Dorm Room Stuff Nobody Thinks To Bring

[grinningghost]

For those of you who have dormed or have kids that dorm, is there anything you would add to the usual list of stuff to bring?

DD moves into her dorm Thursday and I'd like to have most of the bases covered in one shot (impossible I know, but I'd like to try at least).

 

[crzyred]

well i had stocked up on feminine care products. lots of sanitizer stuff. take cleaning stuff along, first to clean BEFORE you put anything in the dorm, and then she can continue to use that stuff throughout the year ( and she will want to most likely!!)

if she has a shared shower (community shower) make sure she has flip flops, robe, lots of big towels.

honestly i don't think you'd ever have everything the first time.

does she have a little tool kit? flashlight, lots of batteries?

 

[Maleficent13]

Scissors
Tape
Needle/thread
Flashlight

Basically, anything your household usually has one of that is in a communal spot. You never think of that stuff until you have a thread you need to cut or a button falls off.

 

[SeaShelley]

I bought my step daughter a big first aid kit - she commented that it was something she hadn't thought of.

 

[Pam]

USB and eternet cords for the computer.

Extra long TV cord. Surge protectors.

Second the tool kit and cleaning supplies suggestion.

Aspirin, cold medicine, vitamins, etc.

A mattress pad of some sort -- those dorm beds are hard and uncomfortable!

I try and send a care package to the dorm so that it will arrive the day after they check in. It's kind of a nice reminder that Mom is still thinking of you!

 

[wendy46001]

Someone already said a first aid kit (very useful)
but also a can opener w/bottle opener....dont know how many times i had to go looking for one in college

 

[Kath2003]

Corkscrew. The most vital piece of equipment ever!

Also a screwdriver. No one ever has a screwdriver. Can double up as a corkscrew too

 

[Towncrier]

An assortment of batteries. A spare bulb for a desk lamp. A small personal fan. And don't forget the PC's power cord. You would be surprised how many kids in my son's dorm ended up leaving the power cord at home.

 

[Sandy V.]

A drying rack, a clip on lamp, a lap desk, and quarters for the washers/dryers.

 

[Hedy]

Tools (hammer, nails, screwdriver).

 

[debaudrn]

Others have already said a first aid kit. I'm the school nurse at my kids high school and this is my standard gift to their friends at graduation. They all love it and tell me it is used all the time. I include bandaids, Tylenol and/or Ibuprofen, cough drops, Tums, Neopsorin, a thermometer, Pepto Bismol, sudafed, chapstick. I usually go to Target and just grab stuff in the first aid aisle. I buy a small size plastic box with a lid and handle and put it all inside. They just throw it in a closet but when they need it ... it is easy to get at.
My DD needed extra long TV and eternet cables (20 feet). She was in a triple and the outlets were all at the far end of the room. Multiple surge protetors are also good. Double sided sticky tape/velcro to hang things on the wall too.
Debbie

 

[Saphire]

Corkscrew. The most vital piece of equipment ever!

Here in the states the drinking age is 21. Most college freshman are 17 and 18 years old. So, if that corkscrew is used for opening wine bottles, forget about it. There are consequences for breaking the law.

 

[asta]

If she is going to loft her bed, Bed, Bath n Beyond has something called a bed buddy. It is a strip of canvas with a pocket on the end. You tuck one end of the canvas under the mattress and have a pocket close by that can hold things like a cell phone, pencils, small book, etc. My daughter used her cell phone for her alarm clock and kept it in the bed buddy to keep it close enough to wake her up.

 

[Sthronds]

Power strips were very handy. I also recommend a little tool kit. I had one called "Do it Herself" and you wouldn't believe how many people (guys included) would come to borrow it. Different dorms have different phone situations, but we found that a phone jack adapter that allowed us to plug in a cordless phone was quite helpful, this way we wouldn't trip over the cord. Of course with cell phones that might not be an issue anymore. Something to heat water is also nice for tea, hot cocoa and I used to eat those "Cup of Noodle" things a lot. Good luck!

 

[Kath2003]

Here in the states the drinking age is 21. Most college freshman are 17 and 18 years old. So, if that corkscrew is used for opening wine bottles, forget about it. There are consequences for breaking the law.

OK, if you don't intend to drink at college, don't bring one. If you do intend to drink in college, this'll be the one thing you'll be cursing yourself for not bringing!

 

[tiggger1]

I did the first aid kit also...

I bought a small plastic container with a lid... filled it with band aids, neosporin, antacid, tylenol, tweezers, tape, allergy meds, pepto, cold meds, alchol swabs, q tips, sissors.. plus a few others...I bought all generic stuff at walmart and I filled the kit and only spent $2O

I gave it to a friend going to college and he called me a few days later and told me he already used 1/2 the stuff in the kit...

 

[grinningghost]

Definitely some things here that she doesn't have packed, I'll be sure to make a stop at Walmart and Target this week! Thanks!

 

[Parkhopper]

Air Freshener!

Suzi

 

[tropical depression]

Here in the states the drinking age is 21. Most college freshman are 17 and 18 years old. So, if that corkscrew is used for opening wine bottles, forget about it. There are consequences for breaking the law.

there's always one buzzkill in every dorm.

a little tub of spackle to fill in the holes they're going to leave in the walls. hot plate, toaster oven, plastic Solo cups, paper towels.

 

[bumbershoot]

Here in the states the drinking age is 21. Most college freshman are 17 and 18 years old. So, if that corkscrew is used for opening wine bottles, forget about it. There are consequences for breaking the law.

In a college dorm room? Um, yeah, not really, if they stay in.

Now, from my dad a corkscrew would have been a funny gift. From my mom, it would have been odd. Her main advice was...if you have to drink, drink cheap red wine b/c it will give you a killer hangover and you'll re-thinking drinking. I was actually quite a good kid, and I feel it was b/c I had such realistic parents.



As for things I forgot...I don't even know. My dad came up a week or so after I started and got me a mini-fridge from Sears, and that was helpful. My roomie liked me for that.

My dorm-living was pretty simple. And I had pretty much all my stuff with me, as my mom remarried and moved cross country right after I started college! So I guess maybe it was impossible for me to forget things, since I had it all with me.