OT College Dorm Shopping

[ShoWStoppeR]

northface has saved my life at school. smart one over here thought she'd get away with uggs during winter, and i'm from ohio! i should know better.
i have northface boots, jacket, gloves, and hat, and although we faced some nasty blizzards this year, i'll be the first to tell you i didn't think it was that bad.... of course this was once i got northface boots. my uggs look like they were dragged through every weather condition across the country. needless to say, my cold and wet feet were more than enough to convince me to invest in real boots. they may have been pricey, but they were definitely worth it.

 

[Deleted member 1556]

Get a down, quilited northface jacket. One that covers at least your butt. Best investment you will ever spend!

 

[fiercerando88]

northface jacket + northface boots = lifesaver in new england. and apparently seems as though it'd work in chicago too! scarves help too!

 

[Eyes On The Prize]

Soooo, I basically wrote you a novel. And then the sequel. Sorry….

I pretty much agree with everything on here. Plastic drawers are a MUST! So are You’ll want atleast 3 towels, you'll never regret bringing too many. If you think you'll last a whole year with two sets of towels, you're crazy. To go along with the whole winter wardrobe conversation, make sure you have a cute, warm hat. Mine changed my life this winter. I never went anywhere without it. Rain boots are great for rainy days/muddy days/days where the snow is melting and you don’t want to wear your winter boots.
Another thing that I found that I found I used (and my friends used) a LOT more than I thought was a rice cooker that you put in the microwave. You can make ANYTHING with those things. Rice (obviously), popcorn, mac and cheese, pasta, boxed anything, I'm not kidding. (They make the BEST cakes, too. And nothing brings new potential friends to your room than the smell of cake drifting through the dorm hall.) Another thing that I found was very useful was a cookie tray. You'll have to see what your dorm hall comes with, but if you have an oven, I suggest you get one. My friends used it more than I did. They bought Bagel Bites and cookie dough a lot and asked to use it at least twice a week. Especially when the dining halls had nothing good that day.

Some other things that you might want to consider getting are:
- Hammer, screwdriver, mini tool set. Yes, you or your friends will end up needing them at some point. The maintenance crew isn't always the fastest goup of people when it comes to fixing things. You might as well do it yourself.
- Duck tape. You'll find uses for this, I promise.
- Over the door hooks. Great for placing towels to dry or wet winter coats.
- A sewing kit. Clothes rip, buttons pop off, seems come undone. Being that you are now a college kid, you wont have a lot of money to go out and replace clothes. Better learn how to use that stuff, too lol
- First aid kit with band aids, rubbing alcohol, guaze, medical tape, and any medicine you ever may need. I know I’ve needed a band aid here or there and its just a good thing to have on hand. Its better to have them when you really need them. Especially if you’re accident prone.
- A rug. They make your dorm more cozy and home-y looking if you have just tiles or hard wood floors. They also prevent your feet from freezing during the cold winters.
- Slippers and shower flip flops.
- A desk lamp. When your room mates sleeping, you definitely don’t want the over head light on.

Here's some useful tips that I found helpful:
- DO NOT get those flimsy, fold-able laundry hampers. They don't really work all that much. They break really easily and they tip over more than they stand up. If you can, get the sturdy plastic ones. Although they aren't as cute, they work a lot better and they are a lot more durable. And you don't want to carry those fold-able ones up and down several flights of stairs to and from the laundry room. Not fun. At all.
- -Don’t bother planning on buying plastic dishes if you know youre the type of person whose gonna let them just sit there and let them be dirty. Just buy paper plates and plastic utensils. So much easier and its one less thing you have to worry about.
- -If you have a rug, make sure you have something to clean it with. Dirty rugs aren’t fun and do not make you new friends.
- -Sounds stupid, but find something that makes your room smell nice. You don’t want your room to smell bad, trust me.
- - Find a fan that’s big enough to push the air around but small enough that its not in the way. Everyone I know used their fan all year round and kept their windows open even throughout the dead of winter. The dorms get super hot. It’s also helpful when its late and you want to sleep because you have an 8am class but your neighbors want to blast that latest Lil’ Wayne song all night long. The white noise will help you sleep better.

