Here is my college dorm checklist for guys. I am super proud of this dorm room checklist as I’ve given you all my insider tips and tricks for the best way to plan and execute college move in day.
This college dorm checklist is so inclusive you are going to feel like you were there helping me move my son into his first dorm room. {giggle} This dorm room checklist outlines what to ask before, how to organize your spaces, as well as what order to unpack and decorate your college dorm room.
RELATED: College Packing List for Guys Dorm
College Dorm Checklist for Guys
This is the order of the college dorm checklist. Feel free to click any of these links below to “jump” directly to that section with valuable resources:
Step 1. Learn About The Dorm
Step 2. Print Dorm Room Checklist
Step 3. Ship To The Dorm
Step 4. Pack The Car
Step 5. College Move In Day
Step 6. Organize With Storage
Step 7. Avoid Dorm Problems
Step 8. Dorm Wall Decor
Step 9. Meet the Roommates
I’ve included in the dorm room checklist easy ways to avoid problems, lots of logistics, as well as creative ways to bond with your roommates.
Download File Here:
College Dorm Checklist (499 downloads )
I created this free printable dorm checklist for guys in hopes that your college move in day is as successful as ours. I found a bunch of dorm checklists but none that were editable. So hopefully you’ll be able to download the free file and make it work for your college dorm.
This college dorm checklist will focus only on what happens during college move in day. It has all my tips and tricks on what you’ll need for a truly amazing day that’s less stress and more fun!
To save you TONS of time and research, I’ve included links to the exact products I used when moving in my own son, Dylan, into his college dorm. These links contain affiliate links and you can Click here for my disclosure policy. Those links help support the site as I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. {knuckle bumps}
Step 1. Learn About The Dorm
Preparing for college can feel really overwhelming. Luckily I’ve got you covered with this step-by-step guide on how to move into your dorm.
Questions To Ask The Dorm
The more research I did on how to move my son into his first college dorm, the more questions I had. I received some conflicting advice and let’s face it you don’t know what you don’t know.
So here are some questions to contemplate as you’re preparing for college.
- What date can you start shipping supplies?
- Can the dorm bed use bed risers and be lifted up to use under the bed storage?
- Does the dorm come with a microwave?
- Does the dorm have access to a refrigerator or is a mini-fridge required.
- Does the dorm have access to a TV {main living space}?
- Do they have a private bathroom?
- What is NOT allowed in the dorm?
- Can you put holes in the wall to hang decor? If not, what products are allowed to use?
- Does the dorm come with a shelf?
Make a general dorm plan:
- Assign Drawers, closets, and spaces by planning head on what is going to go where.
Find Doctors in a new city:
- Dentist
- Primary Care Physician for Prescriptions and Emergencies
- Closest Hospital and Emergency Room
Once you find the correct contact information, be sure to save them to your phone. This way if anything unexpected comes your way, you are prepared. No worries here as you’ve got this!
I’m using my son’s college dorm as an example. He moved into Centre Square at Brigham Young University in Rexburg, Idaho. We had the most amazing time. I could see how it could have been mad chaos and stressful. However, it was not like that for us. We enjoyed every single moment of it! Mainly thanks to all our research.
Download File Here:
BYU Idaho Centre Square Dorm Room Ideas (336 downloads )
It’s really important to find out all the specifics you can regarding your dorm. Ask a lot of questions. Here’s what I found out about Centre Square at BYU Idaho:
- Yes, it has a TV in the common area. {family room-ish} Don’t need one for room.
- The square shelves in the closet are smaller than they look and can hold about 7 pair of mens jeans.
- No, it does not come with a dresser. Use under bed storage but you might need a bed riser.
- Yes, you’ll need a fan as it can get warm at night heaters on
- Need a car = no unless you are using it as a vehicle to make friends. There is a walmart bus stop right in front of Centre Square apartments.
- BYUi requires their university gym clothing to work out on campus gym.
Logistics:
- Rent same bed/room for April {a different semester} NOW!
- Storage in building for stuff {jan-april or off-season semester}
- make your profile public to residents so your roommates can contact you and coordinate kitchen items.
Food
- Buy favorite non-perishable food before you get to Idaho. In the fall when school starts, it is worse than Christmas, too many people and not enough food.
