Great College Dorm Extras: To Settle In
A lot of these are on people's "essentials" lists. Which is a lie. A lot of these are nice but completely optional. Also I have sorted this for your viewing convenience.
CLEANING
- Basin
- Sponge
- Gloves
- Vacuum cleaner
Carrying your dirty dishes to and from the kitchen (if you even have one) is both precarious and pretty gross, depending on how long they've BEEN dirty. With a basin -- if you don't know what that is: it is a plastic tub -- that all becomes so much easier ! Please don't break anything.
There is a girl. In my dorm. Who washes her water bottle. Including the part that she drinks from. With a COMMUNAL SPONGE. That sits in a random bowl in the lounge. DO NOT BE THIS PERSON. That is so fucking gross, she's going to get a disease.
Your communal area is disgusting, I promise you. If you are washing dishes or wiping down counters, USE GLOVES! I have reusable ones #savetheplanet.
Listen: I know they can be expensive but honestly it's worth it. ESPECIALLY if you have a carpet in your dorm. I have one. That broom you have does NOTHING for the carpet. Also sweeping takes away much needed time from watching TV studying.
COOKING
- Baking soda
- Oven mitt(s)
- Apron
Put it in your fridge, it'll keep it from stinking up your dorm or whereever it is. Also, maybe you'll need it for something, you never know.
I made brownies and cookies last semester without owning oven mitts. It was painful and a mess considering that my friends and I thought a good replacement would be a ton of paper towels.
You are going to get oil or whatever on your clothes and you are going to have to change 3 million times.
DORM
- Shelf
- Lamp
- Door stopper
Space is kind of hugely important and shelves are great. Also can be very cheap if you choose the right one. Mine was 5 bucks.
The in-dorm lighting is probably a large fluorescent light that will give you a headache if you keep it on for too long. Lamps are great !
If you need to run out to the bathroom, you've got people coming over, or need to bring something in: get a door stopper ! Great for all those bathroom runs when you forget your dorm key.
Read "College Dorm Essentials - For Real." for the MUST-haves. [TBA]
Read "College Tips" to get a couple tricks and for things not to do. [TBA]