The college experience is full of learning curves. While some struggle to learn when (and, sometimes, how) to do laundry, others prioritize understanding how to make their mark in an echoing lecture hall. But sometimes the steepest learning curve of all is determining what items will make an empty dorm room feel like your new home.
As seniors, we've survived three years of college and on-campus dorms. As we look forward to graduation, we thought it was about time to pass down all of the tips, tricks and best products we've found that have helped us the most throughout our undergraduate experience.
While each school has their own rules dictating what you can and can't have while living on campus, we've found plenty of ways to make ours rooms still feel like home, and assure you that you will, too.
From communal bathroom must-haves to organization hacks, the products we've listed below are college student-approved dorm essentials to make your living space comfortable, organized and unique to you.
College essentials checklist
Whether you’re heating up ramen or are “stealing” some food from the dining hall, these bowls will definitely come in handy. They’re also made of stoneware, making them durable enough to last you all four years of college and even beyond.
Communal college bathrooms are anything but glamorous, and grabbing yourself a plastic shower caddy is more than essential. In my [Bella] experience, plastic shower caddies are best because they’re easy to clean, sturdy to carry and don’t grow mold and mildew like some fabric and mesh ones do. This shower caddy includes multiple compartments so you can easily keep your skin care and hair care products separate.
Command hooks are a savior when it comes to dorm room living. For my [Grace] dorm, I used these to hang hats and bags from my closet doors, towels in the bathroom and even some small shelves on my wall.
It’s worth noting that Command has an array of products perfect for college students, offering different colored hooks and even metal options so you can personalize everything in your room to your aesthetic.
One lesson that you’ll take into your adult life is that you can never have enough hangers, and most colleges won’t provide you with this organizational staple. This 50-pack is only $8 and has built-in shoulder grooves to keep your items in place.
This mirror was one of the best purchases I [Grace] made for my dorm. I certainly took for granted being able to look at my entire outfit before I left in the morning until I couldn’t. Easily hung with command tape or Velcro strips on any wall or the back of a closet door, this mirror was more than worth the money.
Whether you’re hosting a study session or forgot to charge every device you own (we’ve all been there), a power strip is the solution to your qualms. This option is now just $10 and includes a surge protector to keep you and your devices safe from electrical spikes, according to the brand. Some dorm rooms only have one outlet, so a power strip can support all your chargers, lamps and other electrical items with ease.
Dorm desks usually don’t have many drawers, and if they do, they’re not big. With limited and precious space, this makeup turntable will organize your entire routine in a way that’s functional and can be displayed on your desk. From experience, I [Grace] can say that the plastic is also easy to clean, so you never have to worry about makeup messes.
If you’re entering a communal shower situation this fall, shower shoes are key to keeping your feet and the murky floors separate. These non-slip shower shoes have drainage holes to avoid amassing a puddle of shower water in your shoe.
I [Grace] can promise you that you will need extra lighting, no matter what your dorm room looks like. Whether you have some dim overhead lighting or LEDs that you’re going to get sick of while late-night studying, a lamp is always a great decision. This one is even better, because it has a mini organizer at its base where you can store notebooks, flashcards or anything else you might want easy access to.
Whether or not you decide to invest in a mini fridge, a Brita pitcher is key to ensuring you’ll never be slurping water from the communal bathroom sink. The included filter reduces the amount of chlorine, mercury, copper, zinc and cadmium in your drinking water, according to the brand. I [Bella] recommend decorating the pitcher with stickers to distinguish it from the hoards of Brita filters in your residence hall.
From spilled breakfast cereal to lost coffee, your dorm room floors will welcome a slew of mystery substances, so a Swiffer will be the no-hassle solution you’ll be reaching for. This $18 set comes with a Swiffer Sweeper and 19 recyclable refills, including both the brand’s wet and dry wipes, so you can say goodbye to that spill without a second thought.
My [Grace] rolling cart was a storage life savior for my years in the dorm. I stored my shower caddy, hair tools and any products that were too big to fit in my drawer. Many of my friends with these carts used them to store snacks and dishes. With wheels, this cart is easy to store behind a door, under a bed or in a closet and pull out when needed.
After you’ve organized your clothes, you’ll need to sort through your jewelry. This organizer from Urban Outfitters is chic and a cute storage solution that doubles as décor. The stand includes a base tray for items like perfume, a smaller tray above for rings and five hooks for necklaces, as well as room to loop earrings. Since it’s on a stand, you can even use the round mirror to get ready and do your makeup in the morning!
If you scored a dorm room with air conditioning, consider yourself lucky. But not all of us have won that jackpot, and adding a powerful fan to your packing list is a necessity. Since warm weather doesn’t always last the whole school year, this option has three speeds that you can adjust as the temperatures fluctuate. It also provides great white noise to drown out any unwanted dorm sound while you’re trying to catch some zzz’s.
It’s absolutely worth investing in a foldable drying rack. When it’s stored, it doesn’t take up much closet space. Whether you’re dealing with unreliable dorm dryers or simply have some clothes that can’t take the heat, I [Grace] can almost guarantee this will be something you’ll use every laundry day — I know I do.
I [Grace] will always recommend investing in an area rug for your dorm. Whether you’re walking into a hard wood situation or tile floors, rugs are often the finishing touch that make a room feel comfortable and homey. It’s also extremely functional, keeping your floors and feet a bit warmer in the winter and muffling any noise from walking or dropping things that might disturb your downstairs neighbors.
One of the biggest shocks I [Bella] faced my freshman year was just how fast your dorm can become disorganized and messy. But once I got over the shock, I invested in more organizational solutions, including a shoe rack. With enough space for most, if not all, of your shoes, this rack will keep your dirty shoes off your dorm room floor. As a bonus, this rack is stackable, so you can order two if you're looking to maximize storage in the space you have.
Each college stocks its dorms with different furniture, but a shortage of storage space seems to be an ongoing trend. To give myself some extra closet space, I [Bella] grabbed this standard rod garment rack for easier moving days. Since I consciously fill it with sundresses in the summer and jackets in the winter, it makes an aesthetic Zoom background, too!
If you’ve tuned into the great water bottle debate, you’ll know that factions have emerged and opinions are strong. While it’s hard to pick a favorite water bottle, the price of Owala’s FreeSip is hard to beat. The brand promises the water bottle will keep beverages cold for up to 24 hours, meaning you’ll be able to enjoy cold water even if you don’t invest in a mini fridge.
College dorms are notoriously dusty, and an air purifier can keep your sanctuary feeling clean from the odors and smoke that might cramp your living space. With a $50 price tag, this air purifier is an affordable and reliable option.
While a vacuum isn't something I [Grace] thought I'd need in the dorms, I inevitably knocked on my RAs door every Saturday night asking to borrow hers. There's just something about eating, getting ready and sleeping in the same 250 square feet that makes crumbs and dust build up fast.
In my opinion, the best part of this vacuum is the detachable option to convert the tool from a stick to a handheld. Trust me, there's times you'll need both!
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The Shop TODAY editors and writers search the internet to find the best products out there. We interview expert sources, look through hundreds of customer reviews and use our own experiences with products and brands to make shopping easier for our readers.
Bella Druckman is a former production coordinator for Shop TODAY. Grace Cardinal is an intern for Shop TODAY and currently a college senior.