 

[cheerKT]

AGREED with the plates thing above. I'm so bad with dishes, especially in a dorm setting where it's not that easy to wash them and keep them clean. Paper utensils and plates were worth the extra money to me.

A few more random tidbits I thought of

If you're not a ball cap type of person, become one. Maybe it's just me, but if I hadn't showered yet I absolutely loved rolling out of bed and being able to cover my nastiness under a cap. haha.

If you have suite style bathrooms that you have to clean yourself be sure to keep an eye on the hair build up on the drain. It's gross I know, but with 4 females showering daily it builds up quick. By the middle of the year we couldn't take a shower without the water building up to our knees. It was absolutely disgusting, and by the time it got that bad, none of us wanted to do anything about it. (We found out at the end of the year our roommate with the butt-length kinky black hair BRUSHED HER HAIR IN THE SHOWER. SERIOUSLY. WHO DOES THAT???)

Going off that, get in a cleaning routine early and stick to it. By the time stuff gets super dirty no one wants to deal with it and it will only get worse. Maybe have an assigned area to clean every week. Like floors, mirrors, straightening up, sinks/toliets/showers (if you have them). You will appreciate it.

Get a fan if you are hot natured. Our AC went out for like 3 months and you better believe I posted that thing up on the bookshelf angled directly at me while I slept. I image this won't be as big of an issue in Chicago though. Maybe a snuggie?

Don't forget poster puddy! It's the best thing for sticking to those super neat and stylish cinder block walls.

 

[cheerKT]

A NOISEMAKER/FAN/SOMETHING TO MAKE NOSE WHILE YOU SLEEP. You WILL hear drunk people outside/on your hall no matter what floor you are on. And they WILL be loud. And you WILL have an exam the next day. Something to drown them out and help you fall asleep is definitely needed.

Melatonin is a gift from the Gods. It's a natural sleep aid you can get anywhere really. Drugstores, Target, WalMart....it works wonders. Get a jumbo sized bottle and drift easily to sleep as the party people rage on all around you.

 

[Eyes On The Prize]

- If you drink water a lot, you might want to think about buying a Brita Filter of some sort of water filtration thing if you don't like drinking tap water. It gets really expensive to keep buying cases of water and its not something you want to carry from Walmart/Target/wherever back to your dorm. Just buy a water filter and refill your water bottles. You'll save so much money and time. The only thing you'll have to keep an eye out for is when to replace your filter.
- You might want to bring Windex and some sort of cleaning product as well. Like cheerKT stated above you will have to clean. Even if you don't live in a suite or apartment style dorm, you're gonna have to clean. Microwaves and fridges get dirty and gross real fast. Paper towels are also a must.
- Those shoe organizers that hang down from the rod in the closet are very helpful. You can make a lot more space in your small closet with those. I used mine for clothes more than I did shoes.
- Can opener is handy but not always needed.
- Make sure you have a very good backpack. You'll be walking from class to the dorm back to class to the dining halls to class again to the library and then back to your dorm. The whole year you will be carrying books and folders and notebooks and those really expensive textbooks you wont ever use in class but your professors insisted you needed them. You'll do this every day. So make sure you have a backpack that wont hurt your back. Messenger bags and one shoulder bags will kill your back at the end of the year. They will cause you a lot of pain if you are gonna do a lot of walking with a heavy load. So thats something to really take into consideration.

