What you really need for your first year at college

When I was going into my first year at college I compiled all the lists I could find online into one big list and I got so much stuff. My rooms were always full with just random stuff. There were positives and negatives to this for sure. I definitely made a few friends because people knew they could come to my room for a hammer or screw driver but packing up every year and resettling into a new room every fall was a pain. So, here is my official list (with a downloadable PDF checklist) on I think every first year needs and also what you can wait to buy.

Bed:

Pillow(s) and pillow cases- depending on your personal preferences
Mattress protector- think of all the people who have slept on that mattress before you
Mattress pad- your back will thank me for that one
XL Twin Comforter- how thick you actually want this to be may depend on the climate your college is in. Mine was in Western New York, so warm was the way to go. Remember, the majority of the school year is in the winter.
Blanket- it’s nice to have a blanket around to bring with you to a movie night in a friends room, lay out on a nice day on the college green, or wrap around yourself as you sit at your desk in the middle of winter and settle into an all nighter (I might be speaking from experience on this one).
Sheets- before you buy these double check with your school on the size of the mattress and be sure to get the extra long ones if that is what your school recommends.
I also had a husband pillow which was nice to have to fill the gap between my bed and the wall.

Bathroom:

Face towels and bath towels (and if you are in a suite with your own bathroom or your school is like mine with no towels or ways to dry your hands in the communal bathroom, hand towels)
Shower shoes- especially if you have a communal bathroom, a pair of cheap Old Navy flip flops work great for this
Shower caddy- again, especially if you are using a communal bathroom where you have to leave your room to shower. If you are in a suite it may be easier to find a different type of storage in the bathroom.
Robe- you are going to be around lots of people you don’t know and it would not be a fun story to have your towel fall down on your way back to your room as you carry all your shower stuff, just saying.
Slippers- this is a maybe item for me, if you are going to be in a cold climate like I was, they may be useful. I didn’t use mine a ton but it was nice at times to just have something I could slip on to go down to the vending machine in my residence hall.
Hair tools- whatever you would normally use. If you are a girl and don’t typically use a hair dryer I would recommend that especially if you are in a cold climate. I can’t count how many times I was too lazy to dry my hair after showering in the morning and having it freeze on my way to class.
If you are in a suite: hand soap, bath mat, toilet paper if your school doesn’t provide it, shower curtain if your school doesn’t prov

Toiletries:

Toothbrush, toothpaste and whatever else you may use such as mouthwash, floss, charger for an electric toothbrush
Face cleanser
Soap/body wash
Shampoo and Conditioner
Brush/comb
Any hair products, accessories and makeup (and makeup remover) you use
Face moisturizer
Body lotion
Shaving cream and razors
Deodorant
Tissues
Nail polish, nail clippers, nail polish remover, nail file
Cotton balls and q-tips
Tweezers
Hand sanitizer- lots of it, now more than ever, put it in your room and your backpack and your coat pockets!!! (maybe put some hand lotion in some of those places too because your hands will start to crack from the hand sanitizer especially in the winter)
Chapstick

First-aid kit

Band-aids
Thermometer (and covers!)
Pain reliever
Allergy medicine if you have allergies
Cold and flu medicine- From my experiences both as a first year and as a Resident Assistant for first years, getting sick is very easy and almost inevitable when you first enter college because you are being exposed to a lot of new and different people. I sincerely hope that in this changing time of COVID and higher education that this doesn’t remain, but I would recommend grabbing a pack of cold and flu medicine to have just in case you get sick and don’t have the ability to go out and buy it because you may need to quarantine with those symptoms.

Laundry:

Laundry basket or hamper
Laundry detergent- make sure to check with your school on the typer of washing machines they have and what detergent you can use with them
Dryer sheets
Stain remover- gone are the days you can hand off your stained shirt to your mom and hope she gets it out for you!
Steamer- If you are worried about wrinkles, if you stick to the typical college attire of non-wrinkly things you really don’t need this. I was not the kind of person to stick to non-wrinkly things but probably only used my steamer a few times a year.
Drying rack
Lint brush
Hangers

Desk:

Planner- there are a lot of great planners out there to help keep you organized. Personally my favorite I found was the self scholar planner (https://bestself.co/products/self-scholar) in addition to Google calendar.
Pens/pencils
Scissors
Stapler/staples- unless you know the college is completely online with assignments at least. I had a lot of professors who required a stapled essay be turned in, before COVID, of course.
Tape
Waste basket
Paper clips/binder clips- for your own organization, personally I bought a bunch freshman year and they lasted me throughout college.
Stamps and envelopes
Index cards

Your school will probably provide you with enough printer money or unlimited printing so you don’t need your own printer if you even need one at all going forward this year. I also chose to buy a desk chair and store the one that came with my room to give me more space, but I would recommend waiting to see what kind of space you have before making that purchase.

