Get Organized for College: Create Your Dream Dorm!

It was a crisp fall day in 1989. Students were going in and out of the dorms like ants carrying trunks, suitcases, and tote bags. Befuddled parents were standing outside, trying to be helpful but mostly chatting with other parents and taking in the scene. This would be their beloved, newly-adult child’s home for the next year and they wanted to memorize it all.

State-of-the-art ‘80s dorm must haves were an answering machine, a boombox with a CD player, and a word processor (or, if you were lucky, a DOS-based computer or Macintosh SE). Throw in a wall tapestry and a Klimt poster and you’ve got a pretty fine room!
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Now that my oldest daughter is heading off to college this fall, I figured I probably shouldn’t rely just on my own experience to help figure out what she needs. So I polled my mom friends with kids currently in college to find their best move-in tips. Now I get to share them with you!​
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What has changed? The rooms are still small, the beds are still twin XL, and that Klimt poster is still popular, but most other things have undergone some great updates.
Here are my favorites to make sure your student has all the essentials.

• Packing List: Search “packing list” on your college’s website for a comprehensive list of what that school recommends and what is not allowed (e.g. candles). Print this out and use it as a checklist.
• Linens and dorm essentials: One-stop shopping to outfit your dorm? Yes, it’s real! Try Dormco’s 44-piece essentials kit that has lots of options to customize.This is the easiest and most economical way to get a complete dorm kit (sheets, mattress pad, pillows, towels, etc.) delivered directly to the room.
• Food: Rent a microwave/fridge combo from mymicrofridge.com then stack plastic drawers on top of the fridge (I like the sturdy, stackable ones you can find at The Container Store.) to hold snacks like granola bars and chips.

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