Getting Ready for Move-In Day: 11 College Dorm Room Must-Haves

As the graduation parties come to an end and the summer rolls on, we get closer and closer to one of the biggest days of both a parent’s and young adult’s life, college move-in day. But if you’ve never experienced helping a new college student move into a dorm, you may not know what essentials they’ll really need in their new living spaces. After all, there isn’t a handy supplies checklist available in stores for college school years like there has been for the previous 12 years.

That’s why we’re here to help you! In this blog, we’ll dive into 11 of the most essential dorm room must-haves to help make everyday college life a little easier for the university’s newest students. Plus, you’ll be able to rest easy as a parent knowing that you’ve got them prepared and sent away with everything they’ll need as they venture out on their own for the first time.

1. Bedding Basics

Having a bed to look forward to coming back to every day is important. Whether it’s at the end of the night after a long day, or just for a nap in between classes, they’re going to need some comfortable bedding to rest on. Pick up some fluffy and comfortable pillows, a comforter, and get a complete set of pillowcases and bed sheets to go along with them. Pro tip: Most dorm beds are a Twin XL, so look for all bedding in that size. 

While not absolutely necessary, a mattress topper may be beneficial as well. Dorm beds aren’t the most comfortable things in the world, so a nice and soft topper can help elevate and enhance their sleeping experience.

2. Laundry Essentials

As a college student living on their own, this might be their first time actually handling their own laundry on a regular basis. Luckily, there are some solutions out there to help make it easy for them like this 3-Section Folding Hamper. This can help make laundry organization easy with the three separate storage areas and side pockets that can hold detergent and dryer sheets. Plus, it has convenient padded carrying handles, so they’ll be able to transport their dirty laundry to and from wherever they need to. It’s foldable to save space, and easy to transport, making it a perfect fit for any dorm room.

3. Storage Bins & Drawers

College dorm rooms don’t tend to have a ton of space already as it is, but it gets even tighter when you consider the fact that there will likely be a roommate living in the same room. For this reason, you need to optimize your storage as much as you can. Storage bins and drawers are the perfect solution for this. A lot of times, the dorm beds are raised high enough to be able to store things underneath them. That makes for the perfect place to store a couple of 3-Drawer Storage Towers. These are perfect for holding clothes, school supplies, and other miscellaneous items that they don’t want just hanging out on the floor or on the limited desk space they might have.

4. Standing & Hanging Closet

Keeping along with the topic of optimizing storage space within the dorm, getting a hanging closet is a great option to add even more closet space if they’re sharing it with their roommate. With a standing closet like this one by Whitmor, they can add even more closet storage and shelving either within the actual closet, or just within the dorm room itself. 

Another great option is to get a hanging shoe and accessory organizer. Here, they can store shoes and other small accessories, clearing out some more room to store other things within the closet or in those previously mentioned storage drawers. To account for all of this added space, it’ll also be a good idea to pick up some extra hangers as well.

5. Command Hooks

Most college dorm rooms have concrete walls, making them nearly impossible to hang anything on with nails or screws, which makes it hard to add your own personal touch to your new living space. Command Hooks are the perfect solution for this, since they’re easy to stick on the wall and remove once it’s time to move out. They’ll be able to use them to conveniently hang jackets and sweatshirts for extra storage, or even some pictures of friends and family. They’re a quick, cheap, and easy way to personalize a room and will be well used.

6. Handheld Vacuum

As you may know, grown ups or not, kids tend to be a bit messy. Whether it’s food crumbs or just regular dust and grime accumulating in a room, a handheld vacuum will work wonders in a dorm room. With its ability to be mobile and not restricted by cords, these are a perfect cleaning tool every dorm room should have. Even if they only have a minute before they have to head out to class, with a handheld vacuum they’ll be able to clean up a mess quickly and efficiently while on the go.

7. Fans

The regular temperature in a dorm room is always going to be something that cannot be predicted. Some may be warmer, some may be colder. There’s no way to know until you move in. The one thing that can almost be guaranteed is that the room won’t have great air circulation. This is why a fan is a must-have for any dorm room. Whether you opt for a box fan, or a standing fan, keeping one in the room will be a life saver on those warm and muggy days. Another great fan to pick up for added convenience is a smaller desk fan. Having a small personal fan at their desk will be much appreciated and thoroughly used on those late nights spent cramming for a test.

8. Mini Fridge

Out of all the items on this list, this one might shoot to the top of the list when it comes to ultimate convenience for a college student. Having a mini fridge stocked with favorite drinks and snacks makes it easy to grab and go before or in between classes. You can go with a smaller option like this smaller personal fridge that can hold up to six cans, or this larger one with a front window that has more space for small snacks and food as well. Regardless of the size, a mini fridge is awesome to have in a dorm room for on the go convenience, or for a small snack break while studying or hanging out in the room.

9. Extension Cords

College dorm rooms typically have a limited amount of outlets available, and they can unfortunately be in some inconvenient places. Keeping a few extension cords available in the room will allow them a little more flexibility when charging devices like their phone, computer, or tablet. They’ll have the freedom of studying at their desk, or even while relaxing on the bed for a change of pace to get the brain juices flowing.

10. Dry Erase Monthly Calendar

Keeping track of due dates and things going on while getting adjusted to college living can be tough, so it’s nice to have a visual reminder of things to look at every day. This Monthly Dry Erase Calendar can be put up on the wall and makes for an easy-to-manage planning resource that can be easily updated month after month. With its 11 x 14 size, it’s ideal for dorm rooms and has plenty of room to write in all of those upcoming projects, papers, tests, and school events so they can always be ready for what’s next on their schedule.

11. Snacks

Last, but certainly not least, they’re going to need some of their favorite snacks to bring with them so they can always be reminded of home. Whether it’s sweet or savory, make sure they’re stocked up with their favorites along with some small snack bags so they can always take them on the go.

Bonus for The Parents: Pull Cart

We can’t forget about the parents who are tasked with helping move all of your student’s bulky things into their new dorm room! While a lot of schools provide carts to use for hauling in things, moving day is a busy day and a lot of those carts may be in use already. This sturdy Dump Cart by Gorilla is an awesome tool to have for hauling everything up and down while moving things out of your home and into the dorm. Plus, you’ll be able to continue to get use out of it around the house as well for years to come.

Helping your kids move into their college dorm is all about trying to help them as they prepare to take that next step in life and get adjusted to living on their own for the first time. With these 11 essentials, they’ll be set up with convenient and helpful resources that they’ll be able to take advantage of to help make college life a little bit easier to manage. Pick up these essentials and get ready to begin the next journey of everyday life, starting with college move-in day!  

You can find all of these essentials online at FleetFarm.com or by visiting your local store today.