What to pack
Are you prepared for life in a college dorm? Here's a list of items that may come in handy.
- Air mattress and pump
- Aluminum foil
- Answering machine (check to see if the college provides voice mail)
- Backpack or bookbag
- Backrest or extra pillows
- Basket for shower items
- Bath towels
- Bathrobe
- Batteries
- Birth certificate (just a copy)
- Blankets
- Book light or other small light
- Bookcase
- Camera
- Can opener
- Cards or board games
- Catalogs for holiday shopping (for students stuck on campus or overwhelmed with exams)
- Clothes pins
- Coasters
- Cork bulletin board
- Cutting board
- Desklamp
- Dishes, silverware, cups, and storage containers (just a few)
- Dishwashing liquid
- Drying rack for hand-washed laundry
- Earplugs
- Emergency sewing kit
- Extension cords
- Extra eyeglasses or contacts (or bring your prescription)
- Face cloths
- Fan (for dorms without air-conditioning -- even in cool places, dorms do get hot)
- Film
- First aid kit
- Flashlight
- Floor lamp (non-halogen)
- Garbage bags
- Glass cleaner and sponge
- Glue and/or superglue
- Glue gun (can fix everything from sagging hemline to broken containers)
- Hammer and nails, tacks, or self-stick adhesive
- Hand towels
- Headphones
- Health insurance card
- Holiday decorations
- Hooks (to hang clothes on backs of doors)
- Houseplants
- Ice cube trays
- In-line skates
- Insect repellent
- Lap desk
- Laundry bag or basket
- Laundry stain stick
- Light bulbs
- Lint brush or tape roller
- Microwave (check college's policy)
- Miniature cassette recorder
- Mirror (full length and hand)
- Paper towels
- Pencil sharpener
- Pepper spray
- Pillow and pillow cases
- Plastic crates for extra storage (they work as filing cabinets, too)
- Plug-in outlet adapters and extenders
- Prepaid calling card
- Raincoat
- Rubber flip flops for shower
- Rug
- Screwdriver
- Sheets
- Sleeping bag
- Small refrigerator
- Small wash tub or basin
- Social Security card
- Static Guard
- Surge protector or power strip
- Tape measure
- Telephone
- Toaster
- Toilet paper
- Travel guide of your new city or town
- Umbrella
- Wastebasket
- Writer's guide or grammar book
- Zip-top plastic bags