For school:

Backpack
Laptop
Flashdrive
Earphones
Small notebook and a folder- I recommend getting one notebook (I used a moleskin this past year to take notes for all my nonacademic activities) to take your notes on what you need for your classes on the first day in addition to a folder to hold the syllabi you get in class. Once you get a feel for the class and what you will need then get the materials on amazon or wherever else you may have access to them. This includes the books for your classes. Some professors will tell you on the first day if you actually need the books and some professors may have other resources where you can get the required reading for free. Also before getting books check Rate My Professor, sometimes former students in the specific classes you are taking will comment on if you actually need the books.

For the room:

Mirror
Rug- some schools may have built in rugs so check on that before buying
TV
Trash can
Fan- yes, even if you are in a colder climate, the first 3 weeks are almost guaranteed to be super hot and if you are in a colder climate there is a good chance your residence halls don’t have AC.
Futon if you are in a suite. Don’t be one of those people who gets a futon for their corridor room.
Floor lamp- at my school each room only came with one floor lamp and that was the lighting for the whole room. My roommate and I each got a two-pronged floor lamp from target (for about $15) and it made a world of difference in our room.
Dry erase board/white board- freshman year we had one we used to study with, particularly my roommate who was a bio major.
Three drawer storage- you can find these pretty cheap in Walmart and they are something both me and my sister have used in college. They are great for additional storage and can typically fit under your bed if you raise it high enough. My freshman year roommate even bought two of them and stacked them on top of each other to make a nightstand for next to her raised bed.

Kitchen:

Keurig or water heater if you are going to make coffee or tea for yourself
Coffee mug- if the above applies
Cups- for water, also for other ~drinks~
Microfridge- the microwave is worth the extra money in my opinion
Microwavable Tupperware
Plastic utensils- until you have a kitchen to yourself, it isn’t worth getting a set of utensils especially since most of your meals will happen in the dining hall (or at this point at least be coming from the dining hall)
A bowl
Water filter- my freshman year me and my roommate actually both went in on a water cooler which was actually a pretty good investment but once she took it our sophomore year, I made do with a regular Brita water filter.
Paper plates
Paper towles
Chip clips
Reusable water bottle

As for the rest of the kitchen stuff, check with your residence halls if communal kitchens will still be allowed to be used and if they are if the residence halls have kitchen supplies for residents to use. At Geneseo the Resident Assistants had baking sheets and oven mitts and mixing bowls and all that kind of stuff in the desk they sat in while they were on duty every night, but at American University where I was for a summer, they didn’t have any of that stuff.

Electronics/tech:

Chargers
Power strips- if they are allowed at your college
Cable for your tv if there is a cable set up
Alarm clock

Other:

Umbrella
Storage bins- these can help you move stuff in and out and store things under your bed like seasonal clothes
Broom
Small tool kit
Playing cards
COMMAND STRIPS- I can’t even tell you how many of these I went through in these last 4 years. They are so great for decorating your room to make it your own and about a million other things.

Some lists will tell you to get a safe, but don’t. Having a safe is just an easy way for someone to see a box of all the important things you have, pick it up, and leave with it. My advice to keep your important things safe is to lock your room when you leave (this seems obvious to some people, but you would be surprised) and find places that only you know about to put those important things (this can be in the back of your desk drawer under some stuff, in your sock drawer, under your bed, etc.).

Important documents:

If you are bringing a car: car registration and car insurance
Driver’s license or other form of photo ID
Debt card/credit card- this isn’t a bad time to get a credit card to start building up some credit. There are a lot of student cards out there that you don’t need to have previous credit for.
Medical insurance card
Student ID

Cleaning:

All surface disinfecting cleaner- this is very important right now!! If your classes are still in person it will be important to wipe down handles and any other frequently used surfaces often! College can be gross!
Vacuum if your residence hall doesn’t have them provided for you
If you are in a suite and do not have a cleaner who comes in every week: toilet bowl cleaner, toilet bowl brush, shower cleaner
Sponges
Dish soap- Dawn can double as a way to get grease out of your clothes
Trash bags
Antibacterial wipes- also now more than ever! Get some big packs for your room and some small ones for your backpack!!

Pretty much anything else not on this list (besides decorations for your room like pictures, fairy lights, posters, etc. and clothes, obviously) can wait until you are at school and situated to get from a local store if you are comfortable going at this point or order on Amazon. Talk to your roommate and coordinate the things you only need one of for your room (i.e. microfridge and rug).

Comment down below if you think there is anything I missed on my list!

All Inclusive First Year Packing List PDF Download