What To Bring To College List

Dorm Room Essentials List: 12 Things Every Freshman Needs For College

The good news is your teen is GOING to college. The bad news is your teen is LEAVING for college. There may be a long list of things they WANT to buy, but here is the shortlist of the things that every college student needs to bring with them the real dorm essentials. We have cut to the basics and listed only the 12 must-haves that they will truly need on day one.

In a few instances, we added extras for you to think about while shopping but have otherwise kept this college packing list deliberately short. Consider this a solid starting point and layer on the items that your college student knows they will use, not the myriad things that retailers and schools identify as Essentials.

Besides, this is not 1992 and your student can easily order supplies and furnishings after theyve moved into their new space.

Inexpensive Cotton Towel Set

Towels arent provided, so youll need to bring your own. Getting an inexpensive one will save room in your budget for other necessities, and will keep you from worrying so much if something happens to it or it gets stained from being washed with non-like colors (I personally was far too busy and lazy to separate my colors for every wash

Laundry & Cleaning Supplies

Youâre a young adult now– itâs time to clean up after yourself. Momâs not there to do it for you! Donât let clutter and dirt make your dorm room a place you canât stand to occupy!

Most dorm rooms have bare floors that arenât carpeted. A broom and dustpan and a Swiffer Sweeper– or a knockoff brand– will keep your floor spic and span. A waste basket and trash can liners are necessary, and donât forget antibacterial wipes to keep germs at bay!

Youâre the only one responsible for doing your laundry, too. Stock up on detergent and dryer sheets– and if you use it, fabric softener– and remember to stock up on quarters or load money onto your laundry account. Check with Resident Life to see how to pay for your laundry. Have a drying rack with you too– it can save money on the drier, and youâll need it to preserve your delicates! Itâs also not a bad idea to include an iron and a mini ironing board, but check to see if your dormâs laundry room has these first. Again, itâs a simple call to Res Life or a click on the website to check before move-in day!

And remember basic cleaning products like disinfectant wipes and glass cleaner for your furniture and mirrors. No sense in spreading germs or trying to see your reflection through dust and grime! Overall, we recommend grabbing these laundry and cleaning essentials:

• Laundry bag/basket
• Paper towels

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What To Pack In

Suitcases or trunks arent the most practical. Its best to use rolling duffle bags, backpack-style recyclable totes, sack-style durable bags, and Rubbermaid-type storage totes. These can all be easily stored inside one another until its time to move again.

Here is my essential, categorical list to pack practically:

Dorm Checklist: What To Bring To College Your First Year

Attending college and planning your academic future during the freshman year is certainly exciting but its quite stressful too, as you have to make a lot of adjustments. Plus, the idea of packing your life and moving into the college dorm is quite daunting, especially if its your first time away from home. Its often confusing for students to figure out what to bring to college when they are going to live on campus. Well, to make your life a tad less stressful and your dorm transition easier, weve created a dorm checklist that covers basics needed for students to survive on campus during the first year of college.

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Free College Packing List Pdf With All The Things You Might Ever Possibly Want To Bring With You To College

Find out exactly what to bring to college and grab a FREE college packing list PDF!

You and I both know why youre here, so Im going to cut right to the chase

What I have for you today in this post is a college freshman checklist.

Both over and under packing are a worry for most new students, but this list will show you exactly what to bring to college. Plus, Ill clue you in on the stuff you can leave at home and just not bring all together.

Now:

I want to point out that this a GENERAL college dorm packing list.

The list includes a broad selection of items. Which is why its a great a starting point for ideas!

To minimize the risk of anyone accidentally forgetting something important on move-in day, I went over EVERYTHING . I made it versatile enough to work as a college packing list for guys and girls.

But, we all have our own personal preferences. Tweak it as needed to make it work for you.

Save the PDF version of this college packing list for later with the links below or at the end of this post.

FREE printable college dorm checklist for girls and for guys!

What To Bring To College: The Best College Packing List Ever

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The Only Packing For College List Students Need

All the things essential things to bring to college. Including stuff thats nice to have, and what to NOT bring for freshman year.

There are endless articles offering advice on how to prepare teens for college. Not to mention a packing list for college in every color of the rainbow.