Helpful Links:
Step 2. Print Dorm Room Checklist
First you will need to print my College Packing List for Guys. It’s a free printable that’s also editable through Google Drive. I’ve done all the work to create a great college packing list for guys if they are moving into their first apartment or a dorm.
You might also want to print out my Free College Life Planner to Organize Your Freshman Year as it is a great place to store all their necessary documents, medical information, etc.
For your convenience, I added my BYU Idaho Centre Square packing list that I used for my middle son, Dylan. So you can see how easy it is to click the boxes to check things off as you purchase the items you need.
Shop: College Dorm Room Shopping List on Amazon
For your convenience, I’ve added all the college essentials into an Amazon wish list so you can quickly shop and see what products we ended up using. I hope this helps save you some time, research, and money. {wink}
Dorm Room Freshman Advice:
- Twin XL Bedding ~ In my research, I found that most college dorms require Twin XL bedding. So make sure you get all your mattress cover, pad, sheets, etc the TWIN XL size.
- Extra Blankets ~ Since it gets really cold in Idaho and we’re Texan, we packed 2 blankets and his Senior quilt my amazing friend Cindy made out of Dylan’s high school t-shirts. It’s AMAZING you should hire her to make you one. {snicker}
- No Blackout Curtains ~ My son’s dorm has a great window and it’s really bright, however we decided not to get blackout curtains so he’ll get up in time for his 9:00 am class. However, I could see this as being a problem if your classes don’t start until later.
- LED Neck Hug Book Light on Amazon, it’s kinda epic.
Do Not Buy:
Here are things that your college freshman will not need in Centre Square at BYU Idaho:
- Mini-fridge
- Shower shoes
- Microwave
- Mini-fridge
You’ll need to find out what your dorm requires. However, Centre Square has 2 full refrigerators, microwave, and washer and dryer inside the dorm apartment. They also have 2 bathrooms. Therefore, the items listed above are not necessary.
Step 3. Ship To The Dorm
Now that you have your dorm check list in hand you are now ready to start buying and ordering products. However, you don’t need to ship them to your house to then have to pack them up again for the dorm.
Did you know that once you have an address at Centre Square at BYU Idaho and they will hold it for you in the mail room. This way you can start shipping packages directly to them BEFORE school starts. I started shipping packages in August. {giggle}
Now that you know from Step 1. Learn About Your Dorm what time they will start accepting packages {above} shop at a time when you can ship directly to the dorm. If you’re worried about specific products selling out then ship them to your house. However, usually companies plan when their items will be in demand and don’t sell out.
Step 4. Pack The Car
I’ve detailed all my freshman tips on how to pack the car for the long road trip to college in my College Packing List for Guys article.
These car packing tips will work if you are road tripping from another state or just doing a day trip to the college in a sedan. If you have a mini-van then you should have plenty of room, unless you use big plastic bins.
Basically here’s the cliff notes:
- Duffel bag to one side
- Ikea blue bags in the remaining space
- Clothing on hangers
- Wall Decor on top
- Backseat: Parents suit case, pillows, backpack, travel stuff
What NOT to Pack:
I would NOT pack any big plastic bins in your car. If you must use them I would suggest shipping them directly to the dorm. Use Ikea zipper backpack bags instead.
Other Freshman Tips:
Pre-Pack Your Bins ~ If you can, plan out where your towels, snacks and laundry supplies will go. Pack them up in their bins, totes, or caddy’s for faster move-in.
Bring a Cooler ~ If your dorm does not have a kitchen or mini-fridge already cold then consider bringing a cooler. Moving is going to take a lot of time and energy, so pack a cold cooler with water and protien snacks.
Our apartment dorm had a lot of snacks and cold water available for free in the lounge. So this wasn’t necessary in Centre Square apartments.
Step 5. College Move In Day
Here are my tips and tricks on how unload your car and move into your dorm room more efficiency to avoid problems. It can be stressful with all the high energy of all the students with their parents not knowing exactly what to do or where to go. Be prepared to see a lot of blank faces and confused people. {giggle}
What To Expect:
One of the best articles I found in my research was this 20 Hacks & Tips To Make College Move In Day A Breeze as it has some great advice. They list things that I never would have known to be aware of during the college move in day process.
