Dominate Your College With This Dorm Room Shopping Guide

“Will I like my roommate?” 

“What the heck is a Twin XL mattress?” 

“How gross are the communal showers, actually?” 

As a college freshman or dorm life newbie, your head may be swirling with these and many other questions. While we can’t answer every unknown about your exciting upcoming transition to college life, we can help set you up for success by guiding you through the things you’ll need to transform your dorm into an inviting, comfortable home base. 

Think about it: Your dorm room is where you’ll sleep, study, snack, socialize, watch Netflix, and otherwise escape from the chaos of college life. That means all these activities will be done in quarters that are pretty dang cramped. While dorm room sizes can vary by school, you can expect to share a space of around 12 by 20 feet with your roommate. 

To avoid overcrowding the already-small space, you need to pack smart and stick to the necessities. To help you out, the RetailMeNot back-to-school team has created a dorm room shopping guide to back-to-college essentials. As college grads who have lived in many dorms ourselves, we learned certain items (power strip, mini fridge, shower shoes) were essential. Other things (microwave, desk organizer, mini vacuum) we wished we thought to bring to the dorms with us on move-in day.

To give you some dorm room ideas, we’ve rounded up a list of must-haves for easing the transition to dorm life and kicking the year off in style: 

Dorm Room Ideas to Shop Right Now

Note: Products reflect the price and availability at the time of publication.

— Editors’ Pick —

Verizon Fios 1 Gig Home Internet

If you’re living in a place off campus, you need internet you can rely on so you can keep up with all of your assignments each semester. Entrust Verizon Fios with this important task! It’s a 100% fiber-optic network designed to support streaming, gaming, working and more. Whether you’re conducting research for your next term paper or hosting a watch party or gaming marathon for your friends over the weekend, Verizon Fios provides the speed you need. Right now, you can get an NFL Sunday Ticket from YouTube when you sign up for Verizon Fios 1 Gig at $64.99 a month. Click to learn more and sign up by Aug. 27 to get the deal!

---

Hanging Bedside Organizer for Dorm Rooms Bed Rail

You might be missing your normal bedside table — but this convenient hanging organizer will still keep all of your essentials within quick reach! It hooks right onto your dorm bed rails, saving you and your roommate precious floor space. The storage basket is perfect for stashing books, magazines and other daily necessities, while the two side and two bottom hooks are great for keeping track of your keys, charging cords and other easy-to-misplace items.

---

Utopia Bedding Adjustable Bed Furniture Risers

Dorm room living requires getting creative with storage space. Enter the adjustable bed-riser: a handy product that raises your bed off the ground to create more storage space below. We like this set of four heavy-duty plastic risers from Amazon, which can be adjusted to three different heights: 3, 5 or 8 inches. 

---

Curtain Lights Dorm Room Decorations

When it comes to dorm room decorations, string lights are as classic as it gets (legend has it that George Washington decorated his college dorm room with string lights). We’re digging the turquoise ombre design of these curtain lights, which are dimmable and come with eight different modes. 

---

Linenspa Memory Foam Mattress Topper

Spoiler alert: Dorm room beds can be uncomfortable. You may not be allowed to switch out your mattress, but you can make it more comfortable with a mattress topper. This one from Linenspa is super affordable and can add 2 inches of plush, gel-infused memory foam to your bed — transforming a rock-hard surface into a heavenly cloud. Trust us, your exhausted-from-studying and/or -partying future self with thank us. 

---

Luxe Weavers Lagos Collection Dorm Room Rug

Your dorm may be temporary, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fabulous. One way to instantly add a dose of style and coziness to your dorm room is a colorful dorm room rug. We are all about this art-deco-inspired area rug with a striking, marbled pattern that will resist stains. Just make sure to check your college dorm room dimensions to make sure you order a size that fits.

---

Black+Decker Compact Dorm Room Refrigerator

Does your college allow mini fridges in the dorms? Check the regulations right now, as not all schools do. If the answer is yes, you’re in luck: You get to snack on cheese, veggies, yogurt and La Croixs all semester long. This lil’ dorm room fridge from Black+Decker is ultracompact and can squeeze into the tightest spaces or even sit on your desk. 

---

StorageLAB Underbed Storage Containers

Looking for even more clever storage solutions? There are plenty of under-bed storage containers designed specifically to organize seasonal clothes, bedding, pillows, books, and other bits and bobs you want to keep out of the way. This pack of StorageLAB organizers includes two containers that stand six inches high, 34 inches wide and 17 inches deep, holding a large comforter or more than 20 pieces of clothing (i.e., jackets, sweaters, jeans).

---

Shaggy Boo Pillow

Dorm room furniture generally consists of a bed, desk and a solitary dorm room chair — so your seating options are limited. As such, you end up doing a lot of your lounging, studying, texting, calling, reading, Netflix watching, etc., from your bed. An oversized backrest pillow comes in handy, providing support for your head, neck and back as you’re relaxing. This Shaggy Boo Pillow from Urban Outfitters is perfect, featuring wraparound arms, and is made of uber-soft, uber-cute pink (or blue or purple) shaggy polyester. 

---

Lynk Over Door Hook Rack

The problem: You can’t hang with nails on dorm room walls, and using adhesive will often leave behind marks that could get you in trouble on move-out day. The solution: over-the-door hooks, which are a great way to maximize space and organize your coats, towels, bags and more. Just be sure to check that the hooks you choose are compatible with the width of your door. This model from Amazon fits over most standard interior doors of up to 1-3/8 inches thick and includes nine hooks.

---

Recycled Over-the-Shoulder Shower Caddies

College was our first (and thankfully, only) experience with communal bathrooms. The three things we learned from the experience were: 1) always wear shoes; 2) don’t ever forget your keys; and 3) use a mesh bottom shower caddy for carrying your toiletries to and from. Unlike the plastic models, mesh caddies allow shower water to drain out and avoid yucky mold growth. This Pottery Barn model includes six pockets and is made from water-resistant, eco-friendly, recycled material.

---

The post Dominate Your College With This Dorm Room Shopping Guide appeared first on The Real Deal by RetailMeNot.