When going to college, freshmen have many questions. Where are their classes? What clubs can they join? What major is right for them? Most of all, what do they bring to their dorm room?
Coming up with a list of items for dorms can be stressful. What essentials are needed and what dorms provide can be answered by going to Pinterest or looking at videos on YouTube. However, the best advice comes from those who have experienced dorm life before.
The number one step most freshmen do not usually think about when packing for their dorms is looking into what amenities it already provides.
Certain dorms already come with their own mini fridges, microwaves, chairs and storage space so it is important to look into this before even thinking about going shopping. After this step comes what they need and what they do not need.
When moving out for the first time it can be very overwhelming figuring out what they need to live for an entire year away from home.
However, with the help from some of the resident advisors on campus, they can help whittle down necessities to save space in shared quarters as well as remind them of things they might have forgotten about.
What you do not need:
Ottoman: “I know some people bring in Ottomans. I’ve wanted an ottoman this entire time, but I really don’t think you need it, honestly,” said Chloe Goodenough, senior resident advisor at Community Duncan Dunn and Honors Hall.
While this seems like a good idea when it comes to storage and possibly getting on their bed, it can take up a lot of room. Dorm rooms can run small and will eventually be shoved under their bed or desk for the rest of their freshman year. If they can not reach their bed and there is no way to climb up to it they can use their chair to get up just as easily.
Typically friends will usually sit on their chair or the bed, so this item can save room in their dorm and car when transporting it from home.
Throw Pillows and Stuffed Animals: This one may crush Squishmellow lovers, but one is enough. The size of dorm beds is Twin XLs and does not leave room for people to rest if they have 50 stuffed animals and pillows on their beds. They will either fall to the floor by morning or need to be placed there before bed due to the lack of sleeping room.
Your Entire Closet: Pullman is lovely because it has all four seasons, but that does not mean people need to bring their entire wardrobe with them the first go around. This can be difficult for those from out of state; however, for those in state, it is not worth it.
“Know if you live closer, it’s probably easier just to wait until the cold weather starts hitting, so, for the students that live in Spokane, for example, it would be easier for them just to wait until, even late Thanksgiving break, or even if their friends have cars and they’re going up to Spokane, they can wait a little bit longer before breaking out the clothes,” Goodenough said. “But for the out-of-state students, I would say bring it with you.”
What you need to bring:
Drying Rack: The washer-dryer situation in the dorms can get tedious, annoying and cramped.
There are only so many dryers per dorm and not enough for every student to do it at once, unless they want to wake up at 2 a.m. to do their laundry.
For those who like to air dry their clothes or need to, there is no space for that in the laundry room. A drying rack can be very useful to hang up clothes in dorm rooms, without trying to string them everywhere and can fold away easily when not in use.
Frying Pans / Silverware: This essential does take up some room, but it is a must. Unless freshmen want to rent them out from the front desk that does not open until evenings and then return it a day later at a time the front desk opens.
It will save so much time to bring some cooking utensils of their own or eventually buy some after being fed up with the renting system. There are also some items dorms may not carry that are a necessity for people when cooking.
“I would say one of the things that I use the most is my rice cooker,” Goodenough said. “I love my rice cooker.”
Warning: do not forget to wash them right away, do not leave them in the sink. It is a curiosity for one, but people will also snatch them.
Memory Foam Topper: The beds are not very comfortable. Freshmen may think they can handle them and it will be fine. However, the lack of sleep and back pain will tell them otherwise in about two days.
Having a comfy place to sleep on a smaller bed is important and will help them later on when trying to focus in class and not on the pain in their lower back.
People moving into resident halls need to check online what they can and cannot bring into their resident halls, said Janni Blackham, resident advisor for Rogers Hall.
“If you check online for your housing your residence hall, there’s a list of what you can and can’t bring,” she said.
While everyone’s needs are different when comes to living by themself, these are just some of the best advice older students can give after having lived in the same situation.
Just remember to have fun while staying living in the dorms.
“People will leave their doors open, and I think it’s kind of nice. You can kind of see your neighbors. Meet your neighbors, say hi,” Blackham said. “And I think building community is so important within your residence hall.”