Here’s what we used from their list:
- Find out when your dorm or residence hall opens and arrive early.
- Pack your bedding so you can unpack it first.
- Pack wall decor separately as it will be used last.
- Keep fragile items safe, don’t let a move-in crew handle.
- Take advantage of in-store pick up. Things will sell out locally, so buy early to reserve items for pickup on move in day or the next day.
College move in day will be stressful for everyone else ~ but not you! If you look around you’ll see that everyone is tense, confused, and feeling all kinds of emotions.
For Jason, Dylan and me it was a seriously fun day! We loved it. We were prepared, efficient, and truly enjoyed the experience.
How To Unload the Car:
I was told by friends who’s kids go to other colleges that they were assigned a move in time. When they arrived they were asked to put all the items from their car onto a tarp. Then they had upper class-men carry their supplies to their assigned dorm.
This is not what happened for us at the guys dorm at Centre Square in BYU Idaho. We arrived 10 minutes early for college move in day, at 7:45 am. There was already a very long line of cars along the street unpacking supplies.
We only had to wait a few minutes to find an empty spot to park along the sidewalk by the dorm. Once we approached the parking spot, we were asked to unload our entire car into a pile and then re-park in a parking lot. Which we did. As you can see from the above picture, we didn’t end up bringing much.
- 4 Ikea zippered bags
- 3 packs of hanging clothes in bags
- Duffel bag with clothing {shorts, socks, jeans, underwear, etc.}
- Back pack and 2 cinch sacks
- TV / Laptop Tray
- Wall Decor
- Tool Kit
Everything else we had shipped directly to the dorm. Which made life very easy.
We didn’t have any issues unloading our car at the guys dorm at Centre Square in BYU Idaho. They had people in blue shirts guiding people where to go and signs everywhere. So it was pretty clear cut on what to do and where to go.
Freshman Tip for Drawers: If you haven’t already, tape any storage drawers shut. Apparently this is a typical newbie mistake. If you are bringing storage drawers and they are pre-packed, taping them shut will make sure everything doesn’t spill out.
Before you bring anything up, go see your dorm room while it’s empty. It’s OK to leave everything outside in it’s designated space. It’s up to you but we didn’t have any issues and felt that our stuff was safe.
Move Into Your Dorm Room:
Walk Your Space ~ Inspect your dorm room and space, open up the closet, and access your move-in strategy. If you need to move furniture around now. It’s a lot easier to make big adjustments before people show up and/or the floor becomes full of everyone’s stuff. Be sure to make it exactly how you want it before bringing everything in.
Take a Before Pic ~ If you’re like me you are going to want to document your experience. So take a before picture while it’s empty.
Start Bringing up Your Stuff ~ Now that you’ve inspected your space, moved furniture, and have taken a before picture it is time to start bringing up the stuff you brought in your car.
Keep Everything in the Hall ~ As you bring your stuff up from the sidewalk to your dorm room, resist the urge to unload it all onto your bed or in front of your bed. Make your new pile in the hallway or in the community TV room. This way you won’t sabotage your moving in strategy.
Hang Clothes in Closet ~ Since you’ve packed your hanging clothes on the hangers you might as well unload them directly into the closet. As they can be cumbersome and take a lot of space get these out of the way first.
Keep wall decor and fragile items to the side so they don’t scratched or bent.
See… we did NOT take this advice and the guys unpacked everything right in front of the bed. It was terrible. They had to move everything back out and it was annoying. Especially because there was an empty living room {community TV space} and kitchen they could have used.
What to do before FIRST before everyone else arrives:
Claim Your Spots ~ Before you start unpacking, it’s best to claim specific areas in the apartment or dorm that you’ll need.
- Bed
- Bathroom shelf
- Kitchen shelves
- Pantry shelf
Early bird gets the worm. Obviously, you should be thoughtful and kind by not taking up too much space. However, it’s completely appropriate to claim the areas you’ll need by adding a note or a few items into that space.
Make Your Bed First ~ If you can, pack your bedding last as it needs to be unloaded first. Remember you’ll need to make your bed in this order:
- Bed Risers
- Mattress Cover (twin xl)
- Mattress Pad (twin xl)
- Sheets (twin xl)
- Blanket
- Comforter / Duvet Cover
- Pillow & Pillowcase
Mattress covers are typically mandatory so make sure you have one on hand and easily accessible as you’ll need it first.
