What I Packed for my First-Year Dorm

Living away from home for the first time is scary! One thing that can help is making your dorm feel like a home so you have a safe space to go back to every day! Here are some things you may not think about, but that were very helpful to have in my first year dorm: 

Nice Clothing and Shoes 
Formal events do come up in college! Make sure to bring business casual and formal attire. You may need a suit or business casual outfit for an interview or a class presentation. Each college also has their own galas throughout the year, where you may need heels and a nice dress or a suit. As someone in a sorority, we also have many formals and fancy events. 

Decorations 
Making your dorm feel like a home is more important than people realize! Bring decorations from home, mood lighting, rugs, etc. to make your dorm comfortable. The light in the room can be harsh, so I like to use yellow lamps and fairy lights to mellow out the space. However, I only recommend wall decorations, like paintings and pictures because you don’t have a lot of space and shelf decor can make your room feel cluttered. 

Extra Storage 
Your dorm will come with a version of a closet and a cabinet with drawers. This wasn’t enough storage for me, personally, so I invested in a shelf from Ikea that I keep under my raised bed. Your dorm is a small space that you are going to want to keep as organized as possible, so extra storage is important. I also bought many small containers that I use to keep things separate, and an ottoman that doubles as storage and helps me get up on my bed!

Hamper with Straps 
You will be doing a lot of laundry in college, so a good hamper is a must. I recommend one with backpack straps because you will most likely be 
traveling up and down stairs to do laundry. Some of my friends also have a hamper with built in separation to pre-sort your clothes. 

Warm Clothing 
Pittsburgh can get very cold, with our lowest temperature last year reaching -10°F! I personally have a jacket that reaches to just above my knees, which keeps me very warm. I also have a scarf, earmuffs, and gloves, which I used a lot during the winter. 

Electric Kettle 
If you ever want tea or want to make ramen noodles, having an electric kettle is very helpful. Just make sure it is under the wattage limit for the dorms! 

Fan 
Around half of the dorms don’t have air conditioning, so good quality fans are a must! Fortunately, Pittsburgh is only hot for about two weeks in the beginning and end of the year. I personally didn’t have air conditioning and it really wasn’t too bad. 

Some extra things that I used in my first year: 
★ Desk mirror 
★ Double-sided command tape; command hooks 
★ Extension cords 
★ Calculator charger 

I recommend everything above, but now let me give you some advice on something you don’t need! Don’t bring your entire closet to college. Although I have a good amount of storage space, I still don’t have enough space for everything and my clothing gets disorganized easily. My rule: If you haven’t worn it in a year, you are not going to suddenly start wearing it. Leave half of your t-shirts and sweatshirts at home, trust me you don’t need all of them. Also, leaving a few pieces of clothing at home will help when you go home for break and want good clothing options.