Dorm Room Essentials

Dorm rooms are small and cramped so you have to make the most of your space while also making sure you have everything you need to live comfortably.

Lets start with food and sleep which are basic needs. College dorm beds are hard so one of the first things you should buy is a mattress pad to make your bed more cushy. Dorm beds are also usually long twins so make sure you get sheets that fit. When it comes to food, you'll want to get a mini fridge to keep essentials like water, juice, deli meats and snacks. You can get a decent sized small fridge if you have a lot to store. You can also get a microwave for convenience, though dorm halls usually have one in the kitchen.

Next, you'll want storage and lots of it. When students move away from home for the first time they tend to take much more than they actually need and college dorms usually have at most a desk with a few drawers and a closet as far as storage goes. So plastic bins for under your bed and for your closet can be helpful to be able to keep all your things. There are tons of racks and hooks and things for space saving purposes. If you check your local home store around the beginning of the year, you will find tons of space-savers.

Next is toiletries. Unless you live in a fancy dorm room and share a bathroom only with your roommates, your dorm bathroom is probably a lot like a public bathroom with showers. This means you will have to keep your shower things in your room and travel with them. For this reason, it's probably a good idea to get a simple carryall for your loofah, shampoo, and soap along with a nice robe, though it's not unheard of for students to stroll through the hallways in just a towel. The absolute most important thing for the shower, is shower sandals. Dorm room showers are cleaned once a day and used by an entire floor of students. That should be all the explanation you need.

Of course, your computer is a must. Unless you and your roommate have the same taste in TV shows, it's going to be awkward to watch TV in your dorm, especially if you both want to watch different shows at the same time. So your most important source of entertainment will be your computer. You can kill time on Facebook or do schoolwork without having to go to the library.

Aside from that, you probably want things like an alarm clock and a fan. You will eventually get used to not waking up to your roommate's alarm and only responding to yours. Some students use their cell phones to double as an alarm. A personal fan is useful if your roommate like to keep it too warm in the room. If you're the roommate that is always too cold, then you might want to spring for an extra comforter.

Laundry is also an important part of college life. Unless you are lucky enough to live close enough to home to do laundry there, you're going to need a lot of quarters!

Once all the hard stuff is done. It's time to decorate. You don't want to live in a bare room for an entire year so pick up a few posters and cork boards and give your room some personality.

These items can help your stint in the school dorms be painless and more comfortable.