Necessities In Bathroom ~ I don’t know why but I was surprised that the bathrooms were completely empty. Like empty. Nothing and I had to go potty! Here’s what you’ll need right off the bat:
- Toilet paper
- Paper towel or bathroom hand towel
- Hand soap
If you don’t have these bathroom items handy then don’t worry. You can use the facilities in the lobby.
Since we shipped the majority of Dylan’s things we had to go and get our packages from the mail room before we could make the bed or get bathroom necessities.
Use Ikea Bags for Shipped Items:
Once again our Ikea zipper backpack bags were a game changer. They made transporting all our stuff onto the third floor a breeze.
Remember the 16 boxes that I had shipped directly to the dorm? Since most of those boxes are empty air and plastic packaging we opened them up directly in the lobby and placed the supplies inside the Ikea zipper bags.
This way we didn’t have to walk back down three flights of stairs to the trash for all the boxes AND we were able to carry so much more. Thus making fewer trips up to the dorm room to the lobby on repeat.
If possible, put these supplies with the others in the hallway, kitchen, or TV area so it doesn’t clutter your working space in the bedroom.
Now that you have all the stuff you brought in your car and gathered all the shipped items from the mail room, it’s time to get down to business.
Unpack In Station Piles ~ It is easier to move into your dorm room in categorized sections or stations. For instance, as you’re unpacking boxes and Ikea bags place those items into piles of related piles. This way when you go to organize your desk you have all your school supplies in one place and you’ll know how much space is going to be needed ahead of time.
Cuz it’s such a bummer when you think you’ve got the desk all organized and then open up another box to find you need a lot more space than you had originally anticipated.
- Desk / School Supplies
- Bathroom / Toiletries
- Laundry
- Cleaning Supplies
- Kitchen / Snacks
- Winter / Off-Season
Put Away Large Items ~ If you have any really big items I would put those away next. For instance, we had a HUGE roll of paper towels and toilet paper
Prepare Specialty Items ~ If there are any items that require special care or extra time now is a good time to give attention to those items. For instance, if your mattress pad need time to plump.
If you purchased the Linenspa Shredded Foam Reading Pillow then now is a good time to open and puff it up as it takes up to two hours and a little TLC to fill out properly. Be sure to read the comments and follow the instructions on how to get it super full and amazingly soft.
Step 6. Organize With Storage
Now that your boxes are unpacked and everything is in piles, you are ready to start loading up your storage containers and continue to work in stations.
If you are looking for organization for girls I really like this College Dorm Room Tour & Organization from Nikki. I don’t know what college she goes to but she has some great ideas.
Under The Bed Storage
We’re tackling under-the-bed storage next. The three Sterilite 3 drawers bins fit perfectly once we added the bed risers.
This is the Under-the-Bed Storage We Used:
- 2 Large Sterilite 3 Drawer Weave Tower, cement
- 1 Medium Sterilite 3 Drawer Weave Tower, cement
- Seville Foldable Storage Bench Ottoman
If you use the Sterilite 3-drawer bins like I did {shown above} then you will have 16″ under the bed and behind the Sterilite bins to store off-season clothing, luggage, and anything else they don’t need right now.
These Sterilite drawer bins hold a ton and we actually ended up with two empty drawers.{left of picture} Dylan can use these empty drawers to stash food, off-season clothing, kitchen bulk items, or anything else he needs.
Should I Buy Under-The-Bed Storage?
It is important to note a couple things if you’re trying to decide if you should spend the time, money, and space for under the bed storage for your dorm room.
First, make sure the bed will fit 22″ tall bins. The size for these specific Sterlite drawers are 15 7/8″ x 21 7/8″ x 24″. Our bed was 4.5″ too short and we needed bed risers to make them fit.
Second, Dylan’s college dorm room at Centre Square has 4 cube shelves with additional storage in his closet. Therefore, Dylan would have used all the under the bed storage if these were not available.
