a Good Night's Sleep
To make the dorm homey and comfortable
Luxury Pick
TEMPUR-Adapt® Topper - Twin Long
Adjust the height and firmness by taking out or adding fluff.
Coop Home Goods : Bed Pillows
Deep pocket cotton sheets that go over the mattress topper without a struggle
Twin/Twin XL 400 Thread Count Performance Printed Sheet Set Blue Stripe - Threshold™
Well made Portuguese cotton flannel that is pill resistant.
Ultrasoft Comfort Flannel Comforter Cover
Luxury Pick - Ultimate goose down comforter
Ultimate Goose Down Comforter
Practical Pick - Down Blend Duvet from Target
Mid Weight Down Blend Comforter from Target
Great Value - Goose Down Duvet
Hotel Grand White Goose Down Comforter | Costco
Wait to see your room set up before getting a headboard. A wedge pillow might work better for the space. A friend made a headboard out of plywood, cotton batting, fabric, a jigsaw, and an upholstery stapler. One can zip tie or use Velcro straps to se...
400 Thread Count Premium Supima Cotton Mattress Pad
This goes on sale at Home Depot a few times a year
Lucid Mattress Topper - Mid Price Pick
Convenient place to put stuff, especially if you have the top bunk
Bedside Shelf Table & Storage Organizer Caddy
Filters dust, dander, mold, and viruses for cleaner air. The hepa filter works great and is especially useful in dorms. This brand rated well on tests. A smaller one by Blueair or Levoit might also meet your needs. I like this model because it tested well on Wirecutter, and also we got it the day a suitemate tested positive for covid, and this air purifier helped the rest of the suitemates stay healthy.
Coway Airmega Air Purifier
To raise the bed and provide extra storage room under the bed
Adjustable Bed Risers or Furniture Riser
Helpful tool for lofting the bed. You'll also meet friends, since other people will borrow it
Blue Ridge Tools 18oz Rubber Mallet Hammers Blue
These are deep enough to accommodate the mattress topper and regular depth mattresses, and have extra elastic to help the sheet to stay put. They come in several patterns.
Twin/Twin XL 400 Thread Count Blue Floral Sheet Set - Threshold™
Sometimes it's nice to have something to lean back on while reading in bed
Bed Rest Pillow
This air purifier is smaller than the Conway, but also has a hepa filter effective for screening allergens and viruses.
Levoit VortexAir True HEPA Air Purifier
When a headboard is not feasible, the wedge pillow is nice to lean back on. Another idea is to use a rectangular dog bed as the cushioned headboard
Wedge Pillow
You can hang these with a tension rod. Alternatively, use the command hooks that clamp broom handles, attached sideways, with a rod.
Classic Linen Design Room Darkening Semi-Blackout Curtains, Set of 2
Luggage, Backpacks, & Bags
If moving in to dorms by car, those IKEA FRAKTA bags are great. The bag handles allow the bags to be carried like a backpack or over the shoulder. One can put clothes on hangers, and put the FRAKTA bag around the clothes, so that when you get to the ...
The wheels on this carry on glide so smoothly
TravelPro Carry-On Suitcase
Moving Day - Super useful for moving! It has straps so it can be worn backpack style or carried by hand. Recommend 5-7 bags. If these are unavailable, IKEA has the Gorsnygg back that is slightly smaller.
FRAKTA Storage bag for cart, blue, 28 ¾x13 ¾x11 ¾ " 20 ...
Checked Luggage - Medium sized. The wheels move so smoothly.
TravelPro Platinum ® Elite 25” Checked suitcase
Hard Shell Carry-on
The Carry-On suitcase | Away: Built for modern travel
For travel and everyday
Belt Bags | lululemon
A carryon sized travel backpack with wheels. Pull it on smooth pavement; use the backpack features when walking over cobblestone streets.
Mother Lode Rolling Travel Backpack
Clamshell style travel backpack
Allpa 35L Travel Pack - Del Día
This is used as a personal item that fits below the airplane seat
Mother Lode Jr Travel Backpack
This IKEA Dimka bag holds all the bedding - comforter, sheets, mattress pad, and pillow. Very convenient to have all this together when moving in on a rainy day.
DIMPA Storage bag, clear, 25 ½x8 ¾x25 ½" - IKEA
The foam mattress topper should be compressed before moving. Target's Room Easentials Jumbo compression bags were my go-to, but this year they've replaced the product with something that has negative reviews. A friend suggested using this vacuum bag ...
Compression bag for moving
Maximize storage space with these compression bags. Pillows and comforters will take up less room when moving.
Reusable Vacuum Storage Bags, 3 Pack
If you're running out of packing space, a compression bag can shrink towels and pillows down to less than half the volume
Hefty SHRINK-PAK 2 Jumbo Vacuum Storage Bags
With FRAKTA bags sometimes unavailable, Amazon has dupes. Alternatively, these IKEA bags are slightly smaller than the FRAKTA, but useful. They hold a lot! The zipper is around half of one side, rather than going through the middle.
GÖRSNYGG Bag - blue 15 ¾x11 ¾x23 ½ "/19 gallon
Bath
Remember to bring a robe, since your bathroom may be down the hall.
Soft, fluffy, and monogrammable
Premium Supima Cotton 6-Piece Bath Towel Set
Old Navy sells inexpensive shower flip flops for men and women
Flip-Flop Shower Sandals
You'll need a variety of command hook sizes to hold up towels, jackets, necklaces, key fobs, and other Knick knacks.
Command Hook
A mesh shower caddy
Mesh Shower Caddy
This can be used as a shower caddy or as something to store cleaning supplies
The wet shower caddy can be set down on this dish drying mat after the shower.
