Dorm Room Necessities

Dorm room living is something that every college student should experience. There's just something about learning to live in such a tiny, cramped space with another human being. I think it builds character. While dorm living can be a little uncomfortable at times, there are things you can do do make it more manageable. Here are some basic items that every college students should have in their room to make living in that tiny space more bearable.

Plastic storage drawers: You can buy them from Walmart, Target, Big Lots, or the Doller Store. Plastic bins really help clean up the clutter and can give you more floor space in the long run because you can store so much in these babies.

Small Refrigerator: some colleges dorms already provide these, but some don’t. A small fridge is a must for dorm living since you can store snacks, drinks, and left over food in it.

Microwave: Once again, some college dorms will provide them, some won’t. If you think you’ll use one for warming up soup or TV dinners, making popcorn, etc, then get one.

Beds heets: You need at least two different sets of bed sheets, and make sure you change and wash your sheets at least every two weeks, no less. Bacteria, bugs, and all kinds of unidentified objects can begin to appear in your bed sheets if you go too long without washing them.

Dishes and Silverware: Plates, bowls, and silverware are nice to have handy for those days when you don’t feel like trekking to the dining hall and instead want to dine in. Plastic dishware is fine for dorm living since it's affordable and won't break when dropped.

Floor lamp: If you don’t like feeling like your being interrogated with the bright, concentrated light of the overhead, you can switch on your floor lamp instead. It gives the room a nice ambiance. (You can buy one for as little as $7 at IKEA. Note: IKEA is a great place to purchase your college essentials. They have awesome prices!)

Shoe hanger: Instead of piling all of your shoes in your closest, under your bed, in a basket, or simply scattered around the floor, invest in a shoe hanger, the kind that has pockets. This will clear up a lot of floor space. (You can buy one for $15 at Target)

Clothing hangers: Buy as many as you can! Hanging up most of your clothes is a nice option because #1, when getting dressed in the morning, it’s easier to find what to wear when your clothing is waiting for you on nice little hangers rather than balled up in a drawer, and #2, your clothes will get less wrinkled.

Wall Art: this is what really makes your dorm room feel like home. Buy posters, make your own wall art, make paintings or drawings, rip pictures out of magazines, do anything you can to add some kind of art to your walls. This will add a nice personal touch to your room and make it feel more like your own space. (Check out this website for affordable wall art: http://www.allposters.com/)

Brita Water Filter: For those of you who drink water like crazy (like me) invest in a Brita Water Filter. That way you can drink from the bathroom faucets but the water will be clean and filtered in your Brita Water Filter. (You can buy one for as little as $10 from Walmart.)

These are just a few basic things that make college dorm living a little more manageable. Check out several stores to see where you can buy these items for the least amount of money. As I stated earlier, IKEA is a great place to start. If you an IKEA store nearby, I would definitely recommend shopping for most of your college items there since they have just about everything you need.