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You always hear about the things you do need but never what not to bring to college. Here are the top 10 things I never used and wish I didn't buy before moving to college.

what NOT to bring to college

I was the girl that brought the cooking pan to college. I still can't believe I ACTUALLY thought I would cook in the dorm kitchen.

It was one of those things that I was so stubborn about buying because I was convinced that I would use it all the time.

That pan was just one example of something I brought to college that I never touched. There were many other things that I spent money on and I never used (honestly, still haven't even touched them to this day!).

This post shows you what not to bring to college from a professional over-packer (who tried to bring her whole house to college freshman year).

WHAT NOT TO BRING TO COLLEGE:

APPLIANCES

There are three appliances I recommend you bring to college - Keurig/electric kettletoaster, and microwave (if not included).

You do NOT need anything else. It will just get in the way.

Truth is if you bring something that isn't allowed in the dorms the chances of the fire alarms going off are high (been there, done that thanks to a toaster oven :'). If you are the reason a fire alarm goes off you are also the proud new receiver of a hefty ticket. So not worth it.

Make sure to check if your dorm room needs a microwave or not. A microwave is literally a saving grace in college. I needed to bring my own microwave freshman year and the dorm supplied a microwave sophomore year. Check your dorm website before you go just to make sure!

WHAT NOT TO BRING TO COLLEGE:

TOO MANY PILLOWS

One of my biggest mistakes freshman year was paying Home Good's rent with the number of throw pillows I bought from them for my dorm room.

I LOVE throw pillows. I loved them then and still love them now. However, my throw pillows and I went through a little bit of a rocky stage in my dorm room because I brought so many dang pillows and had nowhere to put them!

After doing that for a semester, I now recommend you stick with two throw pillows on your bed (at max) and one or two on your futon. That's IT. You will regret having any more than that!!

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WHAT NOT TO BRING TO COLLEGE:

PRINTER

Having a printer in college is a big pain in the butt.

I never actually brought a printer to school but I had friends who did and always complained about it getting in the way.

It's almost guaranteed that your dorm will have printers available for you to use. I have never heard of a dorm room these days that doesn't have a printer available to the students living there.

Another pro to not bringing a printer to school - printer ink can be expensive! Use the printing credits you receive as part of your tuition (you do pay for them after all ;).

WHAT NOT TO BRING TO COLLEGE:

IRONING BOARD

I am about to give you a secret/life-changing product: Downy Wrinkle Releaser.

I just discovered this in recent years and can't believe I didn't know about it earlier!

This little spray works SO well. All you do is spray it on clothes that are super wrinkly, pull it tight so the shirt doesn't show wrinkles anymore, and then let go. The wrinkles will be GONE!

It is so cool!! My roommates and I went through every wrinkled shirt in my closet because we were so amazed it actually worked.

It completely replaces a need for an iron or ironing board (and removes the risk of you putting a big burn hole in one of your favorite shirts ;).

WHAT NOT TO BRING TO COLLEGE:

BED RISERS

Don't have much to say about these other than that they are completely useless.

Dorm beds (usually) are built now to be adjustable to the height you want them at. Or they are already lofted which is super common nowadays.

The 4 inches your bed risers will lift your bed is just an annoying four inches that make you have to jump higher every time you get into your bed.

WHAT NOT TO BRING TO COLLEGE:

EXPENSIVE SPEAKERS

I'm going to let you in on a sad dorm statistic: 90% of all expensive things brought into a dorm room get stolen or broken before the first semester is over.

Alright, I made that statistic up. But REALLY, I know of so many stories where people bring expensive products or keepsakes (like jewelry) that end up getting stolen or lost and it's so sad.

One of the biggest culprits: Bluetooth speakers.

I have a hard time believing that the Bluetooth speakers always get stolen because the stealer would also need to get the charger. I am thinking that more often than not, someone brings the speaker, gets drunk, and then forgets about it.

The moral of that all, leave the expensive speaker at home and opt for a $29 Bluetooth speaker like this one.

WHAT NOT TO BRING TO COLLEGE:

POTS, PANS, & DISHES

Like I said earlier in this post, I was *one of those* that brought a pan to school thinking I would make full-on meals all the time.

Be realistic about what you are bringing to school. Me thinking I would find a way to the grocery store every week to buy chicken and other ingredients to make with that pan WITHOUT A CAR to even get me there was dumb and not very thought out.

(This is obviously a different situation if you have a medical issue where you need to make your own food. If that's the case, you should definitely bring a pan and ignore all info in the previous two paragraphs 🙂 )

WHAT NOT TO BRING TO COLLEGE:

EXTRA BEDDING

You do NOT need to bring two sets of sheets. I repeat, you do not need to bring two sets of sheets!

Freshman year everyone had two sets and sophomore year I don't know one person with two sets.

We all learned that you usually wash your sheets in one day so you can have them off and cleaned before even needing to go to sleep. How efficient right?!

Seriously though, skip the extra sheets and just plan on some time every few weeks to wash your sheets during the day.

WHAT NOT TO BRING TO COLLEGE:

FULL SIZED VACUUM

Your dorm room will supply you with a full-sized vacuum.

However, one of my favorite dorm room products EVER (yes that got bolded and got capital letters) is this $35 dollar vacuum I bought last minute before freshman year that I could not have imagined my life without.

It's truly the best and SO cheap.

To be honest, this little baby worked much better than the full sized ancient vacuum that was available in our dorm hall too. You can hide it in the corner and it is ready whenever you have a spill or just need a quick cleanup.

WHAT YOU SHOULD BRING TO COLLEGE:

TOASTER

I did a little research on what other people were saying to not bring to college. On others people's lists, I was seeing things I agreed with and then other things that I was shocked about because I used them every day.

I thought I would mention these products just in case you were deciding whether you need them or not.

The convenience of having a toaster in your dorm is simply amazing. You can roll right out of bed and have a nice breakfast ready to go without having to leave your dorm at 7:30 to make it to the cafeteria before your 8:00 AM class.

They are so cheap and make breakfast extremely easy. I highly recommend bringing a toaster if they are allowed in your dorm.

WHAT YOU SHOULD BRING TO COLLEGE:

TV

I can't believe I actually read to not bring a TV! Her reasoning was not to bring one because they will have them in the common space. I personally didn't agree with this viewpoint.

I used my TV all day, every day. As long as I wasn't working or doing schoolwork, that TV was on.

It was also great socially to be able to have people over for all my favorite reality TV shows, red carpet walks, and even Packer games.

I love watching TV and not having to leave my dorm to watch it was pretty amazing.

WHAT YOU SHOULD BRING TO COLLEGE:

KEY LANYARD

Wristbands are the most convenient way to hold your keys and student ID. They're super easy to take on and off and, honestly, if you live in a dorm you're going to need something like this. So this is an absolutely, definite, must-have. 

This post showed you the top products that are not recommended to bring to college.
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2 Comments

  1. Mom of 3 college students says:

    Not a bad article. Maybe work on your grammar and vocabulary.

  2. lolthat first comment is hilarious . thx for the article mate

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