Let me preface this post by saying that I firmly believe it is premature. That said, the retail cycle’s prematurity often means that providing information in a timely fashion is all too late. So, to err on the side of caution (i.e. before you’ve spent thousands of dollars at Bed, Bath & Beyond) (no offense to BB&B), I’m coming at you with dorm room essentials.

Recently, City remarked to me about how totally amped on his his college-bound bud must be. I can’t remember exactly the words used, but “best,” and “excited” were certainly among them. To which I hastily retorted: Maybe… Or maybe not. The days before I first went to college were filled with an anxiety and dread so palpable I could have snacked off of them and probably did.

Right, he said. Oh yeah, I guess maybe there’s some of that, too.

Perhaps it was because high school was a peak in my life, heading off to college felt like willingly being shipped away to limbo-land where kids were suspended in time before being spit out, none of the wiser, as “adults.”

Just the thought of moving into that dorm room at the University of Michigan makes me feel nauseous, truth be told. Cold, stark, filled only with the ghosts of doe-eyed freshman dreams and black out drunks, that dorm room felt like it could have been a Sterilite jail cell.

You know what would have helped? Decking that empty dorm room out in soothing, lovely, storage elements. Ones that weren’t so overwhelmingly plastic-y.

So, in the effort to support others during this exciting (weird), awesome (scary), freedom-filled (feel-like-you-wanna-barf-and-run-away-back-home) transition, I’ve assembled a collection of dorm room essentials that are decidedly more stylish and inviting than the standard.

1. Solid wood bed risers

2. Shower caddy

3. Clear stackable shirt & accessory drawer // clear stackable shoe drawer // clear stackable sweater drawer // clear stackable men’s and athletic shoe drawer

4. Under the bed rolling wood box

5. Igloo mini fridge

6. Shimmer crunch can hamper with handles

7. Mini fridge cart

8. Over the door hook

9. Adjustable double hanging closet rod

10. Hangers