Lifestyle

Doin’ Up Your Dorm Room

July 26, 2017

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BEDDING

It’s the one thing that you’ll want to splurge on because it’s the place you’ll come home to, sleep, do homework, take a quick nap in between classes. You’ll want it to be the most comfortable and inviting part of your room. At least, that’s my theory!

As much as I love white and bright, I’d suggest light bedding but maybe going with a grey. This way, it doesn’t look super dirty and you don’t have to worry about any stains and such. This is why I love this grey duvet comforter so much! It’s linen so it’s very very soft and comfortable but also light (so, great for all seasons).

I love cotton sheets but I also really really love jersey sheets. They’re softer and stretchier to me so they’re easy to change (important if you have a bunk bed) and they’re perfect to bundle up in after a long night of studying!

Another “must”, as far as comfort goes, is a mattress topper. Most likely, you’ll be using the mattress that the university gives you and to be honest, it’s not quite a mattress in my opinion. So, to add a little “fluff” I used this mattress topper and slept like a rock every night!

Nothing completes a bed like a headboard. I know, I know, it’s silly to have a headboard in college but trust me! It makes alllll the difference in the look of your room. It gives the room a “finished” and “polished” look. Changes the game!

ORGANIZATION

A dorm room is a tiny space, that’s not new news to anyone. Let’s make the most of the space that you have and make sure all of your belonging are organized properly!

When you host people, you’re most likely going to want an ottoman or seating for your guests to sit. Why not make that seating storage as well? That’s why I love this storage ottoman! You can stash snacks in there, your shoes, socks, you name it!

I also needed a place to put my hairdryer, my curling iron, straightener, etc. I didn’t want to just leave them on the ground and I didn’t have a drawer I could fit them in. So, I purchased this styling tool holder and never looked back. It locked on nicely to my lofted bed and it even had a place for cords so it didn’t look messy all of the time!

Any kind of basket, you’ll find a need for! Go ahead and buy a few cute ones that can blend in as decor like this fringe basket or this pom pom basket

You’ll find, too, that you’re taking home a lot of important papers or coupons or letters from home. These wired desk organizer are a great place to store all of these sweet items. And to make sure your jewelry doesn’t get all tangled up, a jewelry organizer like this one or this one is great to have on your vanity!

DESK

If you’re not studying at a Starbucks or the library, it’ll probably be here, at your desk in your dorm. And when you’re not studying, there’s no need for this space to be an eye sore. 

DECOR

This! Now, this is what makes your “home” your “home”! It’s the fun little gadgets and gizmos that make it a comfy place to live, to block out the cinderblock walls and to add some color!

YOU’LL FIND THIS HANDY

These are a few things that you’ll probably wish you had if you didn’t go through and buy these things. They’re the “fun stuff” that keeps you happy and keeps your life a little more simple.

Dry erase boards are great to put inside your dorm room or even on the outside of your door so that people can leave sweet messages, encouragement and communicate something you may need to know! This marbled + gold one is especially cute. 

Bed risers are one thing, but bed risers with an outlet plug on them is a whole ‘notha level! It makes plugging in your chargers that much easier! No more climbing under the bed or trying to reach in a crazy place to plug something in! Along with plugging things in, make sure you have plenty of extension cords and make sure that these fit the fire code in your building.

There’s probably other rules about being able to hang stuff up on your walls: no nails, no screws in the wall, no holes, etc. So, these sticky strips to put on the wall last all year, my wall decor never fell and they fit standards!

Make sure that you have a mirror on the back of your door to see your outfit from head to toe! It also gives you and your roommate more space to get ready, too!

A water filter is a must. Being able to fill up a pitcher of water from the bathroom sink with tap water and know that it’s going to be good and fresh is the best thing! I also will highly recommend a Keurig coffee maker! It’s easy to make coffee in the mornings, easy to clean up (super important) and they’re quite quiet so you don’t have to worry about waking up your roommate in the morning! 

Some other random stuff: this lavender hand sanitizer is a life saver when you’re in a rush and don’t want to get your hands wet from washing them in between classes! You’ll want a good pair of headphones when you’re in your dorm room incase your roommate is watching a movie or you want to be polite and listen to your own kind of music. These are some of my favorite!

CLOSET

Gosh, this was probably the messiest part of my dorm for the first few weeks. It was mass chaos until I figured out how to properly organize my clothes for each season, bring out the ones that I needed, put away the ones that I didn’t, make sure there was a place for my shoes, a place for my sweaters, you get the gist. 

The vaccum sealed bags are the best space savers when you’re trying to put away last season’s clothes! It saves so much room in your closet just being able to throw this bag under your bed after it’s all air-tight. 

You neeeed a shoe organizer for all of your shoes and maybe even some knick-knacks. The shoe organizer, along with the hanging organizer are a great way to make the most use out of your teeny tiny closet.

Velvet hangers are a secret weapon! The texture really does an incredible job of hanging onto your clothes in your closet to make sure they don’t slip down and fall!

Alright, y’all. These scented drawer liners are my JAM! I don’t know about you but I get freaked out knowing that my clothes are going in drawers others have used so laying down these drawer liners not only gives me a peace of mind but they also give my clothes the best scent! MUST HAVE!

BATHROOM

So maybe you have a bathroom in your dorm, maybe it’s a suite and you’re sharing it or maybe you’re using a communal bathroom. Regardless, this are some things that saved my toosh when it came to making sure I was squeaky clean.

It’s kinda gross to shower with bare feet in a communal bathroom, so I wore these flip flops whenever I needed to shower.

This towel wrap is the best thing to use when you’re getting ready, it has velcro at the top so you can wrap it around yourself while you’re doing your makeup or blow drying your hair!

The bathroom caddy is great to haul all of your products in for your shower! It has awesome pockets and storage and this one is waterproof.

I hope this helps you tremendously and that there were a few things that you caught that you may have forgotten! Let me know what you love or what you’re adding in your dorm room!

For reading until the end, here’s a little picture of me and my first roommate + BFF on move-in day!

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I am an online encourager based out of Birmingham, AL that's obsessed with my girls and sharing bits and pieces of my life. I wear a lot of hats these days including mama to two boys, military wife, blogger, podcast host and more. You can find me behind the microphone at Real Talk with Rach where we talk about everything from jeans to Jesus, playlists to pop culture, the good and the grief and everything in between. 

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