Moving from your spacious hometown bedroom to a tiny dorm room that you have to share with a total stranger is a change many are familiar with. 

As a senior in college who has gone through a four-year cycle of packing up their belongings every few months to move into a new living space, it’s easy to empathize with the incoming freshmen who have no idea what moving into a dorm really means. It takes some thinking to figure out how to consolidate a year’s worth of belongings into one side of a 10-by-15-foot dorm room. 

For example, what do they need? What shouldn’t they worry about bringing? Few items have actually proven to be worthwhile and last more than a year or two. With all these factors in mind, there are plenty of dorm essentials freshmen should actually have on their list.

First aid kits are an absolute must. Along with the Band-Aids and Neosporin that typically come with the kit, cough drops, Advil, Tums, Lidocaine patches, ice packs, and more are all things that nobody wants to leave their room for when they need them. 

Freshmen should consider keeping these well-stocked to avoid an unnecessary trek to their school health center, or a 3 a.m. post-frat trip to CVS Pharmacy for an Advil when all they want to do is stay home and recover. Post-frat necessities also include an ample amount of trash bags. Always, always, keep mini and regular-sized trash bags in stock for just about anything, spanning from bodily fluid-related emergencies to maintaining the cleanliness of a dorm. 

A dorm’s small space gets cluttered so easily, and not having a trash bag when needed is an inconvenience, especially if access to a car is limited.

Keeping a dorm organized doesn’t just mean throwing trash away, either. Get a container for literally everything. It seems ridiculous, but when students only get half of a dorm room’s worth of space, it gets cluttered very easily. 

Sometimes it just feels easier to give up and toss things wherever you want when there isn’t a designated place for them. The solution? Dirty clothes go in the hamper. If you have clean clothes but the closet is full, a few plastic containers that go under the bed will fit many clothes in a compact, dorm-friendly manner. 

These containers can also help in storing cleaning supplies, electronics, or a snack stash for those moments when the dining hall is closed but late-night cravings arise. 

Desk organizers, such as pencil and pen holders, containers for paperclips and sticky notes, and a dedicated area for binders and folders, are underrated and underutilized tools that make organizing homework and keeping a desk clean effortless.

Organization is essential when it comes to showering, too. Consistently sharing a shower and bathroom space on a large scale is something that many freshmen are not accustomed to, and this experience is not often discussed as much as other aspects of starting college. 

While some may be tempted to grab the $5 hard plastic shower caddy at Target and be done with it, it takes some more thought to truly be prepared to hop in a communal shower. 

A large fabric shower bag with multiple compartments and a handle is sure to remove any likelihood of running between a dorm and the showers because something was left behind. An excellent shower bag is big enough to fit full-size shampoo, conditioner, soap, razors, washcloths/loofahs, and maybe even a towel. 

Compare these to a plastic caddy, which isn’t flexible enough to fit on the singular, cramped shelf in each shower, and never big enough to hold all the shower essentials. A fabric bag makes it easier to hang on a hook and snugly fits all the oversized items that someone may need.

Moving into a college dorm takes a lot more thought than most people realize. Students have to put a lot of thought and effort into deciding what they will bring for the year. Sometimes it’s not all about the tapestries, neon signs, and fairy lights, but it’s about being smart with the new space they are living in. 

Beginning this new era can involve a lot of anxiety and pressure, but these essentials make all the difference between feeling overwhelmed and feeling right at home. Headache relief, a shower setup that won’t betray students mid-rinse, and a designated spot to put everything can make the first semester a total breeze. 

Take it from an expert on moving and starting anew, these tips can help just about anyone ease the process.

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