Is your fledgling ready to spread their wings and soar into dorm life? Freshman Dorm Move-in day can be a whirlwind of emotions (and boxes!), but fear not! Here are some battle-tested packing and planning tips from seasoned parents who’ve braved dorm room move-in before you. Let’s make it a smooth launch into their next adventure!
Make a Move-In Day List
It’s going to be a LONG list, but it’s easier to have everything written out on a piece of paper and check it off vs. trying to remember everything. In addition to clothing, toiletries, school supplies, and dorm bedding, did you remember extra surge protection power supplies? Extra power cords? Cough drops? Scissors? Thankfully due to Amazon, Target & Walmart, or whatever your kid forgets, they’ll be able to get shipped directly to their dorm in a timely manner.
On move-in day, clear tubs are great for organizing and moving in items. Typically the tubs can be stored under a semi-lofted bed or in closets. Another useful item – the HUGE blue IKEA Bags! These are great for carrying clothing and soft bedding in and then you can hang things directly or put away into drawers. No extra tubs to store!
Bring A Small Cooler
Pack lots of water & easy hand-held snacks like fruit. The move in process will take a few hours and if you have to lug stuff up flights of stairs, you’ll be tired and hot before you even unpack! Many parents scramble to go find water or food. Bring this with you and then plan a nice meal out (if possible) after the unpacking process!
THINGS TO BUY FOR A DORM ROOM
Mattresses
Dorm mattresses aren’t great, in fact sometimes they are downright gross. Double-check your the bed size needed size and buy a Guardmax Zippered mattress cover that encapsulates the mattress ALL the way around. Starting with a base layer of having the entire mattress encased really helps keep whatever WAS on it, completely sealed up and allergen-free. Most dorm beds are either Twin or Twin XL.
When your student washes sheets, they only have to go down to that layer.
Comfort
After the dorm bed is sealed in with a matress cover, you can build from your clean mattress base with an egg crate foam pad or memory foam topper . Not to go overboard, but we preferred to create yet ANOTHER allergy barrier such as a deep mattress cover. This extra mattress cover also helps lock the foam topper into place.
PRO TIP: If you are staying in a hotel the night before, go ahead and open the foam memory topper. They can have a funky smell and it’s nice to ‘out gas’ the topper before you move it into the dorm. NOT necessary, but just an extra thing to do if you have time/space.
If your student is moving into an off-campus apartment, consider getting them a Full-size bed frame vs a Twin. Your student will appreciate the extra space, and it’s not a huge upgrade on the size that will take up valuable room size.
Cleaning Supplies
Most dorm rooms are not sparkly clean upon move-in. You’ll find layers of dust and dirt, so a Swiffer Wet Jet is a good start. A huge container of Lysol wipes will also make quick work of other dusty surfaces. Bring a TRASH bag for move-in day! A BIG trash bag. You’ll be surprised what you haul out of there (packaging, used wipes and cleaning pads, etc.). Do NOT go crazy with buying lots of sprays and cleansers. I promise you they will go unused (sadly).
Laundry
Do get your student laundry soap and a small spray bottle of stain remover. Fun fact, I thought I could pick stain remover locally when dropping my daughter off, and ALL of the stores were sold out! I ended up having to order some on Amazon. The eco-friendly Earth Breeze detergent sheets are GREAT for college kids – no heavy clunky bottle to lug around, the dissolvable detergent sheets smell nice & saves on space! Most dorms accept an electronic card for laundry however some are still old school and ONLY take quarters! We have been saving quarters all summer for just this purpose!
We bought our daughter a laundry-bag with backpack straps. SO much easier to carry down to the laundry room!
Medicine kit
Even without COVID in the mix, having a digital thermometer is a great tool to help diagnose a possible fever. Kids get sick A LOT their first year – they get run down, may not be eating properly and are in close living quarters. Get a small tub with a lid to keep everything organized and add: pain relief, Band-Aids, antibiotic ointment, thermometer, blister relief (mole skin from scout days), cold medicine, allergy meds, EpiPen (if prescribed one), cough drops, and any other special supplements/vitamins or healthy aids.
