If you started college and somehow skipped living in a dormitory your freshman year, you either consider yourself lucky or have missed out on some seriously formative experiences. Buckle up, this is Gee’s Declassified Dorm Survival Guide.
1.Make sure you know the person you’re going to live with.
Liking them will make your life exponentially easier and better. You don’t have to be BFFs, but you’ll be super lucky if you are, because that makes the experience that much better. Who knows? You might find a life-long best friend and even end up rushing the same sorority as the one they’re in.
2. Bring a bathrobe.
Seriously. You may only use it once or twice, but you will inevitably experience the dread of being mid-shower when the fire alarm goes off and need to evacuate your building; one leg mid-shaved and your hair dripping wet in 55-degree weather (not like I know this from experience or anything…).
3. Bring a stepstool.
Unless you lower your bed for whatever reason, you’re going to attempt to vault the four-foot height into bed each night, and either develop killer calves, or want to give up and sleep on the floor. I know the old “just use the desk chair” routine is a thing, but unless you have supermodel long legs (like my roommate does) and can somehow miraculously get a knee up and haul yourself into bed, your short and stubby legs will rejoice every night as you use your little IKEA step stool to climb into bed.
4. Learn to love your suitemates.
4. When it comes to packing, if you question whether or not you’ll need it…
…chances are you won’t.
5. Bring way too many photos, though.
You’re probably going to miss home, your family and friends really soon, so having a hundred photos of some of your favorite memories surrounding you will ease that ache of homesickness.
6. Bring enough underwear to last you more than a couple of weeks.
You think you’ll be able to do laundry once a week, but when you finally have free time to do it… so does everyone else in the building, and the next thing you know, it’s 2 a.m. on a Tuesday, and you’re in the laundry room because nobody else is.
7. Be prepared to see some weird things in your hall.
8. Take your vitamins, and don’t take your mom’s wacky home remedies for granted.
9. If your roommate is dating someone, don’t be afraid to set some ground rules.
You live with them, not their partner. On a similar note, make friends with their S.O.! If they’re serious, you’ll be seeing them a lot around your dorm, so it’s better to be on friendly terms than not-so-friendly; especially because they’re ultimately visiting your room, not the other way around.
10. Don’t stress about over-decorating your dorm.
11. Storage, storage, storage.
Take advantage of Rubbermaid bins and drawer sets! Under your bed is arguably the best space-saving storage area, and you’ll quickly realize just how tiny your closet is.
12. Make friends with your RA.
They exist to help you however they can, and they’re a student just like you are. They’ve done the whole freshman year thing and know exactly what it’s like to be a newly independent person living away from home. Most of the time, your RA will be someone you can go to for help with nearly anything.
13. Get comfy being in your undies – or even nothing at all – around your roomie.
A naked body is something everybody has; chances are you don’t really have any body parts they haven’t already seen! It’s perfectly fine being uncomfortable about this, though, because everybody’s body is different and you don’t need to flaunt it if you don’t want to.
14. Realize quickly how little privacy you have sharing a 12×12 space with someone else.
(Refer to previous point.)
15. Comfy bed sheets make a world of a difference.
Buy a mattress topper, too, because the dorm mattresses are all vinyl and springs; you’re not going to get any sleep without one. I think I’ve actually gotten so used to my four-inch foam topper that I now sleep better in my dorm twin XL bed than I do in my full-size bed at home.
16. Remember that you’re not going to experience anything like this again, and value each and every little lesson you learn along the way.
Whether it’s about cohabitation with a complete stranger, or just how to handle living life on your own 500 miles away from mom and dad. In the end, it’s worth it.