After nearly two years of staying at home, the drastic jump from a life at home to a college-life can be a little overwhelming. To reduce your workload by a bit, and to give you some more time to spend with your friends and family, we have compiled a short list of 20 things that are a must for college, read below to find out!
Bedding:
- A Bedding Set:
A set of bedsheets, pillow cases, and a blanket or a comforter. That’s it, you’re ready.
Pro tip: Make sure you check out the weather of the place you’re moving to, and the seasons! Sometimes the blanket that works out at home might result in you either sweating or freezing under the covers when at college.
- Mattress Cover:
Given that the same mattress is passed on from room to room and batch to batch, you never really know what might have happened or fallen on your mattress, and do you want to know? I didn’t think so either. Easiest decision is to get a cover as ignorance is truly bliss when you’re protected by a plastic cover!
- Reading Lamp:
In case your roommate is an early riser, best not to get on their nerves by turning on the study light or even worse, the room light. A reading light, in particular a clamp light is the best solution as you can clip it according to convenience such that the light directly falls on your book!
Although passion and interest in a subject is vital to pursue it in Graduate school, it is important that you research a lot about the career opportunities that follow after you pursue a particular degree. You have to follow your heart, but don’t forget your mind with you as well.
Desk Supplies:
- Power Strip:
In case you haven’t seen your room already, it is better to account for the possibility that the power outlet is at the opposite end of the room as your table and bed.
- Batteries:
I mean, they’re batteries, need I say more?
- Sticky Notes:
I don’t believe that there is a single drawback to sticky notes, you can use them to put up your timetable, to put up your assignments, to let your roommate know that you will be back late tonight, or even to remind yourself to drink water. They can be used for anything!
- Pen Stand:
Not an essential but definitely a something that will surely elevate the aesthetic of your table that would otherwise be stacked with books, the wrappers of half-eaten granola bars, and a pile of clothes.
- Duct Tape:
A new poster to put up? Repairing your laptop charger? Fixing any of the several things that you don’t want to spend money on? The answer is duct tape. Plain and Simple. Just a roll of duct tape.
Utensils/Cutlery:
- Insulated Steel Water Bottle:
In the midst of running between classes in opposite buildings, your drink isn’t something you have time to worry about. An insulated steel water bottle will keep your cold drinks cold, and hot drinks hot. Apart from this, it doesn’t have the risk that plastic bottles do, and is also easier to handle than a glass bottle.
- Dish Towel:
Need to clean up the juice you spilt while submitting your assignment in a rush? Your roommate left crumbs off the cheesecake she ate all over your table? A dish towel manages this all. A pack of two would be perfect!
Storage:
- Under Bed Storage:
This is the best solution to account for the multiple sets of clothing your parents sent you in their worry. Apart from this, storing your blanket in this rather than your cupboard saves space for the storing the next set of clothing your parents send!
- Pop-Out Hamper:
In tiny colleges rooms, would you like to have your dirty clothing amongst your fresh clothing that it will soon stink up? I thought you wouldn’t as well. A pop-out hamper solves this dilemma. By hanging in your cupboard, it removes the worry of space, and by zipping up, it takes it removes the fear of ruining your other clothing.
- Shower Caddy:
In case you have a common floor bathroom rather than a bathroom in your room, this will make taking a shower infinitesimally easier. With the fear of water and soap going inside your cupboard vanishing, it might actually compel you to get up at 8:30 am and take a shower!
- Wall Hooks:/Command Strips:
This creates extra space to hang your masks, necklaces, clothes, and everything else under the sun! General:
- Lock:
You can never be less wary of college burglars whether it is a charger, a fresh pair of undergarments, or every college student’s dream, food!
- Books:
Ever tired of your new friends and missing a piece of home, your old books you read in your school days are the easiest way to do this! They’re both entertaining, and a piece of home, and your cushioned school-life that’ll immediately settle your nerves.
- Earplugs:
What if your roommate is a snorer? That’s all. Answer that, and decide accordingly!
- Toilet Paper:
A necessity like toilet paper required no explanation. Apart from this, it’s a quick replacement for your dish towel in case it is dirty!
- Bathrobe:
With common floor washrooms, it is a bit of a hassle trying to wrap your towel around yourself as you have to walk to your room that is at the opposite end of the hall. Bathrobes merely make this transition easier.
- Games:
In case 20 Questions or Truth or Dare don’t work out, board games are the next best way to make new friends and get to know people better. Preferably something that can be played by 20-year-old-somethings and not just, 13 year old kids.