Dorm Shopping?

[sammielynn]

My DS19 leaves for college on Aug 16. It has been a very long time since I lived in a dorm. What are some of the must haves for today's college dorm? I feel silly asking this question because I have worked in Higher Education for 28 years! But I work for a Community College so no dorms.

[sunshinecindy]

Kmart has the bed in a bag for dorms on sale for 39.99 this week. They have some pretty awesome ones.

[SunshineGirl]

We probably overdid it when we went to college, but my best friend and I loaded up. LOL!

Some stacking shelves/crates were nice because we could use them for books, clothes, anything.

Does he already have a mini fridge provided by the school? I really considered it a necessity in college. We kept a pitcher of lemonade and fruit in there constantly.

Boys are probably different than girls but we had a little hot plate for making soups, ramen noodles, etc. Maybe we also had a small microwave? LOL! Probably. I'm telling you, our room was like a junior suite.

Lots of space saving/organization stuff. It seemed like there was never enough room...especially the longer that we lived there!

Bathroom stuff--not sure what their bathrooms were like but we had to walk to ours, so we each had a little basket-type thing where we kept our shampoo, soap, etc in so we could just grab it and a towel instead of carrying everything with us separately.

We also wore shower shoes in the community shower. Again, not sure it is something guys care about. But it was basically like a gym shower in that a lot of people ended up with icky stuff on their feet and it would spread like wild fire if you didn't wear shower sandals or something down there.

Just some thoughts.

[m 'n c]

All I have to say is you do not have to get everything each store tells you that you need.

I would look for extra long twin bed sheets as most dorm beds are abnormally long.

Other good items:
desk lamp
pop up laundry hamper
dorm fridge (get the larger one not the tiny small one)
mini microwave

Is the dorm carpeted or flooring? If dorm you might want to consider a bath mat to step on when you wake up.

Community bath? If so go to old navy and get flip flops and a robe & bath caddy.

Some plastic storage containers/bins are good. No matter how clean you keep it there are always bugs in the dorms

[missangie]

Every dorm room needs a small refrig. and a small microwave. Closet space is generally limited so you will need some closet space savers and organizers. Check out Get Organized! Each student should have a desk--new desk supplies would be in order i.e. pencil/pen holder, paper clips, highlighters, post its, etc. The big ticket items you may already have covered, but most college students will have a laptop/computer, MP3, cell phone, etc. We have some great merchants for these items. Check out Best Buy, Circuit City, Apple, Dell, QVC, or HSN. College students also need a piggy bank! Small change is perfect for the laundry room and vending machines.

I could go on, but that should get you started! Congratulations, this is a big time for everyone in your family. Off to college--how exciting!!

[bajam]

Power strips

[iluvamystery89]

i would think a small refrigerator and a small microwave/hot plate as tricia mentioned would be a necessity, especially for those late-night study sessions when the dining hall is closed. some type of laundry hamper, rolls of quarters for the laundry room, DEFINITELY flip-flops for the shower (i won't even use a hotel shower without them). i'm sure he's got a laptop, but he'll probably need a lock or locking case to keep it safe if he doesn't have one already. if he wants to decorate his dorm room walls, i'm sure there are restrictions, so he might need some command adhesive hooks or something similar that's removable. i know this sounds silly b/c guys aren't into cleaning, but since he'll probably be eating in his room, he may also need a dustbuster/small shop vac to keep the crumbs up so they don't attract ants/roaches. i'm just thinkin' off the top of my head here, lol.

[sammielynn]

We had a discussion about showers and shower baskets. He put his foot down to a shower basket type thing, must be a guy thing.
I have already bought all types of desk/office stuff.
I am going to buy him a fridge, glad to hear you saying to buy a bigger one. I was on the fence with that. Will get a microwave.
What do you think about a samll drawer safe? Something to keep his checkbook and cash in. Sears and Kmart have several. I always had mine with me but he doesn't carry a purse.

[sammielynn]

i would think a small refrigerator and a small microwave/hot plate as tricia mentioned would be a necessity, especially for those late-night study sessions when the dining hall is closed. some type of laundry hamper, rolls of quarters for the laundry room, DEFINITELY flip-flops for the shower (i won't even use a hotel shower without them). i'm sure he's got a laptop, but he'll probably need a lock or locking case to keep it safe if he doesn't have one already. if he wants to decorate his dorm room walls, i'm sure there are restrictions, so he might need some command adhesive hooks or something similar that's removable. i know this sounds silly b/c guys aren't into cleaning, but since he'll probably be eating in his room, he may also need a dustbuster/small shop vac to keep the crumbs up so they don't attract ants/roaches. i'm just thinkin' off the top of my head here, lol.

I didn't think about a locking case for his laptop! Might get a bigger safe.

[Anna]

Gift cards for local fast food restaurants and the grocery store are always nice to have cause a college student is ALWAYS broke and ALWAYS hungry!!!!