The Ultimate Checklist that Every Freshman Should Bring to Their College Dorm

So you’ve just finished senior high school and now it’s time to move into a new chapter of your school life —college! Starting your life in college can be filled with a frenzy of excitement and confusion, especially if you’re moving to a dorm. As much as you want to bring your whole bedroom with you, the reality is that dorm rooms generally have limited space. Besides, living in a dorm includes meeting new people, sharing a room with other people, and doing chores on your own (yes, including the laundry!).

So if you’re going crazy just trying to fit everything in one box, here’s an off-to-college checklist to make sure you have everything you need for your first college dorm experience!

Bedding

Living in a shared area, one of the most important things to remember is to bring small items as much as possible. Since most college dorms only provide a bed and desk for the bedrooms, make sure that your beddings can be easily folded and stored away in a shelf or under your bed. Check if your dorm manager also provides add-ons like pillows and blankets so you no longer have to bring one. However, if you prefer to bring your own beddings you can check this list of essentials:

• Mattress cover
• Pillows
• Blanket

Bedroom

Most dorms already have furniture for the tenants like closets, chairs, tables, and drawers. If you want to add some personal touch to your room, you can ask the owner if you are allowed to add some wallpapers or frames on the wall. Since the goal is to maximize dorm living without having to bring everything, multi-purpose items are surely a great option! Here are some items you can also try:

• Small foldable chairs (which you can use as a table!)
• USB lamps you can use on the go (also in case of a brown-out!)
• Bulletin boards
• Electric fan
• Wall mirror (for that perfect #OOTD!)

Laundry

One of the most challenging parts of dorm living is doing the laundry by yourself. It would be helpful to check if the dorm provides laundry services or allow tenants to share a washing machine, and if there’s an area where you can dry your clothes.  

• Laundry hamper or bag 
• laundry detergent, bleach, and fabric conditioner
• Iron
• Ironing board (Bonus hack: You can also use a folded cotton blanket in place of an iron board)

Food

Food is one of the most important items to put on your checklist. Whether you have a cafeteria or just a walk away from the resto, most likely, you’ll always gonna need to have some food in your dorm. Lucky if your place has a refrigerator where you can keep a wider array of food options. If not, you can look for food that doesn’t need refrigeration like dried fruits, cereal bars, or canned goods. Just make sure to store food in clean and properly sealed containers so as to keep the freshness and avoid contamination. To save space, you can designate a portion of your shelf or drawer to store these items, too.

• Cereals or instant oatmeals
• Coffee, creamer, sugar, tea
• Instant noodles
• Instant oatmeal
• Fruits and easy to prepare veggies

Desk/School Supplies

Organization is key to make your dorm room as conducive and comfortable as possible. You can use old shoe boxes to place small supplies like staplers, fasteners, rulers, sticky notes, paper clips, and scissors. Have a cute mug that you no longer use? Why not use it to hold your pens, markers, highlighters, or pencils? Here are some of the things you might also need:

• Binders
• Calculator
• File folder for important documents 
• Glue
• Notebooks/Planner/Journal

Kitchen Supplies

Whether you are preparing your own meal or hosting a dinner with your roomies, having a set of handy kitchen materials will surely help.

• Utensils
• Food storage containers
• Reusable plates
• Sealable plastic bags
• Paper towels
• Dishwashing soap
• Trash bags

Gadgets

Whether you are studying, making the most of your free time, or binge watching with your dorm mates, these gadgets are must-haves:

• Laptop, tablets, phone
• External hard drive, flash drives
• Chargers (phone, laptop, etc.)
• Extension cords
• Headphones/earphones/portable or bluetooth speaker
• Printer

 

Toiletries

Remember that you will have to share a bathroom with other people, so be sure to pack a set of toiletries you can carry anytime when using the restroom.

• Bar soap or body wash
• Shampoo and Conditioner
• Cleanser 
• Moisturizer 
• Shaving Cream
• Deodorant
• Hair gel, wax, or hairspray
• Toothbrush, toothpaste, and mouthwash
• Towels

As a college freshman, you need to be extra prepared for moving into a college dorm. Keeping this list in mind, you have an ample amount of time to get ready and avoid forgetting the essential things. After all, the more prepared you are, the less stress you’ll feel during the move-in process. What’s more, this list will also come in handy when it’s time to replenish groceries or replace old stuff. No need for a new list! Enjoy your second home, freshies!

 

This submission was sent in by Christian King Condez from Ateneo De Manila University with minor edits done by Edukasyon.ph staff. The following views and opinions expressed in this article do not reflect that of Edukasyon.ph or its editors. For more info on how to get your work published, visit Edukasyon.ph on Facebook or send your essays directly to support@edukasyon.ph with the subject line: BLOG SUBMISSION- Name. We look forward to reading your work!