Top 20 Dorm Essentials

If you're like me, you're probably fed up with all the hoopla surrounding dorm room decor. After all, mini-furniture, brightly colored bedding sets, and overstuffed ottomans are NOT necessary for your college experience. Here, I've posted a few tips on what to actually buy. And if you MUST have the bedding set, at least take some hints to save your moolah at the end.

The summer before you leave for college, plan on taking inventory of everything you own. Throw out what you don't need, don't have space for, can't use, or tore up three years ago. If you have to, beg your best friend to dig through your "treasures box" while you go off in some remote area and cry for the cracked art projects you saw in the bottom. I feel your pain.

Next up, figure out what you plan on taking and what you wouldn't be caught dead around. Remember, if you're a social butterfly, great trimmings are incentives for parties... but also wind up smashed on the floor or covered in toxic substances you have no name for. Try to take and rehabilitate--or hide--the towels your parents have had since before you were born. They're indestructible, and more importantly, you don't have to worry about staining them with vomit if the flu strikes.

1. A laptop. Or a tablet computer. Or an i-something or other. As long as it's portable, electronic, and Internet-accessible. (And you want as many USB ports on that baby as possible, trust me.)

2. At least one portable storage device. Including and especially flash drives. These are godsends when major papers loom. Keep one in your backpack, one on your desk, one on your keychain, one... well, you get the point.

3. PAPER. Lots of paper. There are STILL old-school teachers who insist on hard copies of work. And sometimes you don't sit close enough to a power outlet to take notes electronically. Assuming you actually take notes. But even if you don't, you'll still need at LEAST a stack of sticky notes.

4. Pencils and pens. And more pencils and pens. Oh, and a few more, just in case. They have a habit of disappearing and running out of ink or lead just when you need them.

5. Erasers. Especially if you take notes or do hardcore homework.

6. Tape and a stapler. It's amazing how many things besides paper these two remedies can fix. Instant clothing seams? No problem. Cut requiring stitches? Well,...you may want to go to a doctor for that one.

By now you should have some general idea of what your dorm room looks like and how much space you have to call your own. Chances are you also have an idea of what you want your dorm room to look like, i.e. totally awesome.The stuff here you may not actually need, depending on what your college provides.

1. A microwave. The cafeteria food will only taste good for three weeks, tops.

2. A refrigerator. See above comment.

3. A cabinet of some sort to put the microwave on and store dry/canned/boxed food in. Please note that these three items have a pretty good chance of being provided by your college unless you're in a standard 2-person room. Then, chances are bad.

4. A bookshelf. INVALUABLE for saving desk space, especially if your parents bought you a huge home printer in hopes it would make you some sort of instant scholar.

5. A desk. This is the "DUH" moment.

6. A dresser. Or several. You know, those plastic storage bin carts that Walmart sells. In lieu of these, the actual plastic storage TUBS (excuse me, "totes") will work, but they're rather inconvenient for the daily shuffle.

Other than toiletries and basic cleaning supplies, which your mom will be only too happy to purchase for you (stemming from her vain hope that college will catalyze your development into a mature individual), there are a few things that don't fit any category but make life OHHH so much easier.

1. 3M hooks, tabs, et cetera. They don't leave adhesive on the walls, they're almost indestructible, and they blend in with the concrete-block texturing. (Just kidding.) What's to lose?

2. A magnet board/dry erase board. Even better if you can get two in one. And the bigger the better. The little buggers handle reminders, weekly schedules, paperwork, dorm notices, and even your well-intended attempt at telling yourself to do laundry.

3. A mirror. For those of us who don't have individual bathrooms, being able to comb our hair half-dressed is a closely-guarded luxury.

4. A laundry basket. It must be large, but no larger than the washer you will be stuffing your clothes into in three months *cough, cough*--I mean tonight. Definite plus if it has a bag: the bag holds dirty clothes on the way TO the laundry room, the basket itself holds clean clothes on the way BACK.

5. A clock. Warning: because your cell phone will not always be present and accounted for. Plus, the ticking is reassuring at night.

And that, my friends, is the end of the 20 essential items (or should I say "item categories") you need in a dorm room. Stick around to find out a few things about furniture, thrift stores, and Dumpster Diving!

You heard me. Below, my top 3 suggestions for procuring decor, ranging from the most commonplace to the most ridiculous.

1. Buy your bedding AFTER the school year starts. Bring your mom's scuzziest sheet set and sleep on it for a couple of weeks. Sales of Twin XL sheets (which, by the way, you have a 99.8958% chance of having to buy these) will soar in town the week your school resumes. Wait a few weeks and those sheets hit clearance. Or, if you're not picky, grab a cheap set of queen sheets anytime and tuck the extra width under the edge. Other items, such as lamps, clocks, and (yes) even the dreaded mini-furniture will take a price hit after school starts. Hold out as long as you can, because these stores have a twice-a-year chance of selling this stuff. That translates into big sales later on.

2. Buy it secondhand or from a thrift store. A select few of these places do have pretty clean (and cheap) items, and you can always call your room an "eclectic Bohemian" setting.

3. Most outrageous, borderline illegal, best stuff:

Dumpster diving.

Certain colleges (especially community colleges with a strong emphasis on sports and/or importing students from beyond easy driving distance) will experience such a high volume of trash at semesters' end that they will actually hire Roll-Off dumpsters to take up additional temporary residence in the parking lot. This is where your loot comes from: the college student who came in on his parents' money (sorry to you guys) and is leaving after a year and a half. The problem? Too much stuff to fit in his car, or his carry-on bag. The solution? Throw it all out. Among the most popular items tossed every semester are plastic hangers, lamps, scratched DVDs, clothes/shoes/underwear, totes/storage containers, and--yes--even the ubiquitous stuffed ottomans.Warning: this may be illegal, and you should definitely get the college security department's permission before you do any DD'ing. Also, some of your finds may require some dedicated cleaning. I recommend wearing gloves.

In the long run, patience is the best thing you could use to furnish and decorate your dorm room. Items go on sale; semesters pass. Before you know it, you have the "cool place:" and the best thing about it? It's not a "page dream" created from a catalogue. It's reality. Congratulations, you just achieved something not many people can boast of. And the first thing you're likely to do? Crash exhausted onto your bed. Sweet dreams! :)