The transition to dorm life can be made easier by creating a college checklist or dorm room checklist. If you did not receive one from your college, you can find checklists that cover most of the items you will need all over the internet -- just search for dorm essentials checklist, college dorm checklist or something similar. The lists will have all the stuff you need at the start of your college year and will include the obvious items like a laptop and bedding to a towels and a steam iron. But more than likely they won’t have items you can use to personalize your room such as posters and, if you have the space, a comfy chair or sofa.

DormEssentials.org carries a select line of categories that cover most of the dorm essentials that you find on any checklist – whether starting college for the first time or if you are going back and getting new stuff – as well as items that may not be on a list but that can help to personalize your dorm room and make life more comfortable in your new home for the next year.

Remember if you will be sharing a room before buying larger items such as TV’s, refrigerators and microwaves, get in touch with your roommates and arrange who will bring which of the larger items. This way you will have all the big stuff covered and smaller dorm essentials are all that will be left.

Make sure you have all the dorm essentials you think you will need before you get to college as your room will probably only contain a bed with, most likely, an old mattress, a desk, an old chair and probably a closet.