5 Places Every College Freshman Has to Shop

For many college students the middle of August means the beginning of a new school year and a trip to many places for some college shopping.

And while a new school year always brings lots of change, for millions of college freshmen, there’s a lot more change this time than normal. Buying hygiene items, bedding, clothing, storage containers, and other dorm room essentials is a large, stressful task, but luckily, many stores are prepared to help accomplish that task. If you’re at a loss for where to shop, check out these five stores.

1.) Target

Target is an absolute must for college freshmen. The store has an entire section devoted to dorm rooms with furniture, seating, hangers, and storage, but has so much more, as well. School supplies like notebooks, paper, pencils, highlighters, and planners are available, along with dishware, snacks, clothing, lamps, sheets, bath towels, books, and other necessities. Target is a clothing store, grocery store, bookstore, and a department store all in one, and the perfect place for someone who needs a wide variety of things at affordable prices.

2.) Bed Bath & Beyond

College students need to buy things for their bedroom, bathroom, and more, so Bed Bath & Beyond is the perfect place to shop. The store carries the infamous shower caddy, along with vanity mirrors, bath towels, and, for those with jack-and-jill or private bathrooms, shower curtains, soap dispensers, and bath mats. There are also so many pillows, sheets, pillowcases, curtains, and more to choose from. Outside of just beds and baths, Bed Bath & Beyond also carries plenty of kitchen appliances, silverware, storage options, and decor for a dorm room.

3.) IKEA

Famous for its Swedish meatballs, bright blue and yellow color palette, and maze of a store design, IKEA is another amazing store for college freshmen. Although it may be frustrating and time-consuming to get caught in the never-ending displays of all IKEA’s products, it is also helpful to see their dorm set-ups and get some real-life examples for your own dorm room. IKEA has nifty gadgets like tablet holders, fun pegboards with many accessories for your office supplies, and snack containers. There is also plenty of furniture that is useful for dorms: desks, desk chairs, and storage carts and compartments. IKEA also has large bags that are popular for moving in all that stuff, and perhaps best of all, everything at the store is very affordably priced.

4.) The Container Store

Why students need to visit The Container Store is obvious from the name: it sells an abundance of containers, office supplies, shoe racks, closet storage, and other forms of organization, which is all desperately needed when moving into college. There isn’t a whole lot of space in a dorm room, so having places to put stuff in an orderly fashion is a must. Whether you want plastic containers, cloth storage compartments, cubed closet hangers, rolling carts, organizer trays for your desk drawers, or even a coveted java hutch for more desk storage, The Container Store has it all.

5.) Amazon

And of course, there’s so much to be found on Amazon. From clothes and shoes, to office supplies and furniture, the online website has nearly everything you could be looking for. For Prime members, the expedited and free shipping is a huge plus for all those last minute purchases, especially if your college freshman has already moved into the dorms and needs something quickly. And with Prime Days and the many discounted deals, you can typically save quite a bit of money on Amazon. Moving into college is quite the ordeal, and requires a lot of shopping. By stopping by these five stores, this difficult task gets a little bit easier.