Lacoste... bedding. Wow.

Before you go to the trouble of buying a mini fridge, 38 piece (!) dish set, microwave, or bedding set, contact the dorm (or review whatever pamphlets they gave you) and find out what you actually need first.

My dorm room came with a fridge & microwave and a tiny sink hidden away in the laundry room (in addition to the communal bath sinks, but ew). Only hot pots were allowed...electric skillets and George Foreman grills were definitely forbidden. I made do with a single plate, bowl, glass, and popcorn-sized bowl for when I didn't want to eat from the cafeteria.

They also had XL Twin-sized beds, which meant that I had to dig around Bed, Bath, and Beyond for the unusually sized sheets.

good points verily. saw an article suggesting a good item for dorm life was a crock pot...really? I don't even own one as an adult, can't imagine why someone would need one in a dorm.

a single set of utensils (fork, knife, spoon) is a good idea, so you don't have to steal them from the dorm caf.

@verily Obviously every college is different, and the appliances they supply are going to be different. My college dorm was an apartment with a full kitchen (so that 38 piece set came in handy) and I didn't need a mini-fridge. However, when I would visit my friends at the University of Florida, they had a tiny room with just a tiny sink. They came prepared with dishes and a mini-fridge, which became their saving grace! :)

Um, you can definitely write on a regular fridge door with a dry erase marker. If you leave a note on there a little too long and it no longer dry-erases then use some softscrub.

and a 38 piece dish set?! When I was living in the dorms and only had the forbidden microwave and forbidden hotpot, I had a set of maybe 5 or 6 plastic dishes from the kids section of ikea (I think they were from the kids section - they were bright and shaped like flowers) and a set of bright plastic 8 oz cups, along with some flatware and maybe two cereal bowls. This was for myself and my roommate. If there were no more dishes left, that meant that we were way overdue on doing the dishes - in a tiny room, things get smelly quickly. Also, we had to do the dishes in the bathroom sink, so really how many do you want?

Regardless of how many real dishes or bowls I had, it's always a good idea to have some paper plates and utencils as well... Especially when you don't know how clean/trustworthy your roommate or friends will be.

I never buy any dishware that isn't microwave or dishwasher safe, so always check the back.

If a fridge isn't provided, make sure to call your roommate (if you can). Sometimes small dorms don't allow for 2 fridges if you both get one. Usually if you buy the fridge, they'll buy the microwave or some other necessary & shared item. Don't go halfsies on anything, it makes move-out more complicated.

Mini-fridge for soda and beer. Hotpot for instant ramen. I don't recall anything else being "essential." Maybe a fan or a mini-airconditioner if your dorm doesn't have AC.

A microwave will be much more useful than a hot pot. How can you reheat leftover pizza in a hot pot? Do the kids still get the teevees these days, or do they just watch everything on their ipads?

i would generally stay away from all the big box stores dorm room crap. just because you have to live in the standard dorm doesn't mean you have to make it look like you're decorating your locker in middle school.

my suggestion would be to see how much you can customize your dorm room - can you paint (probably not)? build a loft bed? my favorite dorm room was one i painted a deep blue... and then painted it back to white at the end of the year. a bit of a hassle, but well worth it to not live in a white box.

Since when do people go to college with such a large budget for dorm items? I felt lucky to have have like $50 bucks that my grandmother gave me and an older mini-fridge my brother gave me used.

check with your college! Many of the things that you have listed (hot pots, microwaves etc) are actually not allowed anymore. In agreement with an earlier post, almost all of the beds are XL Twin. So after the first laundry issue the regular sheets won't fit on the bed anymore. Speaking of laundry you will need a good laundry system (ie bag, hamper, basket etc) and make sure you can carry it for a distance.
another big one is salt/pepper shakers. many cafeterias won't even put them out for the first month of school because so many students steal them.

@ChrisGal, as a parent of an incoming college freshman, I can tell you that many parents seem to have an unlimited budget for this sort of stuff. It's crazy. But I guess if you're paying full fare for your kid to go to a private school (typically $55K a year), what are a few Lacoste dorm sheets?

My daughter has the AT-style vibe, and has been buying vintage posters at flea markets and junk shops all summer to put up. So proud. :-)

I was fine going to the meal halls for all my meals, since not doing so would have wasted the money spent on the mandatory meal plan. The only things I brought were towels, bedding, my computer, clothes, and a laundry bag. Something that would have been nice was some kind of padding for the hard, vinyl-covered mattress.

I'm with ChrisGal.
When I joined the USAF, nobody had alot of money - Certainly wasn't allowed to cook in the room, much less paint walls and build loft beds...

It was bedding (because the sheets they provided in the dorms were crap), towels and and alarmclock - If you could afford it, you got a portable stereo and eventually a TV.

Dorm fridges were sold and resold from one occupant to another - Nobody ever bought a new one since someone was always leaving...
...and maybe you got a coffee machine, but you had to hide it away as it was against the rules to have one in the dorms.

