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How to make your dorm room feel like home

August 8, 2019

As campus move-in date approaches, it’s time to make sure you have everything you need for your dorm room. Here are the last minute must-haves that The State News’ staff recommends. 

First and foremost, make sure you have a microwave and a mini-fridge. Even though you have a meal plan, you won’t want to go to the dining hall late at night if you‘re hungry and in your pajamas.

Along those lines, you might want to invest in a Brita filter. It isn’t a necessity, but certain areas of campus, such as South Neighborhood, have rusty water. A Brita filter also saves on the cost of buying water bottles, and saves plastic. 

Whether your residence hall has a community bathroom or is a suite, you’ll want to purchase a shower tote. It makes transporting your shower products easier. For sanitary reasons, we also recommend you have a pair of shower sandals. Community bathrooms are cleaned regularly, but you never know who was in the shower before you.

Don’t be afraid to decorate your room. Use posters, tapestries and string lights to make it your own. Use Command Hooks to hang up the decorations, but be careful using Command Hooks when the weather is warm. With no air conditioning, the dorm rooms get hot, causing the Command Hooks to slide down the walls. 

For functional decor, look into getting a mirror, rug and lamp. Mirrors can help small rooms feel larger. Rugs also help to make your dorm room homey, while keeping your feet warm in the winter from the hard tile. When it comes to finding a lamp, we recommend a lamp with soft lighting. The florescent lights in the dorm rooms are too bright to leave on if your roommate is trying to sleep while you study.

In most dorm rooms, there is only one plug on each side of the room, so you will need the extra outlets provided by a power strip.

Most importantly, bring a fan. We recommend a box fan to put in your window and a mini fan to clip to your bed. Students move in at the end of August when it’s still hot outside. The lack of air conditioning and air movement makes it hard to sleep at night without a fan. 

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