*In regards to textbooks, you might want to think about buying your used textbooks online. I know at my college, they jack up the prices on everything, including textbooks. For one one of my Gen Ed classes this semester, I need three textbooks that, through the school, would cost me $108. I looked around online and found all three books and found excellent prices. My total for all my books now is $39 and some odd cents. All that money I saved is now going back to paying for the stuff I need in other areas for college. If you need help on where to buy books online, PM me, I know a lot of good places

 

[cheerKT]

- If you drink water a lot, you might want to think about buying a Brita Filter of some sort of water filtration thing if you don't like drinking tap water. It gets really expensive to keep buying cases of water and its not something you want to carry from Walmart/Target/wherever back to your dorm. Just buy a water filter and refill your water bottles. You'll save so much money and time. The only thing you'll have to keep an eye out for is when to replace your filter.
- You might want to bring Windex and some sort of cleaning product as well. Like cheerKT stated above you will have to clean. Even if you don't live in a suite or apartment style dorm, you're gonna have to clean. Microwaves and fridges get dirty and gross real fast. Paper towels are also a must.
- Those shoe organizers that hang down from the rod in the closet are very helpful. You can make a lot more space in your small closet with those. I used mine for clothes more than I did shoes.
- Can opener is handy but not always needed.
- Make sure you have a very good backpack. You'll be walking from class to the dorm back to class to the dining halls to class again to the library and then back to your dorm. The whole year you will be carrying books and folders and notebooks and those really expensive textbooks you wont ever use in class but your professors insisted you needed them. You'll do this every day. So make sure you have a backpack that wont hurt your back. Messenger bags and one shoulder bags will kill your back at the end of the year. They will cause you a lot of pain if you are gonna do a lot of walking with a heavy load. So thats something to really take into consideration.

*In regards to textbooks, you might want to think about buying your used textbooks online. I know at my college, they jack up the prices on everything, including textbooks. For one one of my Gen Ed classes this semester, I need three textbooks that, through the school, would cost me $108. I looked around online and found all three books and found excellent prices. My total for all my books now is $39 and some odd cents. All that money I saved is now going back to paying for the stuff I need in other areas for college. If you need help on where to buy books online, PM me, I know a lot of good places

CHEGG.COM for the win. Rent them. My friends spend 600+ a semester on texts books and get maybe 50 dollars back. I spend about 150. Don't get anything back of course, but the money I'm saving is 100% worth it.

 

[soFIERCE08]

awesome guys! thank you so much. i'm slowly chipping away at the purchases! i hadn't even thought about a can opener. and anyone have a great backpack brand that will be weather proof? also, one that isn't ridiculously priced.

 

[Eyes On The Prize]

awesome guys! thank you so much. i'm slowly chipping away at the purchases! i hadn't even thought about a can opener. and anyone have a great backpack brand that will be weather proof? also, one that isn't ridiculously priced.

JanSport is a great brand as far as backpacks go. They are fairly cheap and last for years. I know my mom still has hers that she uses a lot. It's over 10 years old and its still in excellent condition. They make all different types; everyday backpacks, travel backpacks, hiking and camping backpacks so I'm sure you'll find the perfect one. They also have any design you could imagine and I'm pretty sure you can design your own online. I have a JanSport backpack now and I use it everyday at school. Ive never had a problem with it. Its large enough so that I can carry my laptop and books to the library and it keeps my stuff dry when its raining or snowing. You might also want to look for backpacks that have clips that go across your chest. Its not incredibly fashionable but its takes a load off your back when you're carrying a lot of weight. Good luck!

 

[cheerKT]

awesome guys! thank you so much. i'm slowly chipping away at the purchases! i hadn't even thought about a can opener. and anyone have a great backpack brand that will be weather proof? also, one that isn't ridiculously priced.

Northface, again. haha =) They are super popular here.

 

[cheerislove8]

I LOVE my Northface backpack! You can usually find some good deals online if you look around!

 

[Deleted member 1556]

L.L Bean has awesome backpacks, and they have a really long guarantee on them. I forget how many years, but I just sent mine back frim freshman year because it ripped, and they're sending me a new one for free!

 

[Level5Mom]

Northface hands down. I have ripped through a backpack a year when in school, and so did my kids until last year I bought them both Northface backpacks. They are both still in perfect condition!! First year ever I don't have to replace them!

 

[createmagic]

L.L Bean has awesome backpacks, and they have a really long guarantee on them. I forget how many years, but I just sent mine back frim freshman year because it ripped, and they're sending me a new one for free!

L.L. Bean makes great bags and guarantees them forever. I loved mine!