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I will never forget my first look at the bed I was supposed to sleep on my freshman year of college. It was puke green, hard and plastic. I had no idea how many people had slept on it before me, and no one, including myself, ever thought of the idea of a mattress pad. My son is not a fussy kid, he barely cried as a baby, but how is he supposed to succeed, (and with the amount of money I am paying for his schooling, he needs to do just that), when he can’t sleep? So a comfortable mattress topper to the rescue.

My mother actually made my first aid kit when I went to college. It included everything from Band-Aids to Neosporin. Honestly, I didn’t need the majority of it, and certainly not in the quantities my mother thought I would, but there were items that came in handy (especially that Tylenol). First aid kits today have the majority of what your child hopefully will never need, but if they do, it’s there. And it’s convenient. Your average first aid kit may not have the Tylenol or Ibuprofen that will be needed, so make sure you are adding that to the kit.

We all know that our children are going to need the dreaded shower shoe. However, this shoe, which please see reviews for sizing, will not only work in the shower stalls but at pools, and even when they are just relaxing in their dorm. My son is a person who prefers to be in front of us computer coding everyday rather than going out, so having a shoe he could wear all day and then right into the shower was my goal. And while there are quality flip-flops out there, my son doesn’t like the toe separator, so this was a good compromise. Plus, knowing my son, it will probably last for at least the first year.

Everything that our child needs their first year of college is going to have to fit in one half of a small room. Therefore, large jugs of laundry detergent aren’t practical. If you child is going away for college, (I feel your pain), they need everyday items that are going to fit easily in either storage bins under their bed, or on top of something. Think of items that get things done, like cleaning their stinky clothes, but won’t take up much space. Putting our mom’s brilliant hats on…go!

On inescapable truth is that our children have a heck of a lot more electronics than the kids had when those dorms were first built. Rather than having cords running here and there, and causing tripping issues, look for something with multiple outlets and multiple charging slots. Kids have changed but unfortunately those dorm rooms have not.

Kids don’t travel light, it’s a fact of life. And while you can try to buy only the basics for your child when they are headed to a life without you, the truth of the matter is they are either going to acquire more stuff, or you are going to have to buy more stuff. While my son tends to complain about some of my ideas for storage in his dorm room, the truth of the matter is that getting creative is what is going to save the day. Do I hope that there will be enough storage room under his bed? Yes. Do I hope he has a closet and a dresser? Yes. But that isn’t going to be enough. And as a gal who spent three years in dorm rooms (I was on scholarship), I know there is no such thing as too much creative storage. Just keep reminding your boys that storage doesn’t make them into a girl.

While I have trained my son to always wash his towels when he does his laundry, the truth is I will have no way of knowing if he continues this in college. Therefore, I am willing to spend a little extra dough to get him a good set of towels. While it would probably be smarter to get him the cheapest ones I can find, I think he needs towels that are going to hold up not only to those ancient washer and dryers all dorms have, but will hold up to being dropped on the floor, kicked around and basically never hung up to dry.

I actually went through multiple choices with my son regarding the shower caddy he would use. I was completely taken back when he thought one was too girly, or one looked stupid, and then when he just shrugged and said I’ll just carry everything to the bathroom; but this one passed his inspection. Maybe it’s a guy thing, but when I finally explained that I didn’t care if he used it or not, it was for the storage of those bathroom items, he finally got on board.

Even a hundred years ago, when I went off to college, a refrigerator that could fit under something was a necessary purchase. This one comes with a freezer which was important to me because while I know that my son will not being eating fruits and vegetables, there isn’t a day that goes by that he doesn’t eat a frozen pizza. Boys! (By the way they have caddys that hang off these fridges that will hold silverware and plates…)

Don’t forget the walls. These days they make great floating shelves for dorm rooms that can be used for storage. Now, my freshman dorm had concrete walls so we had to get creative here, but it’s something you want to look at during orientation. Among all the other things you will have to remember from that orientation.

Underbed storage, unless you have a weird dorm room that doesn’t offer this, will become your best friend. I recommend storage with wheels, just for your own ease of use; my son doesn’t really need them until he has to take them back home. Be creative here and taking the other pros and cons of the room in consideration, figure out exactly what your son needs. Are they in a climate that will change? Is there enough room for all those little extras they are going to need? Is there space for your son to grow into as he realizes all the things he forgot to get from the beginning?