Are you looking for the ultimate list of dorm bathroom essentials for college students?
You’re in the right place!
When you move into a college dorm for the first time, you will likely be sharing a bathroom with your entire hall. During my freshman year of college, we had two bathrooms shared between about 20 girls. Each bathroom had several stalls, showers, and sinks.
If you aren’t used to sharing a bathroom, this sort of communal living can come as a shock.
When moving into a dorm for the first time, you’ll want to make sure you have the following dorm bathroom essentials on hand:
A mesh shower caddy is one of the most important dorm bathroom essentials you need. This is where you can store all your toiletries needed for taking a shower, including soap, body wash, shampoo, conditioner, shaving cream, and a razor.
Many dorm bathrooms have shelves or cubbies where you can keep your shower caddy. I recommend getting a caddy with a handle like this one so you can hang it up in the shower. I also recommend making sure you get a mesh shower caddy so any excess water can drain out.
Another dorm bathroom essential you can’t forget? Plenty of towels and washcloths! This towel and washcloth set comes with two bath towels, two hand towels, and four washcloths. However, I’d recommend getting two sets so you have plenty of towels!
That way, you won’t run out of clean towels or have to do laundry as frequently. I’d bring at least four bath towels to college, and a similar number of washcloths.
I’ll be honest, one of the things that grossed me out the most about living in a dorm was communal showers. That’s where a pair of shower shoes comes in handy! These are a total lifesaver and something you NEED for dorm living.
While some people are okay showering barefoot in a communal shower, that is a little too gross for me! Dorm showers are not always cleaned well, and you could be sharing the showers with 20+ other people. Get a pair of rubber shower shoes to wear from your room to the bathroom and while you’re taking a shower to avoid the nastiness.
I did not know about hair wrap towels while I was in college, but now I use mine all the time! This is a great thing to have while living in a college dorm and using a communal shower.
The towel wraps around your head turban-style — so you don’t have to try to dry your hair with the same towel you’re using for your body! This is great to use right after you get out of the shower, and then you can walk back down the hall to your room to dry or style your hair.
Another thing that I did not have in college but wished I would have is a towel wrap. I don’t know why I didn’t get one of these, because a girl who lived on my hall had one and I thought it would be so handy to have, but at least now I can let you know about this great product!
Basically, this towel has a clasp at the top so you can wrap it around your body and wear it hands-free. This would have been so helpful when walking down the hall to or from my dorm room with my shower caddy in hand, because I wouldn’t have had to worry about holding up my towel to keep it from falling.
I also love the oversized style of this and you could even wear it like a robe while you’re getting ready after showering too.
Shower speakers are another one of the dorm bathroom essentials you might not think to bring. Having a waterproof speaker you can put in your shower caddy allows you to play your favorite tunes while you’re taking a shower.
In my dorm, everyone was always playing music in the bathroom while showering. And these waterproof speakers also have plenty of other uses. They’re great for bringing along to days at the pool or beach — not just for singing in the shower!
Another one of the top dorm essentials to bring to college is a hanging toiletries bag. This is something that is really useful to have for communal bathrooms in college. Thanks to the hook on top, you can hang it up next to the sink while you are getting ready.
There’s plenty of space inside for storing toiletries, makeup, and other personal care products, and it zips up and folds into a small size. Aside from using this in your dorm bathroom, this is also a handy product to pack when traveling.
Finally, a hair styling caddy is a great dorm bathroom essential to have. This convenient caddy has room to store your hair styling tools like a hair dryer, a flatiron, and a curling iron. You could keep this in your dorm bathroom if you have your own shelf or cubby for storing things.
Or you may want to keep this in your dorm room, but its portable nature means it’s easy to carry to the bathroom when you want to style your hair in front of the big mirrors there.
The items listed above are the essentials I’d recommend for communal dorm bathrooms. But not every college dorm has a communal hall bathroom.
These days, many dorms are “suite-style” and you may share a bathroom with just a few roommates instead of an entire hall.
With this configuration, you’ll have more privacy, since you’ll only be sharing a bathroom with a few people. However, you’ll also have to clean your bathroom yourself and you may be responsible for providing more items.
These items include:
Before moving to your dorm, check to see exactly what kind of bathroom you have and what you’ll need to bring!
These are the dorm bathroom essentials every college student needs.
Sharing a communal bathroom with everyone on your dorm hall can be an adjustment, but these dorm bathroom essentials will help you not only survive but also thrive!
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