I also highly recommend the BIOVANTA Triple Action Throat Lozenges (they can help KILL off an infection before it really gets cooking). My daughter uses these at the first HINT of a cold and they have really helped minimize her illnesses, vs before she’d get clobbered.
Kitchens
If your college student has a shared kitchen, consider getting them a Prepared Hero Fire Blanket. It’s an easy to use fiberglass sheet that can snuff out fire, great for little kitchen or BBQ flareups and much more approachable than a complicated fire extinguisher! They are also very affordable, so it’s just extra peace of mind. This isn’t to take the place of a fire extinguisher (college kitchens should have those in place) but these are certainly easier for little grease fire flare-ups. My daughter said there were TWO fires in her dorm her first year! It happens! Being prepared is easy.
Over the Door Shoe Rack with Pockets
A clear over-the-door vinyl shoe rack with pockets is EXCELLENT for all of those random things from stain remover to batteries etc. The clear pockets make everything visible and easy to get to.
Bed Risers
Elevating a dorm bed (if not lofting) is a great way to create more storage. Dorm Bed risers are available in the summer at local stores and Amazon. Some even have power and USB plugs built into them! Your student will also be able to hide a set of drawers, roller carts or other storage containers with the extra space. If you don’t like LOOKING at the stored items, consider getting a long bed skirt. Risers usually SELL OUT LOCALLY, so be sure to come with your own before you arrive!
Smell Control
A couple of air fresheners (those solid ones are nice for closets) and the Damp Rid bags that hang and collect water are great for preventing mold growth – think sweaty workout wear and shoes. MOST dorms do NOT allow the plug-in devices or oil diffusions due to possible allergies. The oil diffuser with bamboo sticks are OK, but they are more likely to get knocked over and the oil is staining!
PLUGS
Usually outlet space is at a premium. Power surge strips with lots of plugs, USB and C outlets are the best option!
UPDATE: 7/25
This year we will be adding a Shoe Dryer . My daughter goes to school in a rainy damp environment (Virginia). She said it was very hard to keep her shoes dry and tennis shoes inevitably got stinky. Popping each shoe on a dryer will help keep shoes fresh, comfy and reduce the stink! Yes, it takes up valuable room, but it’s worth it!
Boujee Extras
Does the room come with Air Conditioning? If not, can you add a room unit? Make sure to get a SMALL AC unit as there is NOT a lot of extra space! NOTE: Check to make sure this is allowed in your students dorm.
Air filtration systems are small, quiet, and really nice for reducing allergens and smells! This is the one we got for our daughter & she loves it because it’s also a source of ‘white noise’ which is great for drowning out other noise in the hall. It also helps reduce the ‘dorm funk’ which she smells in other rooms!
Water filter
Most dorms do not have filtered water (sadly). Consider getting a water pitcher filter system or any small filter system (with extra filters to be changed out for the 9 months)
Stick Vacuum
Space is at a premium, but having a small space efficient stick vacuum will help reduce the dirt and dust that tracks in each day. I was shocked by the amount of hair and dusty bunnies accumulated when I went to visit for Parent’s Weekend (only one month in). Yuck!
Fridge/Micro or Fridge/Freezer Combos
Most dorms will allow you to RENT a Fridge combo. After lots of debate, the consensus for the year was that a Fridge/Freezer combo was better to have in a dorm room as cooking (and smells) are best left to the little kitchen that is typically within a dorm hall.
FINALLY – A few STAMPS & Envelopes!
No, don’t get excited and think you’re busy college student will be hand-penning a letter home, however you’d be surprised how often they have to mail something via the USPS and getting a stamp and envelope on campus is not so easy!
* There are affiliate links in this article. Should you buy something through my page, I will get a small commission which helps support my blog.
Do you have some other tips to add? Please email me at Meg@boredmom.com! I’d love to add to this growing list so we can all help other parents and students through this process.