However:

Most of these checklists are dated. The well meaning, but misguided information is often to the detriment of parents budgets.

Unnecessary items also overcrowd tiny dorm rooms and are likely to be tossed just to save space. What a waste!

Ultimately the wrong packing for college list isnt in the best interest of incoming college freshman.

To prepare for your teen for college the right way, I put together a packing list for college. It has all the right stuff needed to start the semester off on the right foot.

Theres a detailed checklist for both girls and guys.

Included is everything a new student could ever possibly think to bring with them. Dorm room essentials plus optional items, and even whats better left at home.

All the information is provided so you and your teen can make the most informed decision when its time for back-to-school shopping.

Better yet:

Both college packing lists are available for FREE download.

Finally:

One word of caution make sure to know what things are prohibited by the college before buying anything. Its easy to check ahead of time by using the Bed, Bath, & Beyond tool to find that info for most schools.

What To Bring To College

Congratulations, you are on your way to experiencing a significant milestone in your adult life. Yes, I’m talking about college life. For some, it’s the first time that you will be away from home for an extended amount of time. For others, this will be the first time that you’ll be responsible for your meals, laundry, and getting up on time. This is also a particular time of recognizing the kind of person you are and who you want to become. You’ll meet new people who may become life-long friends.

College is where you find your voice and focus on your vision. Maybe you’ll take on a leadership role around campus, or perhaps you’ll decide to study abroad for a semester, or maybe you’ll decide to do both â your options are endless! But before you take one step on campus or into your dorm room, you need to know what to pack, how to pack it, and how to make the most of your space.

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What To Bring To College Checklist

• 71 tasks

• Absolutely Necessary Items – Your Room
• Bags
• Doormat, Broom, dustpan and bin
• Alarm Clock
• 2 changes of bedding
• Bed pillows
• Absolutely Necessary Items – Cleaning Supplies
• Laundry Detergent – Laundry detergent tablets work best
• Laundry softener – Fabric softener sheets work best.
• Paper towels
• Clothes Bin
• Food storage containers
• Absolutely Necessary Items – Your Schoolwork
• Desk Lamp
• External Keyboard and Mouse
• Your Computer

Medicine And Other Related Items

When you move away to college for the first time, you may not consider just how important everyday medicines and other related items are. Theyre usually easily accessible in your home’s medicine cabinet. When packing for college, we recommend thinking about:

• Prescription meds, along with a plan for refilling them

• Inhalers, if you use them

• Over-the-counter meds you use regularly (Think: ibuprofen/acetaminophen, cold and flu meds, menstrual relief products, antacids, cough drops, etc.

• Vitamins

• Mini toolkit

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What Do I Bring To College Heres The Ultimate College Packing List That Will Get You Prepared For Your First Day

Regardless of where youll be living, on-campus or off-campus, going to college for the first time requires the ultimate college packing list. Its an exciting time to move away from home, for what may even be the first time, and when it comes to getting organized, theres a lot youll want to bring!

If youre on a budget, there are some must-have items that cant be forgotten, but youll be able to save when it comes to leaving out the additional items. This list is broken down by category and depending on your preferences, you may want to add some things of your own.

Is Your Dorm Furnished Or Unfurnished

Renting a furnished or unfurnished dorm is the first question you need to answer when going off to college. If you rent a furnished dorm, youll need to bring fewer things. Usually, a furnished dorm will have a bed, desk, and chair for your personal use. In small, furnished dorms, thats pretty much it, just enough to sleep and study.

In larger, apartment-type dorms, youll find living room furniture, including sofas, chairs, and tables. You can say the same thing for the kitchen, where a kitchen table and chairs will usually be provided. Also, a refrigerator and stove are typically included in a larger, apartment-style dorm.

On the other hand, unfurnished basic dorms usually have nothing but basic fixtures like a toilet and sink. Youll need to bring furniture, including beds, desks, desk chairs, footstools, and tables.

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Make Sure You Have The Essentials

While you might want to bring everything in your possession with you to your new dorm or housing, try to limit the number of objects you want and focus more on what you actually need. Items such as bedding and toiletries are far more necessary than any luxury items that might just take up space. Before packing bedding, you should also consider how large your new living space will be, as you may need to buy new bedsheets and covers.

Its always a good idea to create a checklist of everything you need, which well get to below.

