Congratulations on graduating high school – ready for another 4 years of school? Of course you are – depending on your soon to be schools semester length (trimester versus quarters) you should expect to start school usually in late summer. Aside from the picking your courses, meeting your roommate via email and deciding to go Greek or not – you need to start buying your dorm décor and dorm supplies ASAP.

Dorm Essentials

Whether you have a meal plan or not you will likely need to have healthy snacks in bulk. Don’t load up on calorie full, nutrition less sweets (of course a little is fine). Your dorm may or may not allow a microwave in your room – but regardless you will have access to hot water. The hallmark of any dorm diet is ramen noodle soup. It’s cheap, gives a quick meal and can last a long time stuck under the bed or in the closet. At around $.25 each in bulk ramen noodle soup is about as cheap as it gets for a meal. Make sure to try different flavors and some stores will also carry low fat noodle versions. There are many online recipes on how to use or jazz up these dorm meal staples.

Granola bars make another great back up meal – combining oats, nuts, honey and other goodness. You should buy these in bulk in order to save versus buying at a convenience store on or near campus at prices 4 times the bulk prices. We prefer the soft varieties because they make less crumbs and generally come in more flavors then the crispy variety.

Buy these snacks and others at a price club like Costco, SAM’s or BJ’s.

Dorm Cleaning Supplies

You will definitely want to have a small yet powerful vacuum for the dorm room. We usually find the ones available in mass stores to be underpowered and hence unhelpful. One trick is to buy a small pro model and keep it in the trunk of your car for when it’s really needed and hence out of our way in the small dorm spaces.

We are big fans of pre-moistened cleaning wipes – we like the private label brands found at price clubs and recommend buying 6 mega canisters. Aside from cleaning obvious things like dorm desk tops and bathroom counters – they can be used for a daily or weekly door handle wiping. If you have to use shared computers in the library we also like portable styles to make sure keyboards and mice are wiped down. Prevention is key on campus and you can’t afford to miss classes and or work for a week if you’re sick.

Dorm Décor

We always love to see the fun new décor available in mass discount stores like Target or specialty retailers like Bed, Bath & Beyond. Between fun colored organization supplies and trendy design pieces you will find no shortage of value priced disposable décor for your dorm room.

You can also be creative and visit stores like Lowes or craft stores like Joann’s to purchase raw materials you can convert into your own fun dorm décor. Common ideas include buying bulk cork tiles and adding ribbon and colorful thumbtacks to make your own pin up boards. Not only can this be cheaper but also adds your own stamp of creativity to your dorm room.

Dorm Bedding

Dorm rooms usually use an extra long twin bed which requires twin xl bedding. Most mass stores will carry this specially sized 39 x 80 inch bedding but you will generally find cheap disposable pieces. Dorms are notorious for being really hot or really cold – and if you settle for a cheap bed in a bag set you will be too cold or too hot. A better alternative is to invest in down or down alternative bedding which can have duvets added for color and fashion (and ease of care – just wash the duvet). Plus by not being tied to the 4 patterns everyone else will be using in their rooms you can create your own dorm oasis of comfort and style. Generally we recommend buying manufacturer direct and you can expect to pay between $75 and $125 for a quality dorm comforter (which will last you years versus being disposable).

Dorm Towels

Most of the towels you will find in stores around the famous back to school season are generally fun in color and prints – but tend to be cheap and neither long lasting nor moisture thirsty. We recommend eco friendly materials that are also soft and silk to the touch – so towels made with luxury performance fibers like Tencel or Bamboo are wonderful. Not only do they feel silky soft but they absorb moisture like nothing else. Easy care dorm washing machine and dry friendly they can be bought online.