Five must have items

An extra set of sheets
At some point, you’ll want to wash your sheets. You trek down to the laundry room, pop your sheets in the washer, and trudge back to your room. When you return an hour later, you realize that another overly-eager student took your sheets out of the machine and dumped them somewhere. Time to start over. It’s always good to have an extra set of towels and sheets.

Postage Stamps
Freshman year, you’ll want to send postcards to high school friends. After the nostalgia of high school wears off (usually around second semester of freshman year), you’ll be sending out dozens of resumes, thank you notes, and job applications. It’s a horrible feeling to craft the perfect application/letter/resume only to realize that you don’t have any postage. Stock up on stamps and learn where the Post Office (206 E. Fourth St.) is located. When application deadlines draw near, you’ll be glad you’re prepared.

Thermos
Not a coffee drinker?
You will be by the end of your first semester.
Save money by making your own coffee or tea in the morning.
You can also re-fill it with water during the day.
You’ll be caffeinated and eco-friendly at the same time.




Two umbrellas (and rain boots)
The only thing worse that walking to class in a downpour is sitting through class in soggy clothes. In Bloomington, you can never have too many umbrellas. I always carry one in my backpack. I learned the hard way that the day you leave your umbrella at home is the day it will pour for hours. Another freshman-year lesson: one umbrella is never enough. I can’t count the number of times my umbrella has turned inside out on a windy walk home. Your umbrella will break. It will turn inside out. You’ll leave it under your chair in Ballantine Hall, or at Read Dining Hall, or in your friend’s room. Invest in multiple umbrellas and a pair of rain boots. They might not be fashionable, but you’ll stay dry.

Command hooks
These handy plastic hooks will help you hang everything in your dorm room. I use them to hold picture frames, coffee mugs, towels, and my keys. Residential Programs and Services frowns on students destroying walls with nails and thumbtacks. These hooks are strong enough to hold up your stuff, but they come off clean. This means no surprise damage fees at the end of the year. A money saving tip: Save and re-use the plastic hooks. That way you only have to buy new sticky pads.