Budget Friendly Dorm Furnishing

Allllllllllright yall! Now this one has been a joy to write, and I’ve actually been wanting to share these tips and tricks for a while now to someone who’d actually heed my advice and would like to know what I have to say, because one thing for sure-two things for certain, I’m not a gatekeeper and I KNOW how to find the deals!

Now, when it comes to dorm furnishing, I’ve had 2 dorms during my undergrad time. We blame covid for this and me being grown and moving in with my man during senior year. BUT just know those 2 dorms were decked out and provided all of the experience needed to be able to write a post such as this.

I feel like there’s two different people when it comes to dorm furnishing, there’s the one who quite simply don’t give a damn. They pick up a comforter set from Walmart and call it a day. Then, on the other hand, there’s the one who plans every little thing, down to the body wash they’re planning to buy. I’m the later, as you can tell.

First things first, to begin planning ANYTHING, you need to know the layout! Once you’re assigned your dorm, the first thing you need to do is go on TikTok and Youtube to watch someone who went to your school and has stayed in the same dorm building, with the same room layout (I.e. double, single etc.) as you to get a gauge of anything special you need to plan around (I.e. lack of closet space, a small/big bathroom, space for extras and more) Watching these videos will set your expectations early on how much you can and cannot buy and if you have room to put anything special. Plus you get to get some inspo on decor. What’ll really take this tip to the next level is if you’re able to visit campus and see the space irl. I did this for my freshman year, I went to Kansas City for orientation and after I was able to stop by my dorm building and ask for a tour. This allowed me to see the uniqueness in all 4 rooms (it was a quad), and I was able to then mark in my preferences which one I preferred (the one with the skylight), but having it in my mind exactly what my space would look like helped me a long way.

Second thing you need to do is make a categorized list of everything, every single thing you need to buy. The necessities, the things you seen off TikTok that you want, all of it. It makes it easier to shop for and to go through to make sure you’re not forgetting anything. And the categories such as bathroom, bedding, decor, supplies, kitchen (if applicable), and more will help with this. That way, throughout the summer and as it gets closer to heading off, when Target and Walmart are doing all of these back to school sales you could bring the section of your list that applies to that week’s sale.

In case I’m not explaining it efficiently, for example-when Target has their $10 off $50 household cleaning sale, or their up to 50% off bedding sale, it’ll make it easier to go to the store that week with your already pre-written bedding and bathroom/supplies list.

I hope that explanation made it better.

Next, is incorporating  Facebook Marketplace. If you know me, then you know this was inevitable. I live by Facebook Marketplace, it’s like Craigslist and the thrift store had a baby. And the great thing about it is how easy it is to message the sellers (so you don’t have to email, like Craigslist), and the prices are actually pretty affordable, you’re definitely getting a deal (like the thrift store). Of course, you’ll have the sellers who are basically trying to get the full paid price for an item they’ve used for 10 years and have sat in there garage for 5, but the great thing is you can always send offers for items, which is my favorite part! And not only can you buy from Marketplace, but you can also sell things on there (not applicable to our situation here).

Anyways, using Facebook Marketplace for your “furniture” or supplies such as mini fridges, storage containers/cubes, closet organizers, dorm bedroom wall headboards, led decor signs, posters, picture frames, shoe storage, a drying rack for clothes and soooooo much more. Facebook Marketplace is such a great tool that I stand by, I’ve bought 2 cars off there, furnished my whole first apartment strictly from there, and find so much more that I still use to this day (another post on that soon). You cannot go wrong by using it, of course, watch out because there are scammers with any buying process, and for meetups you want to make sure you either have someone with you or that they take place in public.

Alright, another thing to note is to create a registry! I would say it’s best to create a registry on 1 platform only, so based off your list, if you need more help with bedding, storage and cleaning/laundry supplies then you want to look more into making a Target registry, it helps that when someone is buying something from your registry they can either have it shipped to your house, or they can have it avalible for you to pick it up at your nearest store. So it’s great for the ones who have family out of town or those who aren’t necessarily having like, a graduation party. Next is an Amazon registry. This one is if you need more help with decor and bedding, sharing this registry will make it even easier to have things shipped to your house ( or if you work it right, your dorm). Even if you aren’t having a graduation/trunk party, these 2 places make it easier to share with others via a link. If you are having a graduation party, but you do not want to go through the process of creating a registry, just list the items you need!

Now it’s important to note that you are moving into a dorm room, where there you will only be responsible for one person, which is yourself. Do not get hung up on the “hauls” and things you see on social media. Overconsumption is real, and when it comes to a dorm room, you’re already not awarded much space as is, so plan accordingly. Personally, you do not need a 100pk of Tide Pods, 3 gallons of washing detergent, a 20 pk of paper towels (ok now this one is helpful though), 5 body washes and other stuff to bulk up on. Remember it’s only you. Just get one thing of Tide pods, a 3 pk of dryer balls and call it a day. The only thing I do recommend bulking up on is tissue and paper towels as I stated. But anything else you’re thinking about will only take up space since you will not be using it often, and even if you are it’s only 1 person using them, not a whole household. Just something to think about, especially if you are trying to stay in budget.

Ok, I’m going to go ahead and wrap this up in lieu of making this way too long. But lastly, the one other thing you can do in the name of budget friendly dorm furnishing is talking to your roommate(s) ahead of time. Reach out to them via email or social media and just try to get your common items straightened out. Maybe it’ll look like one person bringing a tv to share while the other brings a mini fridge. Or one person bringing some bathroom decor, while the other bring paper towels and tissue. Or hell you bring the paper towels and they bring the tissue. Splitting some of these extras with a roommate can really take the stress off of your budget and even storage if you’re doing the whole road trip thing to college.

Which actually brings me to my last point (last one, promise!). If you are traveling to college, it could help just buying your things when you get down there. Fair warning though, this might cause for a long day, especially if you have a lot of family members dropping you off as well, but hey-you’ll be saving space in the car AND if you didn’t get a chance to actually see what your dorm is looking like, you’ll be able to assess your needs first!

Pretty lengthy overall, but as always thank you for listening to me this week! If you are moving into your own dorm room this month, let me know your decor style and any tips you'd like to share with the class down below!

Happy Shopping!

Khyra C