In the last installment of Dorm Room Essentials, I talked about school supplies, laundry, linen, and shower needs, food and food storage, and daily living must haves. In this installment, I will discuss the final two sections of your Dorm Room Checklist: Organization and Furniture and Important Documents.
If you have ever been to a dorm room, you will understand that space is very limited. Should you become lucky enough to have a single- occupant room, and can decorate with some key items, I suggest buying the following
Furniture:
1. A Comfy Desk Chair:
Many dorm rooms come equipped with a desk. Some of them include a chair. Unfortunately, the chairs that are supplied can be horrible on the back. Therefore, spending a little money on a high- back, cushioned, arm chair can really be beneficial. These kinds of chairs help to ward off carpal tunnel and back and neck cramps by providing proper support to the lower and upper back while you work on homework or keep in touch with loved ones on the computer.
2. A beanbag or papasan chair:
What college dorm room is complete without a papasan or beanbag chair? These chairs are not only perfect for watching television, but they are great for entertaining friends- those that you may not want on your bed- as well as, talking on the phone and simply relaxing. Not to mention, papasan and beanbag chairs add a decorative appeal to the dorm room, saving you money on decorations.
3. Entertainment Tower:
Rather you are a music aficionado or a video game junkie; you will need some place to house your phone, music, video games, and DVDs. The best place to store these items, maximize the space in your dorm room and make an aesthetically pleasing choice for your space, is an entertainment tower. Most, nice entertainment towers can be purchased for about $30 bucks from Target or Wal-Mart. However, if you are willing to spend a little more money on this item, I recommend buying it from JCPenny for around $50 dollars. Penney towers’ last longer and are made with prettier materials.
This seems like a nice place to transition into organizational needs for your dorm room. Remember that I mentioned earlier, how space is at a premium inside of a standard dorm room. With this fact of life, it is important to maximize and utilize all possible avenues of space.
1. A door organizer:
Organizer.com sells a beautifully simple, door organizer for hats, jackets, scarves, notebooks and possibly, small text books. This organizer hands on the back of the door and can easily be kept out of sight. Should you live in a single- occupant room, this would be a perfect way to house your hats, jackets and trash bags or other simple supplies. You may need to ensure that a roommate is ok with you hanging this on the door, if you are not in a single- occupant room.
2. Lock Box- Fireproof
In the next section, I will discuss important papers that will need to travel to college with you. These papers and other important documents or money, are things that you will want kept safe while you are away from your room. Since this is the case, a lock box is perfect. I must caution you, the best type of lock boxes to buy, are not the cheapest ones on the market. If you buy the cheap brand, you will definitely get what you pay for. Please, do not entrust your most valuable and precious possessions- like important documents- to a cheap box. Buy the middle range lock boxes which average in cost, about $35 dollars. These lock boxes are generally fire and waterproof, they have both digital and key-hole openings and they are quite spacious and space conserving. (The mentioned lock boxes can slide under a bed easily.)
3. Sidekick Sofa Bed organizers
Have you ever seen these things? They are some of the cutest and most space conserving inventions ever. Well, in case you have no seen them, let me describe them and their function. Generally, you will not think to use your bed as storage. Maybe if you have a bookshelf headboard, your bed could be storage. Also though, using this sidekick bed organizer helps in the process of making the best storage. These little beauties attach under the mattress and hang as a bed skirt would. You can stuff remotes, calculators, eye glasses and tissues into them. Best of all, they only cost around $10 dollars. They can be purchased from Amazon.com or The Container Store.
4. Bed extenders
Bed extenders are sold in sets of four and can be used to raise a bed from the floor. Raising the bed has a lot of advantages like, aiding in using the space under the bed for stage, making it easier to get into and out of the bed and adding a nice aesthetic to the room. Bed extenders are sold at Target, Wal-Mart, Amazon and Bed, Bath and Beyond.
5. Shelving Units
In most cases, rooms will have built in bookshelves. But, suppose they do not? What are you to do then? Simple! Buy some shelving units to stack and use as bookshelves, picture storage, bear holders or anything. The shelving units at Target are the best models to use as they are durable and easy to transport. I would highly recommend the Target models.
Now that you have your organizational scheme began, you should consider what papers are necessary for your first year of college. How should you treat these papers? Are there special needs for these papers? First and foremost, you will need the following papers to escort you to college:
1. Birth Certificate
2. Social Security Card
3. Driver License Copy
4. Checking Account Papers
5. Class Schedule
6. Any paperwork sent to you by the university which you are attending.
7. Medical Insurance cards and service provider listing
Before you take any of these items, ensure that you have given a copy of them all to your parents. Then, you should make a copy of each for yourself. Should something happen to your papers, you will be lost for a long time without them. Thus, making a copy is generally sufficient for your college year duties. Most importantly, keep everything locked away in a lock box. You do not want to have any mistakes with losing or allowing these papers to get stolen.
Ok, so, you now are ready to head off to college and meet with new life’s challenges. Stay tuned for more Dorm Room Essential Installments! Good luck with your adventures!
