#studyblrnation

the school year’s winding down here, and I know a lot of you are about to start your first year of college. sometimes, this involves moving into a dorm, and there are so many dorm packing lists out there that tell you about so many “”necessities.”” this really easily gets overwhelming, so here’s the list of things that I have in my dorm right now that I really appreciate having!

bedding:

two sets of sheets - make sure they’re the right size for the bed (often dorm beds are twin xl). i got two sets which included a pillow case, fitted sheet, and regular sheet. sometimes, the ‘college’ sets have pockets on the sides of the fitted sheets which can be super useful, esp if you decide to loft your bed!

pillows - when I was buying dorm stuff, i had the designer dorm room in mind (which is the goal for a lot of people when shopping, but it’s not super easy to attain. just stick to what works for u!). this, for me, involved pillows. i have 2 normal pillows (either i sleep on both or i alternate them out so no one of them gets too flat), and a smaller, soft decor pillow (i use this mostly to block up the space between the bed and the wall so my other pillows don’t fall off when i use them as a backrest haha), and a fourth, white fluffy square pillow (this one just looked cute, but i ended up using it as a desk chair cushion bc my chair didn’t come with one, it’s been a lifesaver!!)

comforter (tbh it’s always so hot in my dorm room that i hardly use this, and mostly just stick to the sheets haha, but it’s definitely important in winter)

extra blankets - just a couple lighter ones i use when i just wanna curl up or when i don’t need something as heavy as a comforter

foam mattress pad - !!!!! cannot stress this one enough. it makes my bed so comfortable. my dorm bed is now nicer than my home bed. i 100% recommend getting one of these (and make sure its the thick sheet of foam, not those weird cloth ones that make you feel weird when you touch it haha)

desk:

desk chair cushion (mentioned above) - wait until you see your room for this one, your desk chair might already have a cushion. if it doesn’t, get something to use as one. your butt will thank you, and it’ll make it so much easier to study. (also some people i know wanted to get their own desk chair - the rolly cushy kind - so if that’s what you want, go for it!)

desk lamp! - if you’re like me, you’ll stay up hours later than your roommate, and you need to be able to see. the kind i got was actually given away free from my uni, but it has usb ports and 3 different levels of intensity for the light itself, so it’s really nice!

cups/pen holders - stay organized. i brought a mug for this and ended up getting a few free cups at giveaways, and vases from flowers and things like that that I use to hold the pens on my desk.

misc desk organizers - to keep your study space put together and to keep all your stuff in a decent place (it’s so easy to lose things, even in such a small space)

closet/clothes storage:

hangers - i just got a couple packages (about 24 total i think?) which ended up being the perfect amount for me

sweater organizer shelves thing - these are everywhere at stores for dorm shopping. it’s basically a stack of box shelves. they also have drawers you can get for them, but i don’t have any of those. i just stuff my sweaters/cardigans/sweatshirts/extra sheets in there, it’s nice and saves a lot of closet space!

shower/hygiene supplies:

towels - i got 4 towels, just so i don’t have to do laundry as often. it ended up being a good amount for me. also a lot of people i know have washcloths, which wasn’t something i thought about but is a good idea if you use them!

shower caddy - a necessity! i use one of the bag ones, instead of the plastic ones, and i’ve heard a lot of people with the hard plastic ones wishing they had the mesh bag type (but obvs u do u)

dry shampoo - super useful for when you didn’t get a chance to shower and want to at least try to look a bit more cleaned up

laundry detergent - pretty straightforward. also hamper/laundry bag/dryer sheets/whatever else you need to get ur clothes clean (also stock up on quarters if you have to pay per load)

misc:

hobby supplies - i do a lot of crocheting/brush lettering/reading, whatever your hobbies are, you’ll wanna do them, so keep stuff in your room for it

wall calendar/white board calendar - useful for planning and remembering important dates (also i use this to keep up w what my roomie has going on bc we don’t talk about that sorta thing a whole lot but it’s nice to know when she’ll be back/out of the room/whatever)

whiteboard - i have a bigger wall mounted one, but i use it for assignment/meeting reminders and also as a study tool for before exams. plus it’s fun to doodle on when i really don’t feel like doing anything  haha

string lights - sure, they’re a classic dorm cute thing, but they’re also useful when you want just enough light to see, but not enough to keep your roommate up or be distracting. i use mine all the time, plus it makes the room feel more warm and homey!

just a list of things I like to keep on hand/supplies i take to class every day as a college student:

First, I’ll start with the backpack itself. I have this one by Jansport and it works super well for what I need. I also love the fact that it’s waterproof because I get stuck in the rain on campus all the time, and this keeps all my things dry! It also has a ton of pockets and it’s got nice padding in the straps. Only complaint is that the waterbottle pocket is too small to hold any waterbottle I own haha. Even little regular disposable plastic ones don’t fit very easily.

What I keep in there:

Laptop and charger: the laptop I use is a Toshiba Satellite, one of the 2-in-1 touchscreen tablet things. It’s a decent laptop, and I like the touchscreen feature. It’s thin and light (especially compared to my last laptop). I’ve had it about a year and have already had to get the battery replaced, though, but it was still under warranty so there wasn’t much of a issue there. I take most of my in-class notes in a word doc or OneNote on here, and then copy them over later when studying.

6-Pocket Folder: It’s plastic and I keep all my handouts/worksheets/notes in here for all my classes. It’s nice to keep it all in one place so I don’t have to worry about grabbing the right things for each class. Also I keep some looseleaf and printer paper in here.

Planner: I don’t use it a whole lot, but it’s an academic planner so it was super cheap around new year’s, so I spent a dollar to use it for this semester. I mostly use the monthly spread to list out all my exams/due dates/etc (I did this at the beginning of the semester based on syllabi, and I keep it updated). Definitely not a necessity for me, though.

Bujo: Honeslty I hardly use this to actually plan, but I do like to doodle in it when I get bored in class haha

Pens/Pencils/Highlighters: There’s a pretty decent sized inner pocket in my backpack, and I literally just fill that with my pens. I don’t use a specific pencil bag or anything right now (mostly bc I just didn’t find one I really liked, and also because I didn’t really need one with this backpack)

Snacks: They’re always giving out free stuff around campus (I currently have a few Kind bars that they were giving away, and some packets of peanut butter from dining halls) - Just stuff that’s small but full of protein for quick snacks between classes.

Umbrella: As I mentioned before, it rains all the time at my school, so this is super important. The umbrella I got was also super cheap (like $5 maybe) so it’s not good quality at all and doesn’t keep me dry nearly as well as it turns inside out even without any wind. I digress. If you want a decent umbrella that functions properly, don’t get the cheapest one you find.

Purse: The one I currently use is just a small wallet-type thing, fits in my bag nicely and mostly just holds my money/cards/inhaler.

Water bottle: I currently have a Contigo 1L bottle that I switch out with some free ones they give away on campus when I need to wash it. I also adore Camelbacks and wish I brought mine with me haha. I try to drink 3 liters a day, and having this on hand all the time is super great for staying hydrated!

Tissues: I have little pocket-sized packs that I keep in my backpack because none of the classrooms/bathrooms at my school have tissues like in high school, and I always have a cold haha. I actually just got a few of the packs, and I refill them with tissues from the box in my room when I run out, so I don’t need to keep buying the pocket-sizes. A plastic bag can also work nicely for this.