I attended uni out-of-province; my number one must was a HUGE BC flag that hung in my window -- classic student style, lol. The prairie kids thought I was nuts!

- flag, teapot, and a big cozy blanket that my grandma knit for me!

This article inspired me to write one as well...and link up to your great blog. Thanks for all the work you do!

http://1bellastager.wordpress.com/2010/08/13/college-days-creating-cozy-on-campus/

When my son went off to college we had preordered extra long twin sheets, but other than that, we bought everything at the "big box stores" locally, mostly at Target. Since it was cross country, he couldn't bring much more than his clothes and laptop.

His room was very spartan compared to others who lived within driving distance. He did not have anything Lacoste! We used a list of suggested items sent by the college. We did not get him any appliances. He survived somehow.

The one thing I suggested was not getting a down comforter because it seems like visitors tend to sit on the bed.

Ok people, this is the first time I've commented on here just because everyone seems to be getting offended by this post. First off although I agree you dont need to spend over 100 dollars on college dorm bedding from Lacoste, it is just an example. Everyone on here is like, omg! Lacoste? really? who do they think I am!
It is much easier now to find XL twin size bedding than it was even 3 years ago. I just graduated from a 4 year college and lived in dorms the first two years. Really, all this information given is dead on. Storage is important, bedding, and definately bowls and plates, cups, what have you.
I would also suggest getting a costco sized bag of plastic red cups, people will love you.
One thing I never ever used was a shower caddy. I guess this is handy for those with communal bathrooms, but for some reason, everyone gave me one when i graduated HS and i never used them. BTW the shower caddy is a horrible gift.

Maybe it's just me but if you don't have a twin bed at home and you have to buy a comforter, blanket, sheets, etc., the Lacoste bed-in-a-bag doesn't seem that extravagant and looks pretty! I am sure you can get bedding cheaper but really, the bedding is one of the few design choices you really get to make in a dorm room, especially if the school is strict on hanging things. I had to get ALL new bedding and it adds up fast if you don't want to sleep on sandpaper sheets. Precious, precious sleep.

The most useful things I had in my dorm room were blankets (lots of them- it was cold in wet Portland, OR!), a mattress pad (one of those egg crate things sufficed), and a VERY reliable alarm clock. My friend's grandmother gave me one of those alarm clocks that projects the time on the ceiling and oh my god my roommate and I lived or died by its accuracy! Flip-flops for the shower are also very very useful. Floor cushions/throw pillows were also VERY handy for having people over to watch movies- much more comfortable than the bare carpets.

It is very easy to find XL twin sheets now. When I lived in the dorm, I found many different kinds at Target at a good price (I just used a twin comforter for the bed).

I'm going to reiterate the "check with your school" line here. This will save you a lot of time and headaches. Most dorms use TXL sheets and their mattresses are firm (okay, downright hard). While the cheap egg crate foam mattress pads are tempting, I'd advise spending a little more on a fiber or featherbed. The entry level ones are affordable, softer and longer lasting than those pieces of foam.

While creating an individual space from a "big box" store isn't easy, it can be done. More importantly, they are your best resource for the basic stuff. Also, if you're going out if state, many offer "pack and hold" service, where you scan your selections at your local store, and pick up at the one closest to your school. Since you don't pay for it 'till you pick up, if you find you don't need something you've put on hold, you don't have to buy it. Saves you from carting everything cross country.

I guess I feel like I must have scored some deals. I bought two sets of twin xl sheets at a JC Penny's two weeks before college started for $30 for both and like an extra $15 for a set of pillows. I brought an extra full sized blanket from home since I didn't have the money for a bedskirt and I liked having the bigger size anyways. My mother bought me a decent set of towels, two lamps, a set of plastic plates/bowls, and two under the bed containers at a big box store (which sadly I still own when I graduated four years ago). Most of everything else I decorated my dorm with came from stuff I already had at my room in home. For eating I just used plastic forks and for cups I brought two mugs from home. I felt lucky to just have that stuff - so seeing the hundreds people spend on dorms now just seems ridiculous.

I never lived in a dorm, but the rooms at my university were TINY.

For one of our kids, we lofted the bed and put a loveseat-sized futon under it and used a mini-fridge as one end table and a few stacking drawers for the other side. It kept people from sitting on her bedding.

We thrifted, painted and re-wired a couple of lamps (re-wired because I'm paranoid about fire). There were no doors on the closet so we put up a tension rod and sewed a curtain out of a co-ordinating fabric I had laying around at home. (Put the curtains on rings so they slide; a rod-pocket seam is a pain to open.)

A local carpet place always has bound 8x10 carpet remnants in wild colors for about $50.

The futon and carpet eventually went to her first apartment and we sold the rest at a garage sale.

My neighbor watched us load the minivan and shook his head and said, "Wow. I was dropped off in front of my dorm with a suitcase and a typewriter."