One of the things that I think about the most as a college student is my dorm room. And, that makes sense. Dorm rooms are essentially our home: where we go to equally recover after a crazy party or an awful chemistry test, where we might have lots of *romance*, and where we just chill eating takeout (I definitely recommend Satay for this).
So, it makes sense to continue updating our dorm, and to do so within a reasonable budget. Here are three dorm items I cannot live without!
- A floor lamp
Yes, I did invest in this floor lamp and let me tell you why. You spend so much time on your bright phone, in bright lecture halls, in bright streets, everywhere that there is just so much…light. The residential colleges have giant fluorescent lights above the beds that are just insanely intense. And, in my old dorm, McGill, there were equally intense bright lights, so having a floor lamp in my experience has been such a help for a softer, less painful lighting.
- A backpack laundry bag
When I was a freshman, I had one of those over the shoulder laundry bags. I’d go once a week and fill this giant bag up until I looked like Santa Clause, and it’d be so killer on my shoulder. A laundry backpack, however, is a total game changer. Literally…say goodbye to painful laundry bags. Today.
- A massager
This item is truly not necessary, but so amazingly relaxing. After a long day of hauling books around, it can be so nice to just chill in your bed with a relaxing massager. While some massagers are painful and quite awful, I do recommend this one.
Now for some of the things that maybe aren’t so nice for your room!
- A SCALE
Please don’t bring a scale to campus for weight. From personal and relational experience, this can be so damaging for your mental health. Just don’t. In the words of Lady Gaga, “Eat what you want, do what you want.”
- A fridge
I’m not quite sure if this suggestion is controversial, and maybe it only applies to freshmen/sophomores, but I’ve found that with the Vandy meal plan, I don’t really have a need for a fridge. I actually got rid of mine as it was just a waste of space. Since upperclassmen have fewer meal swipes, perhaps the fridge is more helpful, but for now, personally, it’s not really needed…
- Too many chargers
I brought a lot of chargers with me to college. I was so nervous that something would break or get lost, but really, I use the same 3-4 chargers every single day, and have for the past two years. Bringing too many chargers is just too much clutter, they’re annoying to store and they look messy in a room.
Yay, those are my suggestions! Perhaps one or two of these ideas may lift your dorm relaxation level, since a healthy room reinforces a healthy mind. Remember, as college students, our mental health can make or break our experience, so it’s important to take care of ourselves in any possible way.