Furnishing your residence room the frugal way

I’ve been looking at the flyers that come in, unaddressed, to us on a weekly basis and that are now advertising what students ‘need’ to furnish their residence room.  The variety goes from the reasonable small speakers for your music device to the superfluous bookcase, floor lamp and vanity desk (are residence rooms not furnished anymore?).  Even if you had an apartment to furnish, a vanity table is not what you need (for those who don’t know, a vanity is similar to a desk, but it has a mirror attached to it so one can do hair and make-up while sitting comfortably). 

If you are moving into a traditional residence room, the room will be furnished; this means a single bed (possibly an extra-long single bed) or twin (the two words are used interchangeably nowadays), a desk and chair, a ceiling lamp, a window with window covering, a dresser (or drawers of some sort), a mirror and a closet.  What you NEED to bring is your own personal items such as clothing, toiletry, medication, study material (calculator, paper and pens, dictionary, a computer, etc.), and bedding.  Anything else is extra and not necessary, and your room will be small! Either you will have a single or a multi-person room; in both cases, there is not a lot of extra room, certainly not enough to add furniture! Of course, there are basics that you may want and that will make your life as a student easier.  So here is a table that defines the essentials, the basics (not essentials but very useful) and the extras (nice to have, but only if they are given to you for free and you have the space to bring them and to store in your room).

Essentials	Basics	Extras
- beddings: sheet set, pillow case, one comforter, one pillow	-:second set of sheets - a mattress cover - stuffed animals	- a pillow top for your bed - extra pillows and cushions - duvet and duvet cover - fleece sheets for winter
- favorite uplifting book - contact information of family and friends - rag and spray cleaner	- favorite poster from home & sticky putty - photos of your family - wall calendar - musical instrument from home - black out curtains if needed	- posters from the poster fair - your own window dressing (measure first) - rug - e-reader - favorite CDs & storage unit - wet wipes
- bath towel - flip flop for the shower	- a robe - shower caddy	- slippers - fleece blanket
- your clothes, including some for the weather you will face - laundry soap - laundry bag (pillow case) - closet hangers - workout clothes - small sewing kit	- new PJs so you aren’t shy to meet people in the hall going to the bathroom - costume or inexpensive jewelry - bathing suit & beach towel	- an umbrella - fancy clothes - job interview clothes - clothes dryer (for hanging) - clothes hamper - iron and ironing board
- shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush, soap deodorant, - first aid kit - analgesics - feminine hygiene products - condoms - tissue and toilet paper - razor - nail clippers	- mouthwash - makeup - hair products, hairdryer - hand lotion - nail polish and remover - shaving cream - lip balm	- electric toothbrush - hair flattener, curler, etc. - an extra mirror - scale - general medications: anti-acid; constipation aids; cold relief and lozenges; eye drop; etc.
- earplugs (sleeping & studying) - chargers for electronic devices - alarm clock - key chain	- speakers for your MP3 player-type device - earphones - power bar & surge protector - chair cushion	- your own desk chair - small radio/CD player - bean bag chair - small stool - shoe shelf or organiser
- bowl, plate, cutlery, glass, mug - lunch containers - PBA-free water bottle - insulated mug - favorite treat - can opener & small pot - dish soap, rag and tea towel	- small fan - desk lamp if not provided - pin board for above your desk - dry erase markers (for mirror) - boxes, milk crates, or baskets - small fridge (to save on food money) - dried fruit, cereal, power bars - tea bags, instant coffee	- reading lamp (beside bed) - dry erase board - closet hanging shelves - foldable work table - storage drawer cart - under bed boxes - hooks - water jug with filter
- flashlight (for power outage)	- night light - trash can
- backpack for going to class - paper and pens - notebooks, binders - staplers and staples - highlighters - money for textbooks - copy card for library - calculator - laptop computer	- bicycle, helmet and bike lock - lock for laptop computer (locks it to the desk)	- e-reader - extra monitor for computer

As you can see, there is a huge margin between the $10 000 designer fees for re-decorated dorm room (check out the article here: http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/morning_call/2012/09/forget-drab-dorm-rooms-students.html ), and what you need as essentials.  Another tip: live in your room frugally for a month before deciding to buy anything more; you may find that you spend more time at the library studying than in your room because you don’t want to be distracted by floor mates and therefore do not need lots of study materials in your room; or that your roommate goes to bed very early and that a reading lamp is essential.  It is often difficult to predict what you need to survive first year, versus what you think you will need.  Happy shopping!