The college dorm experience can be exciting and nerve-racking, butis an unparalleled experience on gaining and understanding your new found independence. However, dorm life can also be stuffy, dirty and a little inconvenient. This is why you want to start thinking about stocking up on some essentials before moving in to help you better adapt to the dorm life experience.
Moreover, these items will also help you remain more comfortable as you dig in to your studies throughout the semester. When it comes down to it, your dorm room will not feel like home, so you want to do your best to stock up on items that will limit your homesickness, which can be a problem if you are a new college student. Luckily for any cash-strapped college student, many of these items are affordable and accessible. Here are some dorm room essentials for college students.
- A good pair of sandals.
Dorm rooms and the communal bathrooms your whole floor shares get filthy fast. There are bacteria in the carpets of your bedroom, down the hallways and on the floor of the shower. If you want to take a shower and not risk getting athletes foot, you want to use sandals. All you need are inexpensive, water-safe shower shoes that keep your bare skin off the floors.
- Blinds for the windows.
Most dorms aren’t going to come with blinds on the windows. If they do, they will most likely be falling off. This is why you want to invest in some blinds. This is especially important if you are on the side of the building that has the most daytime sun. On a weekend morning, when you just want to sleep in, you’ll thank yourself (or this article), for reminding you to pick up some shades for the window.
- An alarm clock.
Of course, with your schedule completely thrown off, and all nighters becoming a regular occurrence, you will need an alarm clock to get you up in the morning. If you are absentfrom an early morning class, you could miss important information that could set you behind for semester. If you sleep through an exam, you could affect your grades, which in tern could hurt your performance record. In the end, your alarm clock will become your best friend in college. If you are getting your Case Western’s degree in social work, your alarm clock could keep your studies on track to help secure future success in your field.
- An electric hot plate.
Most dorm rooms don’t have a kitchen. In fact, many dorm rooms don’t even have the space to cook. However, if you have a little table, you could use a hot plate to whip up pretty much whatever you want. However, you want to be sure your room has plenty of ventilation otherwise you could smell your late-night ramen for days on end. If you can make it work, you could be eating fresh, home cooked meals on a daily basis.
- A Bluetooth speaker.
If you like to listen to music, whether to help you study or to enjoy the sound of your favorite band, consider investing in a Bluetooth speaker for your dorm room. Standard computer speakers are notoriously low quality and could prove to be even more distracting than the noise of your fellow students yelling down the hallways. With a Bluetooth speaker, however, you will be able to listen to all the music you want and you will actually be able to enjoy it.