Things You Need to Add to Your College Shopping List

College is just around the corner! I'm sure most of you are either planning or making shopping trips to load up on everything you need to make your dorm room your home away from home. While you're out and about, Be sure to add these items to your shopping list!

• Bed Sheets. This should already be on the list but make sure you get the right size. At Michigan State, the size of the beds are extra long twin size. I don't think department stores have these in stock. Luckily, Michigan State sent us a website that had sheets for our specific bed size.
• Silverware. Many students like having a late night Mac and Cheese or Ramen, so silverware is defiantly something to add to the list. I would recommend buying plastic silverware because after you finish with whatever you're eating you can just pitch the silverware. Now while taking an extra 30 seconds to clean off a metal one doesn't seem like that much of an inconvenience, believe me keeping clean in college is harder than it seems. The more things you can throw away after using the better.
• Fan. Believe me, its going to be HOT in the summer. My roommate and I had 2 fans running at all times and it was still hot in our room. if we turned them off at anytime, it heated right back up.
• Bottled Water. College tap water tastes funny. Pardon the graphic description but ours had so much iron in it that it tasted like blood. Believe me, get bottled water.
• Shower Caddy. Sadly, you can't leave all your shampoo, soap, and other things in the shower anymore, especially if your floor has a community bathroom (this means the entire floor shares a bathroom). Getting a shower caddy will help make moving to and from the shower easy.
• Stepping Stool. If you're on the shorter side this is a definite need. It will also help you get out of bed if your's is lofted.
• Bedside Stand. I'm not sure what the exact name for this is, but it will make your life way easier. Its a table that clips onto the side of your bed and its designed to hold items such as your phone, book, or water bottle.
• Futon. It's great for having people over to hang out and also if your friend wants to crash after a long night.
• Medicine. Going to college means being surrounded by hundreds of new people, this means germs. No matter how strong your immune system is, you're going to get sick. Having a cabinet full of quick remedies such as cold medicine and Tylenol could be a life saver if you're feeling under the weather. Also, having some Advil stored away will really come in handy if you stayed out too late the night before ;)
• Storage. Your dorm room is going to be a bit crammed. Having ways of storing your belongings will keep you from tripping over all your stuff. You can use bins, shelving units, or various other things. For example, I used milk crates that were zip tied together to store my Play Station 3 games, along with some plates and cups.
• Lights. While not a complete necessity, having a smaller light source such as a lamp will come in handy if you or your roommate value sleep. Imagine going to bed at 10pm to get some rest for an exam the next day. At 1:45, your roommate comes into the room after going into town with some friends. Now, wouldn't you want a lamp or something for your roommate to turn on rather than the main dorm lights? Also, I have seen many dorm rooms decorated with Christmas lights and while it isn't necessary, it looks really really cool!

I hope this list aids you in your college dorm shopping endeavors! As I think of more items I'll update the list.

Thanks for reading!

~Anthony