Dorm Room Essentials List | Things Every Freshman Need For College!

Last Updated on March 6, 2023 by Corynn

Welcome to dorm life! while studying for your career you’ll be staying campus. Not sure what you need for your dorm? Here is a Dorms room essentials list that you can follow as a freshman!

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This blog post is about freshman dorm room essentials

What Do College Freshman Need For Dorms?

Living on campus is pretty close to living on your own. So you want to be comfortable as possible. This will be your second home for a while.

You’re going to need bedding, shower items, cleaning products, and decor items to make your dorm feel homey.

Here is a list of 55 College dorm room essentials you need as a freshman.

College Dorm Room Essentials: Bedding

After a long day of classes, you want to lay down in a comfy bed. Here is a list of bedding items that are essential for your dorm room:

Dorm room beds are honestly.. Not that comfortable. You want a bed that you can comfortably sleep on. This means grabbing a mattress topper to place on top of your mattress.

You want to protect your mattress at all cost. From things like; spills, food, critters, skin sheddings, and anything in between.

The night life on campus can be loud. Lots of people partying, playing loud music and also.. other things happening. This items is great for light sleepers and people who just want silence sometimes (and that’s totally okay!).

I highly suggest getting two pillows for the most comfiest sleep.

Just like your mattress, you want to protect your pillows the same way. These pillowcase protectors are super easy to put on and can be closed up with a zipper. These pillow case protectors are great for people with dust allergies.

Silk pillow cases are great for preventing breakouts on skin, and having less breakage of your hair.

You really want to find the coziest comforter out there. Especially if you live in a colder climate. You want to invest in a warm comforter that will keep you warm during the colder season.

Dorm Room Essentials: The Kitchen

Meal plans are sometimes pretty restricted. You really want to have your dorm stocked with things you like to enjoy throughout the day. Here is a list of items you need to keep on you whenever you feel snackish.

Need something to store your beverages in? Invest in a mini fridge inside of your dorm room so you can store cold items.

While living on campus, you’re going to learn how to make a few dishes inside of a microwave. Check out my blog about things every freshman student should know where I discuss why a microwave is must have!

RELATED POST: 14 Things Every Freshman Should Know Their First Year In College

Having a kettle is great for whenever you want to make instant soup or tea.

As a college student, you no longer have the finances to purchase large amounts of coffee at Starbucks. investing in a coffee maker such as a Keurig, will save you countless of dollars on coffee runs.

Want to take your homemade coffee to class? Purchase a coffee mug! Simple Modern has THE BEST tumblers you can ever find! It keeps my hot drinks warm for hours!

Instead of going to the grocery store and hauling cases of water, look into investing in a reusable water bottle. Simple Modern has (again) the best non leaking water bottles you can find out there. Having a water bottle is also great to keep inside of your College bag.

I promise this is not a sponsorship! I just really love their products!

A brita filter can be filled up very quickly in the common areas or dining halls. It’s always great to have water in your dorm room at all times.

Containers are great way to store leftover food, food from home, and if you wanted to bring any snacks with you to class.

Depending on the college you go to, some dorms are laid out where you may have a small kitchenette to cook and eat in. It’s always great to have a set of bowls and plates inside of your dorm room.

If your college dorm includes a kitchenette, you will want to have a set of pots and pans on hand to cook.

Always great to have and environmentally friendly than plastic cultery.

19. Snacks

You want to keep a few snacks on hand while you have late night study sessions, or not wanting to walk all the way to the dining hall. Here is a list of snacks that you can store in your dorm room;

• Goldfish crackers
• Fruit snacks
• Granola bars
• Apple sauce
• dried fruit
• nuts and seeds

Make sure to keep your snacks stored away to prevent having any critters visiting you.

Dorm Room Essentials: Cleaning Products

Living in your own living space, you want to make sure you keep your place tidy. Here is a list of cleaning supplies to take with you;

To clean and disinfect areas of your dorm room.

If you have a large dorm room, this is a great cleaning product to help you clean all different kinds of surfaces.

Easily to store away and can quickly mop floors in no time.

Dorm rooms are very small and tend to collect dust and dirt from the outside very quickly. Bring a dustpan and broom to keep your floors dirt free.

Some dorms provide you with a garbage and recycle bin, although they’re not really big enough to fit anything inside. Purchase a garbage bin that is big enough to fit some garbage inside although small enough so it will not take up a lot of space.

