What to Put in Your College Dorm Room: Checklists

Dorm Checklist One: Things You’ll Need to Bring From Home or Buy:

• Clothing
• Thick blankets, duvet or quilt
• Extra pillow
• Toiletries
• A laundry bag or tote
• Sundry personal items
• Computer (you will need one, even if you don’t like computers)
• Printer (this saves time and anguish when running close to deadlines)
• Alarm clock
• Hobby equipment
• School supplies: binders, pens, paper etc.
• Calendar
• Dayplanner
• A place to file documents

Dorm Checklist Two: Optional but Useful Extras:
a) Almost Essential

• A decent computer chair

b) Useful to Many People

• A computer desk or external monitor
• Bookshelf
• Bar fridge
• Dictionary (spellcheck always misses something…)
• Posters or wall hangings
• Rug
• Houseplants
• Music player (MP3 player, IPOD, DVD player or whatever you use)
• TV (many communal areas have one, but you may want your own)
• Underbed storage
• Eating utensils for one: cup, bowl, plate, knife, fork, and spoon
• A stuffed toy (if you can’t sleep without it)

Dorm Checklist Three: Things that May be Provided – Check Your Housing Info
These things are often provided, but you’ll want to check the situation at your particular university or college, and you may want to bring your own from home if you have nicer ones.

• Towels
• Bed linens (the bed may be extra-long, so get sheets to match its size)
• Desk lamp

Dorm Checklist Four: Do NOT Bring, Buy or Have

• Pets
• Candles, incense sticks
• Large sharp knives not used for cooking
• FDictionary (spellcheck always misses something…)irearms
• Anything else banned by the rules of your particular institution
• Illegal Drugs
• Anything else illegal

It is true that you may get away with having something you aren’t supposed to in your dorm room, but if the college housing authorities see it for one reason or another, they may kick you out of the dorms or do other things you won’t like.