Third, most of his roommates used these 4 shelves in the closet for ALL their clothing. I should have asked if I could take a picture so you could see it. It was pretty full but it worked. Granted they will have to do laundry every week or they’ll be naked. {snicker}
I felt this information was important in case you were wondering if it’s worth adding these storage drawers under your dorm bed. If you have a good closet, yes it is possible to live without under the bed storage in the dorm.
Foldable Ottoman with Storage
This is such a great buy! It’s one of my favorite items in Dylan’s dorm. The collapsible storage bench ships completely flat so it’s super easy to transport. It can also hold up to 500 lbs so you can use it as a step stool to get onto his elevated bed. Dylan uses is to sit on to put on and off his shoes. Even though it holds up to 500 pounds it is super light and easy to carry. The extra storage is also a bonus.
Right now, Dylan is using it to store his extra blanket, shoes, and winter boots.
Organize The Closet
Dylan’s closet in Center Square at BYU Idaho has two long shelves, four square shelves, and one clothing rack.
As you can see from the picture of Dylan’s closet above he still has lots of room on his shelves. Since he’s our first child to go to college I’m glad to know he has space to grow as I’m quite sure things will come up especially when winter rolls around. This is what we ended up storing in his closet:
Closet Top Shelf:
- Tool Box
- First Aid Kit
- Cold & Flu medicine bin
- Pain Relieve medication bin
- Small bathroom organizer {extra}
- 2 swim towels
Closet Second Shelf:
- Dungeons and Dragon Books
- Short rectangle bin = extra bathroom supplies
- Medium square bin = Winter Gloves
- College Life Planner
- College Cookbook my mom made
Four Square Shelves on Right:
- Sweaters
- 4 Jeans
- 5 Jeans
- Joggers and Sweatpants
Clothes Hanging Rack:
- All Shirts
- Robe
- Coat
- Suit
- Coats
Floor:
- Laundry Bin
- Backpack
- Shoes
How Tall Are The Shelves?
Square Shelves ~ To give you an idea of how big the square shelves are in the closet we decided to put 4 pair of jeans on each shelf. However, the square shelves could have easily stacked 7 pairs of jeans. The shelves are short but tall.
Like I said earlier, the rest of Dylan’s 5 roommates put all of their clothing in the closet as none of them had additional drawers under their bed.
Dorm Shopping at Ikea
I did over-buy that day at Ikea and most of what I purchased was too big. I wish I had the final list I made you when I was shopping. My advice is to only get what’s on your list. {snicker}
Large Square Cubes ~ If your son is living at Centre Square at BYU Idaho, don’t buy any of the square storage cubes at Ikea. The tall ones will be a waste of money. Actually none of the cubes I bought from Ikea fit EXCEPT the black ones pictured above.
2 Inch Tall Drawer Storage ~ Just a heads up, only the smaller silverware organizer will fit. Anything over 2 inches tall will not fit in the kitchen drawers at BYU Idaho Centre Square.
My tip is that you’ll save a lot of heart-ache, money, and time if you know how deep and tall any shelving is in the apartment or dorm. It matters when planning storage.
Step 7. Avoid Dorm Problems
What I Did Not Expect:
Since I did a lot of reconnaissance before we bought anything we had a pretty good idea of what to expect. No matter how much planning or what you think you know there will be little hiccups along the way.
The issues we had were:
- Bed not rising on polls, we needed bed risers.
- Storage cubes were too big and didn’t fit anywhere.
- My command strips didn’t ship in time to decorate walls.
- Dylan and Jason were anxious to start opening random things up & didn’t following the plan.
Here are a few things I learned moving Dylan into the BYU Idaho Centre Square dorm:
Bed Risers ~ I was told that the beds at Centre Square are on polls and they rise up. However, that was not the case for Dylan’s BYU Idaho apartment. Therefore, we ran to Walmart and got a pack of 4 bed risers so his under bed storage drawers would fit.
Under Bed Storage ~ By raising the bed 5 inches, the three Sterilite 3 drawer Weave Towers in cement now fit perfectly under the bed. BYU Idaho at Centre Square does NOT come with a dresser. Therefore, if your son requires extra storage you’ll need to use under the bed.
Command Strips ~ Make sure you know the proper way to hang wall decorations. Most dorms have pretty strict policies on not putting holes into the walls. Some even have a strip already installed to make it easy to hang things on the wall.
