Skip or splurge: A guide to enhancing your first-year dorm experience

For many, the excitement of going to college includes the anticipation of making lifelong friends and learning from renowned professors. However, if you're reading this article, a significant part of your excitement might also come from the opportunity to decorate your dorm room.

I interviewed current students and spoke with Carolina Housing to get their input on common dorm items. This list is organized using a "skip" to "splurge" index to measure how much time, money and energy should go into picking these items. Skip means don’t bother purchasing, save means get the cheaper option and splurge means that it's worth paying for the higher-quality version.

Fluffy Shag Rug

• Rating: 0/10

• Save

Unless you want to remember all of your friends from syllabus week by the mud they tracked onto your brand-new white fluffy rug, I would advise against buying a high-pile rug. The softest rugs will turn the crunchiest by Christmas. For optimal utility, I would suggest a low-pile, patterned rug that’s easy to vacuum and can camouflage those mud stains.

Rising sophomore Mary Self said she still advises students get rugs for their dorms because they make the space look homier, but suggested straying away from buying a white rug.

String lights/LED light strips

• Rating: 0/10

• Skip

“No LED light strips, string lights, holiday lights, fairy lights — nothing like that,” Mark Bertram, Carolina Housing’s assistant director of marketing, said. 

LED light strips and hanging lights are banned over concerns for fire safety and room damage, he said. Before the ban, these LED light strips damaged the paint and drywall when students went to remove the lights at the end of the year. String lights heat up if left on for extended periods, which poses a significant fire risk. The decision was made in conjunction with the campus fire marshal.

The good thing is that students are allowed to have single-bulb lamps. 

Lamps

• Rating: 10/10

• Splurge

Lamps are rated as a splurge not because you need to buy expensive lights. Self said that using lamps, instead of the harsh overhead lights, made her room feel more inviting.

Rising sophomore Dayna Wilkerson also said that she enjoyed having a clip-on light on her bed to read late at night. 

Keurig/coffee machines

• Rating: 5/10

• Save

Unless you’re one of those people who can’t get out of bed without starting your coffee pot first, skip the coffee machine. The coffee in the dining hall does the job for most, Self said. Wilkerson agrees, but said she appreciated her Keurig on cold winter mornings to make coffee or hot chocolate. In case of caffeine emergencies, there is Stone & Leaf Cafe in the UNC Student Stores on mid-campus, Port City Java next to Chase Dining Hall on South Campus and an array of coffee shops on Franklin Street. 

Fridge/freezer

• Rating: 7/10

• Save

Nearly every dorm packing list includes a mini-fridge — and for good reason. It’ll hold everything from your dinner leftovers to your most coveted dorm snacks for when you can’t be bothered to go to the dining hall. I would suggest asking older siblings or friends if they have an old one before you go buy a new one. There’s also the option to rent a Microfridge, a combination microwave and fridge, through the Residence Hall Association’s preferred vendors.

Wilkerson said she suggests getting a fridge with a freezer large enough to fit a pint of ice cream. While her retro Frigidaire was super cute, she said, the freezer could not fit her Ben & Jerry's. 

Air purifiers/dehumidifiers 

• Rating: 9/10

• Splurge

Air purifiers filter out pollutants, such as dust and unpleasant odors. Dehumidifiers take away excess moisture from the room and make it a little more comfortable. These items can be particularly helpful for people who are prone to allergens.

They are useful to keep healthy, Self said. Constant interaction with people in classes and socially can lead to the spread of sickness, especially during your first year when you are living with people in close quarters. 

"I think those helped us, preventing us from getting sick all the time, because I know a lot of people who didn't have good air purifiers, and would just be sick all the time freshman year," Self said. 

In conclusion

Carolina Housing set the rules with the safety of students and the buildings in mind. A comprehensive list of allowed and prohibited items can be found on their website.

“I think despite even some of these rules, there is a ton of opportunities that are policy compliant, that will still enable you to make a really cool, decorated room," Bertram said.

@dthlifestyle | lifestyle@dailytarheel.com