For inside of your garbage bins.

Have wall to wall carpeting in your dorm? Purchase a small compact vacuum that you can use to vacuum your carpets and store away easily. I use the Bissell Petwave vacuum and it’s perfect for picking up hair and crumbs off the ground.

Dorm Room Essentials: Laundry Supplies

Here is a list of items you will be needing to do your laundry.

To place your dirty clothes in. Find the laundry hamper that you’re most comfortable with. This could be a basket, a hamper with a lid, or a mesh bag.

To hang your clothes and jackets in the closet.

When looking for laundry detergent, it’s easier to use Tide Pods versus the liquid detergents. Because of having to carry everything to the laundry area and back to your dorms.

Need more storage space for your clothes and shoes? Look into getting a closet organizer! It hangs on the side of your closet door.

Dorm Room Essentials: Bathroom

Yes, you will have to share the showers with other people. But these bathroom items will help you out!

A shower caddy is great to hold your items in while you go to the community bathroom. Here is a list of things you should have inside of your shower caddy;

• toothbrush
• toothpaste
• shampoo
• conditioner
• face wash
• loofah

Wearing dorm shower shoes protects your feet from bacteria and the build up that happens in the community bathrooms.

Having a bath robe will prevent you from being cold and to keeping yourself covered while walking to and from your dorm

Towels can be used to dry your body, hair and face. It’s always great to have 2-3 extra towels on hand.

College Dorm Essentials: Decor

Now we’re onto the fun stuff! Decorating items for your dorm room. Here is a list of simple decor items you can start of with.

To add soft lightning in your room.

Can be use for decor or as a 2nd blanket you may need.

A small rug can really bring the room together while keeping your feet warm from the cold tiles.

Full body mirror is great to help check your outfits in a full length mirror without going to the community bathroom each time.

Hooks are a great place to hang your keys, towels, and backpack on. Command hooks are great for dorms because they can be easily place on and off without ruining the paint on the wall.

Wall art and/or poster is a nice simple touch to start decorating your dorm. Instead using tape, you can use poster strips or sticky tack to keep your posters up without damaging the walls. Ety is a great place to find wall art for your dorm room.

Want another seating area besides your bed and the desk? find a foldable comfy chair to sit on.

As you go along your college journey you’re going to meet a lot of new friends and create memories with them. a Wall photo display is a nice way of decorating your dorm room and to show appreciation to your friends.

Desk lamps are great for helping you read your assignments and books better without straining your eyes.

Want a place to put all of your college school supplies? A desk organizer can keep your desk clean of any materials you may have. Not sure what supplies you need for school? Here is a blog post about all the must have items you need on your back to school shopping list.

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Need a place to write your reminders? Get a dry erase board. Some dry erase boards have a calendar layout, so you can use it to plan out your month with assignments and events.

Depending on the college you attend, some dorm rooms already have built in blind for their windows. IF you feel like you need more coverage, or your dorm does not provide any; here is a set of blackout curtains you can use to keep the sunlight out. For times when you want to study or sleep during the day.

Dorm Room Essentials: Extras

Here are a few extra things that you may need to bring with you on campus.

College dorm rooms have hardly any outlets that you can use. Grab a couple of power bar strips to charge your items and have your small appliances plugged into.

You can never have enough phone chargers on hand. I suggest to always have a charger that stays in your dorm room. To prevent misplacing it around campus.

Storage bins can be used to store extra food items, or seasonal clothing.

If you go to a college in a warmer climate, you may deal with some hot and humid days. This could lead to a overheated dorm room. Try looking for a fan that can sit on top of your desk.

Want something to organize your stuff that can fit inside a small space? Plastic drawers is your answers. Very easily to clean and can hold a lot of stuff. This could be extra school supplies, skincare products, hair products, and more.

Look into finding a vanity mirror that is small enough where you can do your makeup and skincare routine with.

You want to always be prepared for anything. Always have a first aid kit on hand for any emergencies.

Things break all the time. You want to have a mini tool kit on hand to fix items, rather than calling your parents each time something breaks.

Overall..

This dorm room essentials list is great for freshmans to start off with. You can always change and substitute some of the things I have listed here. Need help creating a college supplies list? Check out our blog post right here all about it!