It’s no secret that dorms are the home of late nights and stressed studiers. With its small space you’re likely not able to bring all of your comforts from home. So improv is needed to make this space comfy and functional for you!
When making a list of all the things you’ll need to bring it’s likely that you will forget a thing or two. So take a look at our top 10 list when planning your next amazon dorm haul.
10 ft phone charger
The first of these on a must-have list is a super long phone charger. Your phone is probably always at a lower battery and it’s a huge scramble to find a charger. Let alone trying to find an outlet and having to leave your phone in potentially some sketchy spots.
Here is where the 10-foot cable comes in! It can be used to connect you to an outlet that feels like it’s a million miles away or allows you some freedom of movement when you are charging.
Honestly, it’s great to have a few of these on hand in college. You can have one in your dorm as well as your backpack so you can be charging at the dining hall or in the library during a late-night study sesh.
If you have a brick charger (an honorable mention of the list) then you’d also want to have a longer cable for it too! You won’t have to lug around the brick that’s uncomfortably larger than your phone. You can keep it nice and tucked away in your backpack!
Here’s a pack of three from amazon (here)
Blue Light Glasses
Next on our list are blue light glasses! You’ll be up all hours of the night! Between mid-terms, finals, and parties! Blue light glasses are really fantastic for all of these! You’ll be able to go from one mode of studying to sleeping without a lot of hassle.
You can also use these to prevent any migraines from your lack of sleep or any hangovers that you may get (yes I went there).
These are a super essential for college. Trust me, I’ve been there! Here’s a good pair from amazon (
Noise Blocking Headphones
Another super college essential for you are noise-blocking headphones or earphones. Really, anything that blocks out unwanted noise and helps you concentrate on your task.
Libraries can get noisy, your roommate could be snoring, or you’re in a coffee shop and need to drill down on an assignment you’ll need a pair of noise-blocking or deafening headphones. And they don’t need to be expensive either. They just need to get you to a level of productivity to a point where you can get things done.
As a personal recommendation, I would have two sets of headphones. One in-ear headphones for walking around and listening to a podcast or to music, not necessarily for blocking out noise. The second pair that you’d need is an on-ear or over-ear headset. This will help you block out the noise better and they don’t hurt your ears after extended use.
Thumb Drives
The next super essential are thumb drives, these are little USB storage devices for your files. There will be so many files on your computer between essays or random notes from your classes, your local store will fill up so fast! You need to have some external storage and create a storage system in each drive that you’ll use.
I recommend that you have a thumb drive for each semester and break it up to have a file for each class that you have on your schedule. This will help keep you super organized and you can find things easily!
External Hard Drives
If thumb drives don’t afford you the storage that you need, I recommend that you get an external hard drive. It’s super useful if you take a lot of photos or videos of your time in college! You can expect to use only one of these throughout your college time! Unless you are creating an absurd amount of videos or writing 1000 page dissertations every week.
External hard drives are great and they can help you keep all your files in one place. I do recommend keeping your files in a nice system within the hard drive. Or it starts to look like the backpack of a 4th grader and you can’t ever find anything!
External hard drives usually connect via a usb and are easy to set up for your classes! They are great for taking electronic notes and writing those super long essays and keeping those in a centralized location for you to go back to. It also helps extend the life of your laptop and keep it running faster for longer. The more local space you take up the slower it runs.
All The Post-it Notes
If you’re like me, you love post-it notes. I honestly can’t have enough of them! These are great for loads of things. The first being to take quick notes that you can stick on your laptop, or on your paper notes. Sometimes it takes too long for you to get your laptop out or your phone out to take some notes about a homework assignment or you are trying to get someone’s number.
Post-its are not only great for taking quick notes, but they are also great doodle pads if you have a hard time paying attention to a lecture, or they are great for pranking a friend by covering their car in these! Other uses might include a grocery list, to-do list, tracking your goals, or trying to get inspired!
Post-it’s come in all shapes and sizes, but you can never go wrong with the classics
Table Top For the Laptop
Most dorm rooms are pretty small, they come with a bed, a desk, and a dresser. These don’t give you much study space, so you’ll likely be studying on your bed a time or two. In these moments it’s great to have a tabletop for your bed to keep your laptop level while typing or cool while you’re in a cozy bed.
This also allows you to use a mouse if you are not a huge fan of the trackpad that laptops come with or if you have the space you can use it to write notes from a class or homework!
There are loads of different kinds of tabletops! Some have bean bags at the bottom which are comfy for on your legs, or others that stand up on the bed and could be good if you don’t want it to touch your legs.
A Good Planner
The next thing I highly recommend is a good planner. You’ll need this to keep your day managed and set yourself up for success. Being organized will definitely be your friend and keeping on top of your assignments will reduce SO MUCH stress!
There are a lot of planners that you could use. There are digital planners, paper planners, day planners, task planners, etc. Really any of these that you can stick to are fantastic. Even a combo of a few planners!
I recommend using your phone for tracking dates. Due dates, appointments, etc. and setting reminders for these!
So if you have an assignment due at midnight, set a reminder that gives you enough time to write or do the assignment if you forget. An example of this could be a 200-word reflection could be done in 30 minutes so set a reminder for 45 minutes before it’s due. This also works for appointments. Set a reminder for your appointment that allows you to get there on time!
I also recommend using a task planner for mapping out your day so you can get things done. I personally use the productivity planner, but you could also use a planner like doing well daily.
A Mini Mini Fridge
Dorms are super small, sometimes they’ll come with mini-fridges, and other times they don’t. If you plan on bringing some food back to your room, I recommending using a mini mini-fridge. These also work for any makeup or beauty appliances that need to be kept in a warm or cold environment, but you don’t want to keep them in a larger fridge.
These fridges are also great for keeping any type of drink or cold if you want to save some for later. This could also be for coffee creamers if your dorm room or hall has a coffee maker.
Food Warmer
The final item that you need for your dorm room is a food warmer! If you have meals prepped and are on the go or you have some leftovers you want to heat up food warmers are the way to go! They are also great if your roommate is sleeping and the microwave will wake them up.
These are bags that plugin and warm your food over a few minutes. Unlike a microwave, these are super quiet and can be taken places in a bag. So if you are in the library and don’t want to leave to warm up food or the microwaves have a super long line, these are fantastic!
Links and Things
Well, what do you think of my list? Anything else you’d add or what you found super useful in college? Link them down below!
