Before long, you will be moving into a dorm room or an off-campus apartment. This marks the beginning of your independent life, where you will be solely responsible for managing your time, personal space, and overall style.
Instead of investing in a multitude of products, think about the simple basics that will improve your daily routine and help organize your living space. Moreover, invest in items that enhance your appearance without putting too much stress on your budget.
A Streamlined, Versatile Wardrobe
Building a functional college wardrobe doesn’t require a massive closet or a huge budget. In fact, many dorms have closet space that is barely wide enough for a coat rack.
So, instead of spending hours trying to fill a huge closet with tons of clothes, the best approach is to collect a few, adaptable, and comfortable pieces that can be mixed and matched to create a variety of outfits to wear throughout the day. These pieces can be layered to create different outfits and can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion.
Start with a few basic items, such as simple cotton t-shirts in various neutral colors, as well as dark-wash jeans and tailored chinos, to create the perfect outfit every time. By selecting items that can be layered, such as t-shirts underneath hoodies or sweaters, you can create multiple outfits by mixing and matching pieces to create a wide array of styles.
To complement these items, consider pairing them with a simple hoodie, such as a lightweight kangaroo pocket style, as well as a basic jacket, including both denim and bomber style options. This creates the perfect layered outfit for whatever type of weather the college season may bring.
Lastly, when it comes to shoes, we are only looking for the most versatile and most comfortable for you to wear on a daily basis. Think about how far you actually walk each day. Some of you may be surprised by how many miles you walk in a given week on campus. Many of you will walk thousands of steps each day between classes, between buildings, and even to social events in the evening.
A clean, classic pair of men’s casual shoes will provide you with the perfect balance of comfort, durability, and style. Such shoes are supportive enough to allow you to walk for long periods of time on hard pavement, and can also be dressed up to be worn with chinos to attend classes, dinners, and even interviews for internships.
After a long day of walking around campus in your casual shoes, you will definitely appreciate the comfort of your other shoes. In addition to your casual shoes, you will also want to have a pair of supportive workout sneakers to wear to the gym, as well as a pair of simple shower slides to wear in the shower in your shared dorm bathroom.
Finally, the smallest of details can often complete an outfit and prevent unnecessary clutter in one’s dorm room. Basic accessories to consider purchasing include:
- Belts
- Watches
- Several different types of hats
In terms of basic sock inventory, for example, purchasing several different pairs of durable and comfortable socks can help to prevent a common mid-semester crisis in which one finds themselves running out of clean socks only days before an 8 a.m. lab.
Smart Electronics and Organization Essentials
Technology is the root of academic success, in addition to overall sanity. Many days consist of long hours in the library or sometimes studying in unique spots like a quiet dining hall corner or even a campus courtyard. This gear makes a big difference when staying productive in a multitude of settings.
A durable, water-resistant backpack with dedicated laptop padding is non-negotiable. The backpack should have structured compartments so that your notebooks, chargers, pens, and other personal items do not get lost at the bottom of the bag.
In the backpack, you should always have a high-capacity portable power bank with you, as well as a compact multi-port charging block. The wall outlets in most campus buildings and study spaces are often occupied by other students, and a dead laptop or phone in the afternoon can easily ruin your focus for the rest of the day.
Active Noise Canceling (ANC) Headphones
You’ll rarely find a quiet spot in a dorm, campus lounge or campus coffee shop. There are few things more frustrating than sitting in your room at midnight with your laptop going and your roommates coming and going.
Noise-canceling headphones can help you focus on your studies (such as researching for a paper) or help you unwind after a long day of classes by listening to music. Keep in mind that these types of headphones require batteries, so consider purchasing a set of wired backup earbuds as well.
Lastly, storing all of your digital files will be just as important as organizing your physical college supplies and electronics. Hard drives or cloud storage subscriptions will be necessary to save copies of written essays, group project work, study guides, and other academic research.
It is also very easy to fall victim to failing to save the work that you have completed throughout the semester in the event of a technological glitch. For this reason, automatically saving copies of all work will be necessary in order to prevent loss of completed and in-progress college work.
A crash can occur at any time, removing work for a night of study for a lost essay. Mouse and stand for laptop will be written elsewhere, but keeping your back straight while studying long hours in dorms for long periods of time will prevent damage to the health of your back in college.
Practical Living and Personal Care Gear
Lastly, there are several things you can do in order to help take care of your health, to keep yourself clean, and to keep your living space clean during the college years.
Bedding: A Simple Comfort to Daily Life
For a simple comfort to your daily life, give thought to your bedding for your dorm room. Sheets and blankets are simple enough, and in many cases they are best left that way. A simple comforter and pair of sheets are really all that you will need for your bedding.
As with all things, it is a good idea to have an extra pair of sheets on hand. With an extra pair of sheets, you can wash your current pair of sheets and have time to allow them to dry before remaking your bed.
This way you will have a clean and fresh bed to come home to each day. In addition to a laundry hamper for carrying dirty laundry to the laundromat, a laundry hamper can also be very useful for storing dirty laundry in your dorm room until you have time to do laundry.
Having enough energy to power through a series of long lectures or study sessions can be a challenge in itself. It is helpful to keep hydrated and to have eaten sufficiently before a long period of sitting. An insulated stainless steel water bottle is a good item to have, as it will mean that you are not forced to purchase expensive single-use plastic bottles of water throughout the day.
A sturdy reusable travel mug is also a good item to have, as it will save you a lot of money if you brew your own coffee or tea before you go out to a lecture in the morning. Reusable items to have for making and eating meals and snacks in your room include items such as a microwave-safe bowl, a mug, and a set of reusable utensils.
Finally, assemble a personal care and wellness kit.
Self-care in college is about survival and confidence.
When packing all of your new college gear up to your dorm, make sure to also bring along a useful pouch for storing your various personal care and wellness items like:
- A new razor and other college grooming items
- Facial moisturizer and other college beauty items
- Protective sun screen
- A new first aid kit containing items like:
- Pain relievers
- Cold medicine
- Bandages
- Etc.
There’s nothing worse than waking up with a headache on the day of an exam but having the right tools to tackle the typical college everyday pains and illnesses can help to alleviate the stress.
