For college students moving into their dorm rooms for the first time, there is an abundance of resources to help them pack. This is not one of those articles.
Seven students responded to a survey to take a look at ten items you definitely don’t need in your dorm room. They also provided helpful packing tips for the upcoming Fall semester.
Students were asked what items were in their dorm room that they rarely use if at all. For upperclassmen, these items become odder and odder as their spaces fill with acquired trinkets or unnecessary objects. The top ten items may surprise you.
10. Excessive Clothing
The list starts as you would expect it to. Coming in at number ten, we have an abundance of clothing. Clothing such as sweatshirts and having extra pairs of shoes may not be used as much as you would think. Junior Andrea Cottongim says, “I have too many and just don’t wear them all.”
9. Emergency Soup
Item number nine is a can of chicken noodle soup. Sophomore Elijah Choi mentioned that he still has an emergency can of chicken noodle soup that has gone unused the entire year. Packing meals to be eaten if you want to stay indoors for the evening is helpful, but it is nice to pack foods you will enjoy.
8. Spare Time Books
Freshman Lelia Duncan says she rarely reads fictional books. As college students, we rarely have the time to read books brought from home amidst homework and reading assignments.
7. Night-Time Adventuring
The seventh item is from sophomore Sam Voss. He brought his headlamp “because you simply never know when you might need one for night-time adventuring. The problem is that a phone usually gets the job done, and tends to be on hand when such night adventures occur…”
6. Library Supplies
Remember that the library and printers usually have hole punchers for any assignments that may need it. Voss says he rarely uses his own, and that may be why this is the sixth item on the list.
5. Punch Protection
Do you need handwraps for boxing? Not according to Duncan, who says they have gone unused during her time at Taylor.
4. Bathtime Buddies
Rubber duckies are not unusual. However, they have not seen much action in Voss’ dorm room. Maybe the university should install tubs when they next renovate the bathrooms?
3. College Casseroles
Next up is a casserole dish. While Choi cooks for himself most weeks, he has never used his locally-thrifted casserole dish.
2. Veggie Juice
Some of these items you may find in your own fridge. That leads us to the number two item from Voss: beet juice.
1. Tiny babies?
The number one item you definitely don’t need in your dorm room comes once again from Voss. He says that one thing he does not use are a bunch of tiny plastic baby dolls.
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While these students have some wacky items kept in their dorms, they also provided advice for incoming freshmen and those packing for the next school year.
“If you're an overpacker under pack; if you're an underpacker overpack,” sophomore Elijah Conley said.
There is no need to over-stress about what to bring. The surveyed students recommended slowly bringing more things from home over breaks. There are also many opportunities to buy essential items from local stores or off of Amazon.
When it comes to helpful items you definitely should have in your dorm room, here are some helpful suggestions.
“Bring lots of cold medicine and comfy clothes! You won’t want to wear jeans to class as much as you think you will, and you will get college sick multiple times a year,” junior Claire Tiemens said.
With cold temperatures and dorm life, having comfortable clothing and ways to treat the college cold are lifesavers.
“An electric tea kettle is wonderful, especially for dorm life,” Cottongim said. “Tea, hot chocolate, ramen [and] oatmeal can all be made using an electric tea kettle.”
Packing and moving into college has its challenges, but bringing items that help you most will make everyday life that much easier. In the meantime, you might want to consider passing on the beet juice and casserole dish.
