Leaving home for college soon and have no idea where to stay? This post will help you get the essentials.
Not only do you have to deal with leaving home—probably for the first time—but you also have to deal with becoming a college student. And college can be a huge transition compared to high school.
Classes can be harder, there’s less structure, and you meet lots of cool, interesting people in a short amount of time. So, you’ll definitely need to prepare with a few things to take some of the stress off moving and transitioning into sort of becoming an adult.
This post is all about leaving home for college.
MUST-HAVES WHEN YOU’RE
LEAVING HOME FOR COLLEGE:
1. Water bottle
When you’re on the go between classes and trying to hydrate during study sessions, your water bottle will become your best friend (and the replacement filters too for when you can’t find filtered water on campus).
You’ll want to keep filling it up all day when you’re in class and tired because you didn’t get enough sleep the night before or walking between classes. Hydration is the number one need people forget about and the vast majority of people don’t drink enough water.
That’s why you want to make sure you can tick this need off your list so you can focus on getting to your classes, staying alert, and doing your assignments.
2. Noise canceling earphones
Not a must, especially because noise canceling earphones can be expensive. But, you should definitely plan on bringing some type of earphones when you want some alone time and live within five feet of another person.
These are great for study sessions, decompressing with your favorite show, or getting in contact with someone from home. They give you the freedom to have your own space when you probably can’t really get your own space even when you’re in your own (read shared) room.
3. Backpack
Just like your water bottle, this is gonna go everywhere with you. Class, library, dorm, adventures outside of school. You’ll carry your laptop, books, charger, notebooks, and water bottle with you everywhere you go and this is going to get you there.
Get the type of bag you want to carry around, whether it’s messenger style, a traditional backpack, or kind of like a purse. Now that you’re in college, you get to make cute decisions like what your backpack looks like and if you want it to look more adult.
Plus, now that you’re in your first semester, it’s good time to think about the kind of person you are when it comes to stuff. Do you like less stuff, and can therefore use a smaller bag, or do you like more stuff (maybe even stuff you don’t need?).
I was a pockets kind of gal, then I realized I didn’t need to bring near as much as stuff as I did. I ended up getting this nice bag and I’ve never gone back. It’s simple and handles the things I need to carry without giving me enough pockets for anything else.
4. Walking shoes
Get yourself a pair of shoes that will carry you everywhere around campus. The last thing you want to worry about is how bad your feet are hurting when you’re leaving home for college and trying to figure out how to stay on top of schoolwork.
Instead, invest in a cute pair of shoes you can walk all day in while looking stylish. By now, you probably know what to expect and your feet might be perfectly fine in some sandals.
But, if you’re like me and the cute shoes aren’t the ones that will get you through your day, go for the practical ones so that you can worry about one less thing when the semester starts.
5. Pepper spray
Hopefully, you never have to use pepper spray. But, you still need to have it or some type of device that keeps you safe in the event someone has bad intentions.
You might be alone more than you expect because you’re walking home late from the library or you’re going for a late night walk. You should be able to walk around without feeling unsafe, but, if you don’t, you also want to be prepared.
Carrying pepper spray or cat ears will help give you peace of mind to keep your focus on more important things like digesting what you just studied or taking a break from school for a moment.
6. Shower caddy
Sharing a dorm with other women is probably the best part of college because you get to make close friends and basically hang out with them all the time. But, you’re also living with them and other people can have different standards hygiene than we grew up with.
So, you’ll want to set clear boundaries with your dorm-mates even if that just means you collect your stuff when you’re not around. A shower caddy will make your life so much easier since you won’t have to worry about lugging a bunch of shower stuff individually.
Plus, it’ll make showering in a communal shower (yikes…) a little less traumatic.
7. Shower shoes
You have no idea what kind of habits your new friends have when you’re leaving home for college, and you really never need to as long as you’re taking care of your own hygiene and bring shower shoes. All you need are some water-resistant shoes that are allowed to get soapy and sudsy.
You also want them to dry out pretty quickly if not instantly because you don’t want to deal with a mildew situation. Once you get the right pair, you won’t have to worry about how often the showers are cleaned or what the weird stain is the corner. You’ll be safe and clean.
8. Hanging closet organizer
Every dorm closet situation is different, so you may drawers instead of a hang-up closet. If you have drawers, that’ll be perfect for storing and easily accessing all of your clothes. If you have a hang-up closet, you’ll probably end up with less room.
Not to worry because you’ll have a hanging closet organizer. Honestly, this is probably better than drawers because you get the best of both worlds. A place to put your shoes, some clothes that don’t need to be hung, and small clothing items you don’t want to lose.
