Moving into college for the first time comes with a ton of planning; how much clothes should I bring? How am I going to decorate my dorm? Which minifridge should I buy? I recently moved into college for the first time and from my first couple weeks here, I’ve discovered the things that I find extremely important for a smooth dorm experience. Here are my five favorite (but kind of random) dorm essentials!
A Steamer
My favorite thing that I brought with me to college is my steamer. My biggest pet peeve is wrinkly shirts, so I easily steam out the wrinkles in all my clothes with my steamer and I don’t have to worry about bringing an ironing board or burning anything like I would have to with an actual iron. Steamers are also usually lighter and easier to use than an iron, so they’re perfect for your dorm! Since there are a lot of business casual events at college, it’s pretty important to look presentable and a freshly-steamed shirt is the perfect way to do that!
A Detachable Shower Caddy
I usually only shower at night, so in the mornings I only need to bring my toothbrush, toothpaste, and face wash with me to the bathroom. It can be kind of annoying to carry these to the bathroom, so I love the detachable part of my shower caddy because it makes it super easy to carry my things when I don’t need my whole toiletry set! The detachable shower caddy is super convenient because I don’t have to carry all my hair products and body washes with me when I’m only going to be using the sink; instead, I just pull out the removable part of the caddy and carry with me my daily necessities!
A Steripod
One of my other favorite bathroom essentials for college is my Steripod! A Steripod is a little cover for your toothbrush that you clip over the bristles whenever you’re not using it. The Steripod has a disinfecting tablet inside that keeps your toothbrush clean between uses! Speripods are pretty inexpensive (about $5 for a pack of two) and they can be used for up to three months before they need to be replaced! Steripods are great because they give you peace of mind about your toothbrush being clean when you’re sharing a bathroom with a ton of other students, and you don’t have to worry about dropping your toothbrush when it has the Steripod clipped on it!
A Yoga Mat
Even before the pandemic, going to the gym could be a hassle. Working out in front of people can be intimidating and embarrassing, but I find it even more awkward in front of other college students. Now because of COVID, we have to wear masks to the gym and worry about being exposed to other people and sharing the same equipment as them. That’s why bringing a yoga mat to college is such an essential! You can workout in the comfort of your own room without being worried about other people watching or judging you. You can also workout whenever you want and don’t have to worry about when the gym opens or closes.
An Ethernet Cable
One huge result of the pandemic has been remote learning and with that comes technical difficulties. There’s nothing worse than being in a Zoom call when your Wi-Fi cuts out. The Wi-Fi in my dorm is pretty unreliable and when it cuts out, I end up missing important parts of my online lectures. My solution to this problem has been my ethernet cable! An ethernet cable connects your laptop directly to your Wi-Fi router and makes your internet connection extremely fast and reliable. This is a must-have for remote learning since it guarantees that you won’t run into any Wi-Fi issues during your online classes! Ethernet cables are pretty inexpensive and some colleges even lend their students them at the IT help desk, so make sure you grab one!
Whether you’re a highschool senior getting ready to move into college for the first time or you’re a college student preparing for next semester, these items are some of my favorite things in my dorm that have definitely made my first-year college experience better! However, these definitely aren’t the only things you’ll need. A big part of college is figuring out what works best for you and that applies to dorm essentials too!