If you're planning on staying at a dorm when attending
college, you don't want to just show up empty handed. While a dorm room does have the basics like a
bed frame, a desk and bathroom, you're going to find out that you're going to
need a lot of things to feel like you're at home.
Depending on what you need to survive, here are the basics
that you're going to need, along with the price --
Accessories
To make your dorm room feel like home, you're going to need
a lot of little items that you may have never thought of in the first
place. These items include: a floor lamp, area rug, fan, wall art and
even speakers to play music.
Depending on what you need to make your dorm room feel like
home, plan on budgeting at least $200
to buy your lamps, rugs and art.
Bathroom
Most dorm rooms will have a community bathroom on each
floor. While you're not going to be keep
your items in there all the time, it's recommended to keep a duffel bag filled
with your belongings to make your showering as easy possible. In your bag, you should have a few towels, a
sponge, toothbrush, hand dryer, robe, shaver, soap and shampoo.
Most of the time, you
should be able to buy all of your bathroom materials for less than $100 or so.
Eating
Even though most dorms won't have a kitchen, it doesn't mean
you won't be able to cook. Basic eating
items that you should have will include: plates, cups, eating utensils, a
travel mug, water pitcher, coffeemaker, microwave, electric kettle and
refrigerator. However, before you buy a
microwave or refrigerator, make sure that your college allow these things
inside the dorm. Many colleges put
restrictions on what's allow in the dorm.
Most of your kitchen necessities, such as utensils and
plates, can be found at the local dollar store.
Your microwave and refrigerator, on the other hand, could cost around $150 to $300 each, depending on your
personal tastes.
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| Decorating a dorm cheaply. Photo: Flickr borman818 |
Laundry
Like the bathroom, most dorms will have a laundry room on
designated floors. Your laundry supplies
should include: a laundry basket, hamper, detergent, drying rack, iron and
ironing board.
With your laundry supplies, plan on budgeting around $150.
Organization
Since you won't want a messy dorm, you're going to want the
right tools to keep your room organized.
Basic organization tools that you should consider are underbed storage
containers, shoe storage, hangers, closet organizers, a storage trunk, duffle bag.
Depending on how much storage you're going to need, plan on
spending at least $20 to $30 per storage container. Usually, $100
to $200 should be more than enough for your storage needs.
Sleeping
Most dorm rooms will have a bed frame, but some won't
include the mattress. If you're unsure,
call up your college to see what's included in the dorm. When it comes to sleeping, you will need
pillows, a mattress pad, a topper, covers, sheets, a blanket and don't forget
the alarm clock.
Depending on your personal tastes, it will cost anywhere
from $200 to $300 to buy most of
your sleeping supplies.
Study
Since most of your time is going to be related to school
work, it's important that you have everything you need to study properly. These items will include: a desk lamp, wastebasket, laptop desk, a book
light and a dry erase board. Like the
mattress, some dorm rooms may already have desks built in the dorm. Again, if you don't know if a desk will be in
your room, check with the college ahead of time.
Most of the time, your basic study items will cost up to $150 or so.
Final Costs
As you can see, moving into a dorm isn't going to be
cheap. By using our estimates alone, you
should be prepared to spend up to $1,500 to $2,000 to buy everything that you
need to successfully move into your dorm.
If this number sounds high to you, there are some things that you can do
in order to save, including:
·
Talk with your roommate and see what they are
bringing.
·
Go to your local dollar store. Many of these items can be found here.
·
Buy used.
Check out Craigslist or eBay for good deals.
Stephanie
Lynch works with How Much Is It? -- a resource that has more than 4,500 cost helping
guides. If you need to know
the price of anything, you can find it here.
Feel free to reach out to her on Twitter @howmuchforit
