The Dorm Bathroom, Health & Sundries

Sometimes, your student will luck into a living situation where there is a bathroom in their suite or even in their room, but most of the time, this is a down-the-hall scenario. For a more complete list of what to pack, download my free pdf checklist from the College Packing List section of the main menu on the home page.

This post is to provide links so that you don’t have to shop around for some of those items.

Let’s start with health and wellness.

I always send a first aid kit. I also go over first aid basics, which may make me sound crazy, but this is the first time that most of these kids will be living in a large group, and some may arrive with pre-existing medical conditions, while others will undoubtedly create them. I want my kids to know what to do in an emergency or semi-emergency. There is always time spent at orientation going over the procedures for accessing help from public safety and health services, but we know that kids may try to fix things on their own first, so let’s at least give them a fighting chance while they wait for real help to arrive.

This is for a twisted ankle or severe headache on Sunday morning. I keep some in my car, and it’s a big family joke, but you would be surprised at how often they come in handy.

Assuming that emergencies and semi-emergencies are covered, let’s focus on everyday stuff. If your kid takes multivitamins, allergy meds, or any other daily medication, this is my favorite pill organizer. It’s the one I use at home.

If you read my post They Call It a Closet, you read that I was on a college panel at our High School, and someone asked what was the ONE thing we were glad we sent that surprised us. My friend sent a clothes steamer. Read that post to find out why. I sent my own medical box in addition to the first aid kit. I thought this was just a reflection of my own anxiety, but both my kids, their roommates, and friends used all the stuff. Depending on where their dorm is located, it can be a hike to visit Health Services, and when they are feeling really crummy, they may not go. I just packed a bin with a bunch of the stuff we use at home and stuck in near their beds.

That’s a long list but mostly small boxes, so you can usually fit them into a couple of bins like this:

For the ladies, here are a few things that make life easier, especially when you don’t have access to all the comforts of home:

Extra hair ties. These actually look like bracelets when carried on your wrist, and when they get stretched out, you just put them in warm water to shrink them back up.

This is our favorite detangler and heat protectant. When you shower down the hall and then blow dry at your desk, it’s nice to have a shortcut.

Makeup remover wipes are key when the bathroom is down the hall.

If you are lucky enough to have a bathroom in your suite or even in your room, you may want a soap holder. Everyone else will use body wash because it’s hard to carry a wet bar of soap around with you. Some people (me) don’t love body wash, so if you are one of the lucky few, here is a soap dish.

You will also want hand towels for your fancy bathroom, and these seem more fun than regular towels.

My son has been in suite-style rooms with a bathroom shared by eight guys for the past two years. While the bathroom showers came with a heavy plastic shower curtain, it was gross. Since this wasn’t the general use hall bath, we updated the showers with these:

Even if you have a bathroom nearby, you probably won’t have storage space, so most kids need a shower caddy. We have a few of these.

This is for your shaving stuff, shampoo, body wash, loofah, or washcloth… all the stuff that goes into the shower with you.

Sometimes, you just go down the hall to brush your teeth and wash your face. You don’t always want to bring your wet shower caddy with you, so we use a smaller toiletry bag for these items.

For everything you need to remember, face wash, toothpaste, etc., please download the free packing checklist.

I have mentioned a few times that most of the dorm bathrooms are down the hall, but even if your kid is in a suite with a bathroom, they aren’t going to want to walk around in a towel all the time. They need bathrobes and shower shoes. My friend gave my daughter a beautiful bathrobe with her name embroidered on it in her school colors as a graduation gift. It was perfect! I have done the same a few times now, but here are some other options:

The kids will also need shower towels. Here is a set we love:

Using command hooks along the wall, this colorful pattern added some character to the room. Decor items and dry towels that’s a win.

For more guy-friendly options, try these:

Everyone is moving in during the sunny days of August or early September. Even though we think that it’s Fall here in the Northeast, it’s not. There will still be some beautiful days on the quad, so send some sunscreen.

Both of these are small enough to toss in a backpack.

Last but not least, I send a packet of these for sick days, hot days, or any other days they are dehydrated.

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