Even when you leave your dorm, this will be one thing you’ll want to take!
9. Hanging photo display
Not only is a hanging photo display super cute and really gives your dorm room your personality, but it also helps with the homesickness. It’s a great idea to print out some adorable pictures of you and the people you care about so that you can put them up in your new room.
The lights really help to brighten the room in a stylish way while the pictures look cute and personalize the room for you.
Plus, whenever you start to miss someone in one the pictures, it’s a great reminder to give them a call because you’re probably falling behind on staying in contact with people.
10. Fold-up chair
When you have friends over or you want to study in something other than those awful wooden dorm room chairs, you’ll want a comfy fold-up chair. Usually, people pile onto your bunk bed, which is great for the first two minutes. Then, you want your pillow back.
People will be amazed when you break out your cute, comfy chair. And, when you’re doing some homework or studying, you’ll be so happy you actually have a nice to place to sit that won’t break your back or have you laying down. Just try not to fall asleep.
11. Bulletin board
Hang your bulletin board right above your desk or right next to your hanging photo display so you have a place for all the things you need to remember. Plus, you can accessorize a little and show off your personality.
Dorms rooms are always bland, so it’s a great idea to bring cute pictures, stickers, and notes you want to see whenever you’re stressed to make it feel like home. Plus, you’ll probably lose all of your important papers (i.e. syllabi, graded papers) if you don’t put them on your board.
12. Laundry basket
Get a roomier laundry basket you can carry or one that’s smaller to make better use of your space. You want it to be durable, so you don’t have to get more than one while you’re staying in your dorm and so it’ll last through all of the tugging and scarping you’ll have to do to get it to the laundry room.
You can even get one with wheels to make that process easier and get a laundry bag to put in it so your clothes don’t fly all over the place en route to the laundry room.
Only buy one (you can divide colors later if you want to) because you won’t have enough space to divide up your clothes or even separate your clothes from any towels you bring.
Make sure you like the laundry basket you buy when you’re leaving home for college, and don’t just get it for function because you’ll probably stare at it way more often than you think. You don’t want to be thinking about how ugly your basket it is when you’re trying to procrastinate at studying.
13. Alarm clock
Your phone will work just as well as an actual alarm clock, but I’d still recommend looking into the physical ones because it changes the aesthetic of a room to have a clock in it.
Of course, always knowing what the time it is can be bad for you if you’re struggling to sleep or get through your latest assignment, so only get one if you think it fits your life.
This will also help you sleep farther away from your phone and make it easier for you to fall asleep without scrolling on it first for hours. Having an alarm clock can be a great way for you to wake up rested and you might even wake up before your alarm!
If keeping you don’t have a problem with keeping your phone by your bed, this alarm clock also a great option and super efficient because it can charge your phone while it tells time.
14. Desk organizer
A desk organizer will make your life feel neater. When you’re leaving home for college, the best way to start the habit of keeping your living space easy to pick up is giving everything a place where it goes. So, that pile of sticky notes on your desk now has a place to go inside of your new desk organizer.
Those pens that roll off your desk and seem to go missing by the fourth week of school now have a home to make sure you have at least one by the end of the semester.
If the idea of getting an organizer seems extra, go for a minimalist organizer so you keep the bare minimum tidy without adding to your ever-growing list of school supplies.
15. Desk lamp
You want a cute lamp that is also not gonna take up all of the tiny amount of space you have. Totally understandable and totally doable.
There are plenty of minimalist lamps that won’t make your room feel like a warehouse while stick to doing their job of keeping the room light enough for you to stay away during that late-night study session.
You can go for something sleek or artsy, while keeping it small or even off the desk. No matter what kind of aesthetic you’re going for, you’re going to find the perfect lamp to complete your school prep list.
16. Power strip
You already know you need a power strip because when have you ever had enough plug-ins? You’ll need to charge your devices, plug in your lamp, and still have space in case your roommate, for some reason, wants to use your plug-ins too.
There are tons of great power strips out there that come equipped with USB and USB-C plug-ins, so you avoid needing to plug your devices to an adapter before they connect to the power source.
Plus, you can hide your power strip under your bed or desk and keep the ugly cords out of your line of sight. It works perfectly to complete your personalized, homey dorm room.
17. First-aid kit
You don’t need a first aid kit until you need one at 1am when the nurse’s office (all the way across campus anyways) is closed. Equip yourself with some Band-Aids, gauze, and Neosporin for those nights that get a little unbelievable or you just forget how to walk.
Most of the time, this will sit tucked away in your desk or closet, but you’ll definitely want it on those rare occasions that someone skins their need, falls on their skateboard, or cuts themselves trying to make dinner.