Mine didn’t show up until the evening of move-in day which was a bummer. But they ended up arriving later that day so we just added the dorm wall decor in the evening.
Stick To The Plan ~ I know tensions are high and every one is excited. However, major mistakes are made when the plan isn’t followed. Luckily we were able to regroup, move everything out of the way, and put things away in groups or categories.
For more lessons learned ~ check out College Packing List for Guys where I give you even more details on what to buy and what NOT to buy.
Step 8. Dorm Wall Decor
I’ve detailed how to decorate a Texas College Dorm Room Ideas for Guys for my Dylan on a different post. It has a couple DIY ideas that are super simple and cheap. In fact they cost less than $10 total. {snicker}
As much fun as it is, decorating your walls should be the last thing you do. So keep the decor safe in a separate pile and out of the way. You can save dorm wall decor for later if you have to. This way you can enjoy all the festivities and won’t feel rushed.
If you’re interested, you can check out all my research on Boy College Dorm Room Organization Pinterest board.
Step 9. Meet the Roommates
When Dylan signed up for his dorm and bed last year he purposely picked an empty room. This way all of his roommates had to pick him. {giggle} He’s such a funny guy.
It turned out that all his roommates but one had a private profile. Which was such a bummer because we didn’t get to know much about them before we arrived. That also meant that we didn’t get to coordinate any kitchen or larger items. Such a bummer.
Luckily when we arrived his dorm has a sign with everyone’s rooms and names on it. It was great and made getting to know his roommates a lot easier. I blurred out the names for privacy reasons.
If your dorm doesn’t do that, I would highly recommend it. We are terrible with names and seeing this for a couple days and then having it on our phone was so wonderful.
The guys dorms must be different than the girls because we didn’t have any roommates show up until noon! Which meant we had 4 hours by ourselves in the dorm room. Do you know how much a mama can get done in 4 hours without interruption? {evil laugh}
Stockpile What You Can ~ I got both bathrooms stocked, the kitchen organized, cleaning supplies organized, and Dylan’s part of the pantry set up. I put hand soap everywhere, mouthwash where the main sinks are {for all those dates}, and all kinds of fun things.
Take What You Need ~ I made a pile in the living room of all the extra storage bins we didn’t need. I added a little note letting them know they could take what they needed.
Step 10. Order In Store Pickup
Use In-Store Pick Up ~ I love delivery apps. Our favorite one is Walmart Grocery because you can order anything you need in practically any category. I love a one stop shop. Check out which stores are close to campus and order your dorm items ahead of time for easy pick-up.
This is especially important to do for small towns like Rexburg, Idaho where they sell out of items fast and it’s worse that Black Friday shopping as there are so many people all trying to buy the same things.
A couple days before move-in-day we ordered groceries and supplies from the Walmart Grocery app that we could pick up on move-in day. We didn’t pick items that we thought would be sold out or anything that was a “must have”.
On that order, we added a big bag of candy for the roommates. Last minuted I grabbed the back of a package and wrote a quick note. They all loved it!
Dorm Bonding Ideas for Introverts:
- Put play money in envelope & safe for guilt-free socialization.
- Order pizza for the dorm so they will eat together
- Chick-fil-a gift cards for the dorm
One of the things we worried about was money and socializing. If my Dylan had to choose between saving money or socializing he would pick save money every time. Therefore, we wanted a way to give him stress-free socializing money so he wouldn’t feel guilty or give him an excuse not to participate.
We ended up doing something super simple. We added cash into an envelope that said “fun money with friends”. We hope he will use it for play money with his roommates.
That’s it. {snicker} I hope this college prep is exactly what you were looking for. If not, leave me a comment so I know what to add.
College Prep For Guys
Since this was my first child I had to prepare for college I went a little overboard. The great thing about these resources is that they are here if you need them. So feel free to take what you need and disregard the rest. {wink}
Here’s the complete list of my college prep for guys how-to’s:
- College Life Planner
- Packing List for Guys Dorm
- College Dorm Checklist
- Texas Dorm Room Ideas
- Easy College Meals + Shopping List
- Easy College Meal Creator
- College Student Budget
- College Life Schedule
There are FREE printables with almost every post. I wanted to you have what I wished I could have downloaded for free during our college prep.
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