Freshman Year Dorm Essentials
by Kayleigh Mincer
If you are anything like me (and I do mean a crazy over-thinker/pre-planner) you spent your entire senior year searching Pinterest high and low for ''cute dorm ideas'', ''small bedroom decoration'', and ''what to pack for college.'' Though those checklists are extremely beneficial, most of the items on that list are not crucial for your dorm room. Here is a list of items you will ACTUALLY need to bring to your dorm this coming fall!
1. The longest iPhone charging cable you can find. Dorm-Decor carries power cords that can extend up to TEN FEET long! In this day in age, it is virtually impossible to leave our phones charging elsewhere when we get in bed at night. After such a busy day of classes, sorority meetings, sports, working out, and extracurriculars, it's one of the only down-times we have to spend with our precious devices. Chances are, in your dorm room your bed is going to be lofted in order to leave space underneath and you will be unable to reach your phone from it's outlet comfortably (along with the fact that outlets are never placed in logical places, am I right?!) The $30 you spend on a 10ft iPhone charger will save your life in college, literally!
2. Black out curtains. Let's face it, the life of a college student is ridiculously busy. Social life that ends at 1am and classes at 8am are NOT a good mix and college students value their sleep over everything; therefore, black out curtains will be a serious life-saver during your college life.
3. A cozy rug. This may not seem like a college 'essential' to most, but making your dorm room more cozy can help so much, especially your freshman year. Making your dorm as home-like as possible can really help us college girls out when we begin feeling homesick! Dorm Decor offers a large rug selection which will make a dorm more cozy!
4. Tapestry. In order to make our dorm room feel most like our home, decor is crucial. Sometimes, on top of tuition and other things you are required to buy, decor can really add up in price. Tapestry is always a great (and cheap) idea to make your wall a little more perky.
5. A water jug with a filter. This sounds so weird, trust me, I know! A water filtered jug will save you absolute fortunes in college, especially in a dorm. Certain dorms come with a fridge; but unlike our home refrigerators, they do not have the built-in water filter. These filtrated jugs will cause the thrifty college student to not spend their entire savings on bottles of water everyday, and is a much safer and healthier option than the sink!
6. Power strip. These are those little devices you see plugged into the wall that instantly triples (or, in some cases, quadruples) how many outlets you'll have in your dorm. Dorm-Decor has a great power cube (mentioned in #1) that is 10 feet in length as well as providing many ports! This way, you are able to plug in anything you want without worrying about running out of free outlets!
7. An ottoman. If there is one thing you need more than anything during dorm life it is more space! College students are constantly struggling to find more space in their dorm. One way to gain more space is lofting your bed; however, if you're short, this can result in being unable to step onto your bed with ease. This is where the ottoman comes in most handy! This pouf ottoman by our company provides a great and comfortable seat, while being sturdy enough to stand on if you're unable to reach something! Dorm-Decor's pouf ottomans are cute and can be customized with your monogram!
8. Air mattress. Not all dorm rooms have enough space to blow up the occasional air mattress; but for those dorm rooms who do have enough space, this is definitely an essential! Your friends are most likely going to be at different schools, and if you're anything like me, your friends schools will be playing your school in football games (how exciting!!). If you miss your friends as much as I miss mine, it will be such a convenience to have the air mattress for them to sleep on after those long rivalry game days!
9. The most important dorm room essential is YOU. Your happiness and personality should be reflected throughout your dorm and it should ultimately show who you are as a person!
What is your dorm room shopping list/must-haves? Share in the comments! 