Back to university: Dorm room essentials

Dorm rooms are inevitable if you’re travelling from your hometown to another city to attend university. However, there are few things that you need in your life while staying there to avoid anxiety, discomfort, and breaking down in tears. This will not save you from all of the stress but it will somewhat reduce the amount of discomfort. So here are some things that we think you should bring with you to the dorm if you’re planning on going to one:

1. Power extension: This one will save your life when it comes to charging multiple things at the same time while straightening your hair as well. Since college dorm rooms do not come with a lot of power sockets, this one is a great thing to have.
2. Laundry bag: In order to avoid stacks of dirty laundry all over the floor for multiple days, purchase a laundry bag so that you can dump all of your dirty laundry without creating a big mess. These are very inexpensive but will save you a great amount of anxiety at the end of the week.
3. Flip flops: We cannot emphasize on the importance of having a pair of flip flops enough. Dorm bathrooms can be gross because there are tons of other people using them as well, and not everyone might be as clean as you. You got to wear flip flops so that stacks of someone’s hair or wet floors don’t make contact with your body.
4. Shower tote with essentials: This one is the most exciting to shop for but most important one as well. Not many dorm showers provide space for your shower stuff thus, buy a plastic tote and put all of your shower essentials like shampoo, conditioner, body wash, loofah, razors and other stuff.
5. Storage boxes: Dorms rooms are not that spacious but you could have a lot of stuff that you might want to store. Storage boxes and drawers are easily available in the market and are affordable as well. You can pop them under your bed or decorate them to go with your aesthetic.
6. Air freshener: If you cook a meal and eat it in your dorm room, chances are, your room is going to smell like it. Keep an air freshener near at hand at all times to keep your room smelling fresh. Fabreeze is a great one to have.
7. Medication: People can get sick a lot of times in the dorm. To save your immune system, keep some emergency vitamin C tabs in your cabinet along with other emergency medications like paracetamol etc.
8. Decoration: Dorm rooms are very plain and boring. If you have an aesthetic for interior, or if you want to decorate your room in general, there is a lot cute and cheap stuff available in stores and on online shopping websites to decorate your room and create the vibe you want.

Bedding

This is super important and basically the key purpose of having a dorm room. The last thing you want at the end of a tiring college day is uncomfortable sleep and feeling cranky the next day. Invest in some essential bedding supplies that are high quality and long lasting. Here’s a list of some absolute essentials:

1. 2 pillows: That’s right. Not one but two. One will do too but we recommend getting two; one for sleeping on and one for cuddling with. We promise that you will wake up with the best possible sleep you’ve ever had.
2. Cozy blanket: Try to look for the softest material to snuggle up in at the end of a long college day. The A/C could also be very brutal sometimes so choose a thick one to keep yourself warm throughout the night.
3. Sheets: This one is pretty obvious. Who would want to own a bed with any sheet, right?
4. Mattress pad: This one’s also an obvious because no one wants to sleep on a rock hard surface of the bed. However, make sure that you invest in a high quality mattress to ensure comfort.

So this was our list of essentials that are must-haves in our opinion for a somewhat decent college dorm room experience. Here we conclude Episode 2 of our Back to university college experience. Keep an eye for the next one.

We all rant about how overwhelming school is and how our lives end over homework every single day. We think that life could not get any worse than this with the entire burden of home works, assignments and AP tests if you are in your senior year of high school.

Well let me tell you something mates. University is much more hardcore. But that doesn’t mean you can’t conquer your university years with the best grades and graduate out of it as a sane individual as well. We are not going to give you the same cliché tips and tricks like being friends with your professor and all. Instead, we have some tips for you for when you are outside your classes as well, for a better university experience. So here they are:

You’re your own best critic

While in college, you will experience a lot of things that are both good and bad for you. You cannot control the situations, but you can surely control yourself. You need to know your limits and take your decisions yourself (for the most part). We all know that alcohols and cigarettes are a part of college life and there are going to be so many people including your friends who might talk you into doing this. But you should always remember what is best for you and stick to that for good. Or else, good luck buddy (especially if you’re a desi kid).

Budgeting is key

There are many guides to budgeting for students on the internet. You need to know why it is so important to help you save from being broke, especially at times where you really don’t want to be (trust me). Allot a specific amount to different things and stick to it. Like lunch, partying etc. Also, try going for cheaper alternatives to save some bucks for yourself, like bringing lunch from home instead of buying it.

Don’t fear the FOMO

It’s easy to let the peer pressure in and partying way too hard for way longer than you are supposed to. While it’s very important to socialize in your college years, trust me it’s harder to wake up for an 8am class after sleeping 3 am than it is to maintain your GPA (okay maybe we exaggerated a bit). So try to come home before 1am at least. This is going to save your life. Also, if you think about it, how much are you really going to miss out at 2am at a party? Right?

Count on yourself

School is a point where you can acquire quite a lot of help that you need. And everything on your test is from within what your text book carries. But university is different. It only teaches you what it needs to and let the rest of the work be done by your own effort. You need to research things on your own and that does require some hard work. Therefore, you need to learn how to count on yourself. Of course, the professors and your mates are there to help you too. But this is a skill that you should acquire in order to excel your classes.

So here are some of the tips we have for you that probably no one is going to tell you. University life is a fun life if done right. And our series is all about helping you survive it. There are many trends that you might notice, but always do your own thing instead of giving in into the peer pressure. Until next time.

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