Living in dorm soon? This are your must-brings 🛒

Hi guys! I studied in Korea for 4 months so I feel I’m a bit qualified to say what you MUST BRING so you can survive your Uni days without panicking and rushing to the nearest Daiso… like I did.

Essentials

- Toiletries (Soap, shampoo, conditioner, toothbrush, toothpaste, toothbrush cup, shaver, floss, pads, toilet paper, dry hair shampoo, hairdryer, little basket to bring to the bathroom)

- Skincare (Skincare products, sunscreen)

- Makeup (super important if you’re gonna party/ presentation day/ sudden acne influx - at least a foundation and concealer)

- Hair stuff (Hairbrush, hair bands, headbands etc)

- Cleaning supplies (usually your floor will have a vacuum or broom for you to clean) (magic eraser, antibacterial wet wipes, tissue paper, dust roller)

- first aid (bandages, chinese medicine with round pills for stomachache, chuanpeipipagao, Panadol)

- stationary (notebooks, multiple colour pens, correction tape, pencils, erasers, tape, scissors, sharpener, sticky notes, penknife, folder if you print paper hw, mechanical pencil lead)

- blue tack to hang stuff

- random plastic bags for trash (a dustbin isn’t essential since you can hang it from somewhere)

Bed

- Pillow

- Blanket

- Pillow sheet and bedsheet

- boaster and the boaster sheet

- spares!!!

- your chouchou

- alarm clock

Clothes

- formal wear (sometimes you get more points if you wear this - it’ll be stated in Uni guidelines)

- smart casual wear (presentation too)

- pyjamas (suitable to walk out of the room in

- party outfit (for partying!)

- formal dress (for formal nights especially for hall/ RCs)

- gym wear

- undergarments

- accessories (watches, simple jewellery, fancy jewellery, bracelets etc to fit multiple occasions - for me I also need my Apple Watch bands to match my outfit and my bag collection)

- work shoes

- sports shoes

- casual outdoor slippers

- comfy slippers (to walk around the dorm)

- bathroom slippers

- no show socks, long socks, short socks (buy multiple in diff colours :))

- jacket

- hangers (20-30 pieces: you will need some to hang your wet clothes too)

- metal hooks to hang maybe bags or something

- clothes stain remover

- detergent and softener

- perfume/ deodorant

- clothes steamer

- tiny blanket for late night studies to bring to the study area (very comfy will recommend)

- glasses microfiber for cleaning glasses & laptop fingerprints

Food

- mini rice cooker and mini pot that you can find easily on Taobao

- multiple lunchboxes especially if you’re on a meal plan and don’t have time/ you cook

- cooking materials if you cook (there should be dorm pans, pots and cooking utensils for you to use) but you can buy personal ones

- A few sets of eating utensils and bowl (more bowls if you cook)

- raw materials (uncooked rice, bag of potatoes etc) very perishable items not recommended) we like to keep boxes of eggs in our room hahaha cheap and nutritious

- spices (at least have salt, pepper, soya sauce)

- large box to keep everything somewhere in the kitchen

Decorate

- Bookshelf stopper (to hold files and books)

- Large container with wheels to easily move your things to & from the dorm (ikea sells this when I was young)

- more boxes but more aesthetic ones to store random stuff

- whatever you want to decorate your room with (heated candle warmer sounds nice but I’m lazy to get)

- door sealer to keep insects out especially in older forms

- mosquito nets

- curtains and curtain holders if not included in the room

- shoe rack because I’ve stated a lot of shoes (INSIDE the room in case something gets stolen)

School:

- Bags (school bag, tote bag, handbags, laptop sleeve etc)

- Laptop

- Phone

- iPad/ Tablets if you want & digital pens

- monitor and keyboard?? I don’t know how to use this combi

- Spare chargers and wires

- earphone/ earpiece for zoom meetings

- Powerbanks

- Wire extension cable (multiple ports!)

- Other wires (type C cables, USB cables, lighting cables if you have in case your friends are over and need a charge)

- water bottle

- snacks for late night study sessions without having to pay the overpriced vending machines/ UTown FairPrice/ 7-11

- alarm clock (I need a traditional alarm clock or I’ll never rise from my bed)

Optional

- Journal to document your life living alone, but I do this only when I go overseas to fill it with mementos

- Coin pouch if the washing machines and dryers are coin operated, and for late night vending machine snacks

- Water filter for your shower head if the water is hard (too many impurities, mainly for overseas travel or if the taps are very old). Shouldn’t be applicable for shared bathrooms

- Games (for dorm parties, friend hangouts)

- Mini gifts for friends & new dormmates

- Keep the dorm rulebook because at some point in time you’ll need to find out when the gym or study area closes

- Beanbag!!! Whiteboard???

Digital things to do

- Buy ChatGPT plus to help to understand complex theory

- 123movies for any relaxing shows

- Online notes app (e.g. Pages, Word, Docs, Notability, Goodnotes, Obsidian)

- Download Microsoft Office & Photoshop & Adobe Premiere

- Save important websites into your tabs: iLovePDF compression site, Scribblr (citation), Google Scholar (for scholarly evidence), Google Drive for instant access to group projects

- Add in all the holidays and exam weeks into your calendar

- Follow the uni’s and the dorm’s student life Instagrams/ Telegrams; the student council and CCA socials to get updated on all the happenings

- Keep a record of your tutors’ and lecturers’ contact information, and important information (they usually brief about this on the first week)

- Fan, portable aircon and portable fridge (might need to pay extra, bring at your own risk)

- Join your course’s telegram and WhatsApp chats

P.S. I’m planning to make a paper map on lesser known places to eat & study so I can truly “explore” NUS to its fullest. Unless I don’t :) I also want to have little fishies in a glow in the dark tank but one can only dream…

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