Dorm room decorating is something that I’ve always looked forward to on move-in day. Even as a junior in college I still feel like I’m learning something new each year about living in a dorm room. To me, having an organized, cute, and home feeling dorm room is essential to helping me succeed during the school year.
Most are aware of the assumed necessities to add to your college shopping list such as a comforter, clothing, toiletries, and school and desk supplies. However, over the past three years I’ve learned that there are some things that add extra comfort and make it feel just a little more like home.
1. Mattress Topper
A mattress topper is not necessary to dorm room bedding, but for some who don’t get great sleep on a firm mattress, adding a mattress topper may help improve sleep quality. Most colleges with on-campus housing provide a mattress for the bed frame. These mattresses are usually stiff and are not meant to give you extreme comfort or cushion. Therefore, if you are someone who has back problems or enjoys a mattress that provides more cushion than firmness, I suggest investing in a mattress topper.
2. Shoe Rack
If your closet at school does not have a lot of shelving or storage for things like shoes, I highly suggest investing in a shoe rack. If you’re like me and bring every possible type of shoe to school, a shoe rack may help you with storage and can also make you feel more organized. Instead of throwing all your shoes in a bin, this will help you spread them out and make your room less cluttered.
3. Shower Caddy
Depending on if your dorm has communal bathrooms or if you share one with your roommate(s), shower caddys do a great job at helping people gather and transport their shower supplies in a much easier and organized way. I found it very convient to have one during my freshman year of college because I had communal showers that were down the hall from my room. I needed a way of getting all of my shower supplies to the bathroom, so having a shower caddy made it a lot easier.
4. Area Rug
Adding an area rug to your dorm room is definitely not necessary, but it adds decoration, comfort, and that home feeling. During the colder months of school it also helps warm up a room with tiled flooring. My freshman, sophomore, and junior year of college I had tile for my dorm room floors so an area rug definitely was a great addition to the room.
5. Cork Board
Adding a cork board to your dorm room wall is an easy way to add decorations, pictures, notes, etc. They can be hung with command strips, thumb tacks, velcro strips, etc., and then provide a space for many other things to be hung up! As well as hanging pictures of friends and family, I find it beneficial to add reminders and to-do lists!