I can’t believe the time has come for my oldest to move into her college dorm. Just yesterday it was her first day of kinder and now I’m flying her across the country for her next adventure. When I think back to my college move-in experience, I feel like it was a lot easier loading up our car and driving a few hours to my new dorm. Since we are flying my daughter from California to Illinois, it felt like a lot more preparation and planning was needed to ensure we were packing and ordering the essentials. While she found some posters and decor on Etsy, we purchased most of the essential dorm room items on Amazon because our Prime account made shipping super easy, quick and affordable. I love how quickly things arrive when we purchase through Amazon. Below are a few of our favorite finds that helped make her dorm feel cozy.
Dorm Room Essentials
3 inch Memory Foam Mattress Topper – MUST-HAVE
My daughter absolutely LOVES her mattress topper for extra comfort. She has already moved into her summer dorm room and this was one of the items she took with her early. The dorm mattresses aren’t the most comfortable, so this is the perfect way to add extra comfort. I’ve already sent the link to a few of her friends so they can order theirs for the school year! Most dorm beds are Twin XL and this Linenspa option has all sizes are currently available.
Soft Twin XL Dorm Mattress Cover
We paired this with her 3-inch memory foam mattress topper for an extra layer of comfort and protection. It is super soft and easy to clean, making it the perfect addition to her comfy dorm bed.
Portable Mesh Sower Caddy
A shower caddy is a college dorm musth-have and the mesh option is ideal for storage and hanging. The plastics options are nice too, as long as there are plenty of holes for drainage, but this are a bit more flexible and accommodating for storage. It holds a ton if you want it too, but you don’t have to use all of the pockets, making it more compact. This one has a 4.8-star rating, comes in a ton of colors and is a decent price compared to other options. So far she loves it!
Shower Shoes – MUST-HAVE
A good pair of shower shoes is college dorm must-have. There are a ton of options out there, but we chose these based on the reviews and the variety of colors to choose from. They are comfy, lightweight and non-slip – what more could you need in a shower shoe?
Laundry Backpack With Shoulder Straps
This is another item that is a dorm room essential, but there are a million products to choose from. We chose this one for the extra mesh pocket for to transport detergent and dryer sheets, the large variety of color options, decent reviews and affordable price.
Ergonomic Aluminum Laptop Stand For Dorm Desk
My daughter picked out a pink stand, but this comes in black, a couple grays and gold. It is super easy to assembly (the pieces just slide together) and was easy to add to her suitcase for travel. It’s compact so it doesn’t take up a ton of room and she has room underneath for her sticky note pads. There are also great options with a single drawer, but she liked this one the most.
Slim 4-Tier Rolling Storage Cart For Dorm Room
With limited space in your dorm room, this is perfect for storing essentials like towels, laundry detergent, cleaning supplies, essential oils, your shower shoes and shower caddy, or your dry food and snacks next to your dorm fridge. It has slide out storage shelves, wheels for easy moving and comes in black, green and white.
Handheld Cordless Vacuum Cleaner
Most of the dorm move-in lists we’ve looked at have included a handheld vacuum, so we figured it was a good idea. There are a ton of options on Amzaon, but we settled on this one. The reviews are comparable to most others we reviewed and the price was great. So far she likes it. Not the item she was most excited to shop for and pick out, but has already come in handy to keep things tidy in her room. Definitely on of those items we hadn’t thought of on our own!
DormDoc First Aid Kit
This was definitely a “mom” pick and another item that she insisted she didn’t need…until she got there and was already needing a band-aid in the first week. It zips up and includes bandages and basic first-aid itmes along with a variety of OTC meds. She now has a cold and used the OTC cold meds in the kit until she was able to make a trip to the drugstore for more meds.
Damage-Free Dorm Hanging Essentials Variety Pack
This is the perfect variety pack of damage-free poster strips and hanging hooks for dorm rooms. Whether you are adding posters or pictures to the walls, fairy lights, or hooks on the closet door for robes or organizers – these work great and you get a little of everything for move-in day!
3-Drawer Nightstand/Dresser 9 (not on wheels)
Depending on the size of your dorm room, you may want to have a nightstand. This is a great, lightweight option that includes additional storage. In addition to the drawers for storage, the hard tabletop allows you to add a small light and will hold your phone, headphones, alarm clock, book, etc. – making it the perfect compact nightstand for your dorm room. It’s easy to assemble and comes light gray, dark gray and brown.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