Pro Tip:

If you forget anything or suddenly realize that you want something from back home that you miss, dont worry. You can request your parents to mail it to you, or you can pick it up on your next visit. Also, include it in your college packing list for next year.

Rolling Out Your Room Basics

Whether you like it or not, what you decided to bring to college ends up being a reflection of your personality one way or another. The photos, posters, and gear you choose say something.

In many ways, this is great. It allows you to stock your room with little bits of conversation starters, from your favorite books to souvenirs from your travels.

Bottom line, what you bring to college is going to end up being a blend of what you absolutely need such as soap and what you want.

Your college room packing list:

• Area rug check with your roommate about this ahead of time or buy it together after you get to town.

• Beanbags .

• Full-length mirror.

• Dry-erase board and a bulletin board.

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What Should I Use To Pack My Stuff For College

When packing your items, there are many types of supplies you can use. The following are some tips for supplies and packing methods you can try:

• Use bins for storing college supplies in lieu of boxes.
• Break down cardboard boxes and keep them stored in a closet or another space for later use when youre moving again.
• Reuse boxes or bins to store certain items in your room.
• Make the most of the space available in the vehicle by keeping all your heavy items beneath the rest, and keep lighter items such as bedding or clothing in more open areas.
• Keep similar items in the same boxes to make them easier to sort through.

To expand on that last point, try to mark each box and bin with a number that corresponds with the item number on your checklist. For instance, you may have kitchenware in one box thats marked #2, along with #2 next to your list of matching items.

The Ultimate College Packing Checklist

Packing for your first year at college doesnt seem that daunting until youre packing for your first year at college. What will you actually need in that tiny dorm room or apartment? What should you share with your roommates? What are those random items that shouldnt be forgotten, but are far from obvious? How are you supposed to know how to pack for college? If only there was a college packing checklist

Worry not check out our list of college essentials, print out our handy PDF, and youll be sitting pretty on college move-in day. Just hope for good weather so your boxes dont get wet

Heres a printer-friendly version:

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Here Are Some Useful Tips To Make The Most Of Your Suitcase Space:

1. Roll your wrinkle resistant clothes instead of folding them. Youll be able to fit more this way.

2. For clothing that is prone to wrinkles , fold them in half and drape them on top of the rolled clothes.

3. Wear your bulkier clothing on the plane so that they dont take up too much space in your luggage.

4. Look for the nooks and crannies of your luggage to stuff undergarments like bras, socks, and underwear.

5. Use the 5,4,3,2,1 rule. Five shirts, four bottoms, three hoodies or zip up jackets, two pairs of shoes, and one suit or dress. Adjust the list to suit your needs. Dont forget to throw in at least one bathing suit.

6. Get rid of the if I need it or just in case mentality. If and when you need something, you can buy it when you get there.

Any questions for us about packing for college? Text us! Send #Hello to 33-55-77 to speak with one of our college advisors!

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What Students Should Not Bring

What a freshman should or shouldnt bring with them to school really depends on the student.

Some teens will scoff at some of the items on the above packing for college lists. Others cant imagine themselves going without everything on the checklists.

In the end, it all comes down to personal preferences.

However:

Here are 12 things I recommend not bringing to college :

1. Textbooks. Textbooks are not required on the first day of class. Find out which ones are actually required for the course before making any purchases. Save money by getting them from anywhere but the campus bookstore.

2. Window A/C Units. These are forbidden in dorms.

3. Bed Risers. Its standard for beds in campus housing to already be raised. The extra inches bed risers offer is unnecessary.

4. Sewing Kit. Chances are that your teen is never going to need this item. If they do, a sewing kit is readily available at a nearby box store.

5. Iron & Ironing Board. Students are very unlikely to use use an iron, but they will use Wrinkle Releaser Spray. Its 100 times more convenient and it takes up a fraction of the space.

6. Alarm Clock. Smart phones already have built in alarms, a clock would be superfluous.

7. Light Bulbs. Its better to buy one when a bulb goes out than to have a pack wasting space.

8. TV & DVD Player. Students can easily stream shows on a laptop, tablet, or phone. The less there is to bring to college, the better.

10. Pets. Unfortunately, 96% of the colleges dont allow pets on campus.

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