The Ultimate College Packing List: What To Bring For Freshman Year

If you've been following along here for a while now, you've probably seen my two posts about things I should have brought to college, but never thought about. The first was my 10 Things You Need To Bring To College and the second was so perfectly named 10 More Things I Forgot To Bring To College, I feel like I'm killing the post naming game, am I right? Haha.

 Anyway, instead of rounding out year three of these types of posts I decided to make a complete college packing list that anyone who's moving into the dorms should look at! I'll be headed into my senior year, so I feel like I pretty much have everything down now, and wanted to share with you all! There are some obvious things left off the list like clothes, a car (because not everyone needs one!) and a suitcase (you'll most likely be packing things in there!) but it's a pretty comprehensive list! Not only that, but I'll be sharing a few of my favorite things I've used over the years so you won't have to go searching for the perfect ones yourself! 

Duvet Covers and Comforters

I'm a huge fan of having white bedding since I think it can really pull any decorations together, however I think that's more of a "post-grad" or apartment-living type of style. Although I might be biased in loving white bedding since I'm a blogger who loves having crisp white backgrounds for photos! #FlatlayObsessed So if you're like me and love white bedding, here are a few of my favorites! 

For dorms, it's always fun to have your favorite colors and be surrounded by something that makes you happy! Here are a few of my favorite colorful or patterned duvet covers and comforters!

Robes

I've found that people either love robes or they hate robes. Personally I love robes (even though I don't have one right now!) and for those of you headed off to a dorm with communal showers, you might just want to invest in one. I luckily had a shared bathroom between just four girls, but if I had to walk to and from my room pre and post shower, I would rather walk in a robe rather than in a towel. Although fluffy robes are soft, warm and comfortable, they aren't that great at absorbing water, so I recommend getting a terry cloth one to help you dry off! Here are my favorite fluffy and terry cloth robes. 

Throw Pillows

I love having throw pillows on my bed. In my bedroom tour post you saw that I have like 6 extra pillows that I basically use as decoration. Some say they're a waste, but I think they provide great support if you're sitting in bed doing homework or give some to your friends when they come over and have nowhere to sit but the floor. Remember, dorms are pretty tiny! Also, if you can't tell, I'm a big fan of faux fur pillows, I think they make the room feel a bit more fancy and put together.

Lamps

Y'all Target is so on point with their desk lamps right now. If you're like me and love all gold anything, just get in your car and drive there right now to buy all the gold home decor and desk accessories you could ever want. Here are some desk lamps as well as regular lamps that I'm loving!

Mattress Toppers

I will honestly say that a mattress topper is the most important thing if you want to get a good night's sleep in the dorms. I felt a little like the princess in The Princess and the Pea with my 4 mattress toppers/covers. Yes, I was that girl. I had my original mattress cover to keep bed bugs out (just in case!) then my egg shell foam topper, then my memory foam topper and on top of that my cooling plush topper. What can I say, I have some sleep issues! I knew I wasn't going to be able to sleep on the hard college twin xl mattresses without something to help me out, so I stacked up what I could. I slept so well when I was in the dorms, haha! These are the ones I recommend:

Weekender Bags

I traveled home multiple weekends when I was in the dorms (and living off campus!). The easiest thing to do was pack up my weekender bag and head off for my flight. I also used them if I had a sleepover in another dorm, went to my overnight sorority retreat, or just had to take a lot of stuff somewhere! The uses are endless, and it will be something that won't lose its use when you graduate!

If you need a recommendation for some other items on the list be sure to check out these two posts (here and here) or you can always email or comment with specific questions!