Drying Mat
Women's Winter Coats
What coats are great for the freezing Midwest and Northeast winters?
Warmest - this feels lightweight and has a little stretch. It keeps you warm even when the windchill is below zero and you still have to walk to class through the snow. After testing this for two Ohio winters, this gets an excellent review!
Women's Glacier Peak Seamless Stretch Down Duffle Coat | Eddie Bauer
Warmest coat for subzero frosty days. This coat was tested in Chicago's coldest winter weather and gets an excellent review!
Women's Lodge Down Duffle Coat | Eddie Bauer
Waterproof, breathable, and has a detachable insulated lining for three season wear
Women's Girl On The Go Insulated Trench Coat | Eddie Bauer
Luxury Pick: Canada Goose
Women's Ellesmere Parka
This has no Pom Pom, so it fits underneath the hood of the coat on freezing days. Cashmere is not itchy.
Cashmere Beanie | Quince
Winter in the South - Butter soft light leather jacket
100% Leather Jacket / Quince
Easy to store in jacket pockets
Cashmere Gloves | Quince
Great for in between seasons
Down Puffer Vest
Lighting and Charging Station and Gadgets
College kids have a lot of tech!
This lamp folds and packs easily.
Taotronics LED Desk Lamp
1
Protect your devices from the ups and downs of dorm electricity. Also, some old dorms do not have enough outlets
Accell Power Air Surge Protector and USB Charging Station with 6-Foot Cord
Many dorm doors close quickly and lock automatically. During move in, the door stop can be handy when you bring all the luggage in. During the first week, a student can prop the door open to meet new friends who live in the same hall.
Scotch 2ct Clear Door Stops
A personal safety alarm offers peace of mind for a late walk back to the dorm
Birdie
A 10ft cable helps when the power source is far from the dorm bed
10' TPU Lightning to USB-A Cable
Small portable charger useful during travel. This has cables attached.
The TravelCard Plus
Kitchen Electrics and Cooking
When a morning pick me up is needed but you're short on time
Keurig Mini Single-Serve K-Cup Coffee Maker
Costco members can get package deals
Keurig K-Supreme Plus Special Edition Single Serve Coffee Maker, with 18 K-Cup Pods
Costco carries the 100 count box for a decent price
Newman's Own Organics Coffee Special Blend K-Cup Pod, 100-count
For an off campus apartment, this is perfect for making healthy breakfast smoothies
Vitamix Explorian 10-Speed Blender - 064068
Quick and convenient way to have pasta when the dorm does not allow hotpots.
La Pasta Microwave Pasta Cooker - The Original Fasta Pasta - No Mess, Sticking or Waiting For Boil
Our college had rules about refrigerator types and dimensions, and we might have run out of room in the car, so it was easier to rent one. But I always thought this retro mini fridge would have been fun.
Retro 3.2 cu. ft. 2 Door Mini Fridge in Red
A microwave recommended by Wirecutter
Toshiba 0.9-cu ft 900-watt countertop microwave
This is easy to clean and you don't touch the mouthpiece when you open the lid
Contigo Water Bottle
Medicine Kit
Add allergy medicines such as Benadryl or Zyrtec to the medicine kit because these can be life saving when someone discovers a new food allergy. Discuss birth control and perhaps add condoms to the medicine kit.
For allergies - especially useful if they discover a new allergy away from home
Helpful during stomach flu. Also, an opera singer on opening night gave her coworkers pedialyte so that they could all keep hydrated and have the needed electrolytes to keep up their stamina.
Boots, running shoes, party shoes look tidy on a shelf
Seville Classics 12 Pair Iron Metal Shoe Rack
Three tier rolling cart, foldable for easy moving. Useful for toiletries, makeup, snacks etc
Foldable 3 Tier Metal Utility Rolling Cart
Pair these with storage boxes. Can be used horizontally under beds to store shoes or clothes. Can be used vertically as a side table
3 Cube Organizer
Storage space that doubles as a seat
Poppin Box Seats
Flocked hangers take up a little less space.
Flocked Hangers (Target)
If you have Costco membership, the price of their flocked hangers beats most other places
Flocked Hangers (Costco)
Laundry
Some college laundry machines are in basements and require walking several flights of stairs. A backpack laundry bag might be easier, as well as lighter detergent such as pods or laundry sheets. I tried a rolling plastic laundry hamper by Sterilite, ...
Laundry detergent pods
All Mighty Pacs Free Clear Laundry Detergent Pacs with OXI Stain Removers - 56ct/39.5oz
These laundry detergent sheets are lightweight and convenient. During one load, there was some detergent residue on dark pants. Once I began tearing up the detergent sheets into small pieces, it dissolved better. Consumer Reports found that while thi...
Laundry Detergent Eco Sheets - 60 Loads
Sometimes when you have to walk down several flights of stairs to do laundry, a laundry backpack is helpful
Backpack Laundry Bag
A basic plastic laundry hamper to fit in the closet. Originally I thought that a wheeled Sterilite hamper with a retractable handle would be ideal, but that one had a half moon shape that annoyingly tipped over. This hamper has a sturdy base and hold...
Plastic Laundry Hamper
Fabric softener Free of fragrance
Bounce Fabric Softener Sheets - Free & Gentle
Clean Up
Hahaha!
Buy the things that are used at home. That way at the end of the school year, you have refills. But optimism wins, so here are things that might get used.
Confirm whether you need to bring trash cans as well
Tall Kitchen Drawstring Trash Bags
Disinfecting wipes
Seventh Generation Disinfecting Wipes
For a clean toilet bowl
Clorox ToiletWand Disposable Toilet Cleaning System
