21 Things Every College Dorm Room Needs Besides A Microwave

Packing up for college can be stressful and time-consuming. You begin packing late in the summer when the start of your first college semester is looming, and you're excited about this new stage in your life. After 15 minutes, this activity has become a whole lot less interesting, and it then takes at least a week of gradually adding things to a heap in the corner of your room until you think you've probably got everything... but can't be quite sure because you can't remember what's at the bottom of the pile. Thankfully, there aren't that many things that are totally essential to your freshman year: As long as you have the following 21 items, your dorm room set-up will be as ideal as possible. We'll leave it to you to decide what clothes, towels, linens, and books you really need.

Let's face it: No freshman is actually going to thoroughly clean every part of his or her dorm room with a cocktail of cleaning equipment. One all-purpose cleaner than can be used on everything is going to have to suffice.

Don't set off to college without a bottle opener. This small piece of equipment is key to a happy and popular college life.

A cup of coffee isn't going to magically appear in your dorm every morning, and a daily trip to Starbucks is going to get expensive. Set up a basic coffee-maker so you can get your morning fix from the comfort of your own room.

Unless you want to live in a depressingly empty, undecorated room all year, you're going to want to hang up some art and photos. Command hooks are easy to put up and won't tear the paint off the wall when you remove them at the end of the year.

A standard-size vacuum cleaner is going to occupy too much space and be too hefty to actually use regularly. A small dust buster is all you need to quickly whizz around that dorm room.

Sadly, we can't guarantee your neighbors are going to live on your time schedule, or that your roommate isn't going to snore. Pack some ear plugs — noise issues are inevitable.

At the very least, you need a bowl (everything can be eaten out of a bowl, so no need for a plate, right?), a fork, and a spoon. Everything else is optional.

Air conditioning isn't always guaranteed in dorm rooms, and some days and nights in a cramped room are going to require some extra cooling down by way of a powerful fan.

You can at least attempt to keep your room tidy by not just throwing dirty clothes on the floor, and instead, keeping them neatly piled in the corner thanks to your laundry hamper.

You're going to need to store that microwavable food, milk, and "soda" somewhere: A mini fridge is the perfect solution.

Sometimes you'll want to tune out to the world around you, whether that's just to get some "me-time" or to try and get some work done. Noise-canceling headphones will help save your sanity on multiple occasions.

There are so many reasons to pack paper towels: No freshman needs napkins, they're the best thing to eat a pizza off, and they can be used to wipe down or "clean" anything and everything.

Sadly, most dorm rooms weren't built for our endless technology consumption, so you're going to want an extension cord in order to keep everything charged and functioning.

You may think scissors are an unnecessary piece of equipment, but they will be seriously useful for opening packages, bags, or boxes and cutting up a late-night pizza.

Carrying all your stuff to the shower piled high in your arms and then dropping it on the floor when you try to open the door is never a good idea: A simple shower caddy will save you from this embarrassing situation.

Not everyone has your hygiene standards, so you're going to want some flip flops to wear to and from the shower.

Make sure you're the center of every party by having the ability to turn the music up loud without having to resort to creating a make-shift speaker out of your phone and a plastic cup.

No dorm room has ever provided a student with enough storage. Pack a few storage bins so you can at least try to keep yourself organized and tidy.

A reusable water bottle may seem like a basic piece of equipment, but it really will be one of your most-used possessions.

The water coming out those taps doesn't always taste so great. Make sure you're drinking the best, freshest water you can by always have a filtered water pitcher on hand in your dorm.

Dorm rooms aren't always going to be pristinely clean. Make sure you have some wet wipes at the ready to clear up any spillages that occur.