Dorm items! Part 3: Bedding

Back again!

In case you're new, this post is part of a series that I'm posting on dorm items, specifically for Michigan State students. I'm obviously not an authority and this doesn't have everything you need for the dorms, but these are items that worked for me and my friends. As an introduction to each post, I'll write a little bit about what Michigan State offers for each section. Note, these aren't affiliate links and you don't have to buy them through these links. I just use them so that you can get an idea of the items and comparison shop, or if you happen to find a good deal, so you can snatch it up as you prepare for dorm living.

Today, I'll do a short post on bedding. MSU has twin XL beds on a loftable frame. What this means (in case you don't know. I didn't really know, since I've never had the choice to loft my bed or not) is that you can loft your bed so that it is higher. Just guessing, but I'd say it lofts to be about 8-10' high. It's enough to put shelves or a minifridge or a futon underneath, so it goes pretty high. (In most of them, anyways. When I was at Yakeley, the bed lofted a little bit lower, but my friends were still able to put their desks underneath.)

On move-in day, I had my cousin loft my bed for me, but I didn't like it. Since I was on the first floor of Hubbard, my ceiling was pretty high (and I'm pretty short), so I didn't have any problems with hitting my head on the ceiling. But the "steps" on the bed are wooden and really painful to step on, so I ended up having my friend unloft my bed, which put it at about 4' high. Still high enough for me to put my boxes underneath, but I had to move my minifridge.

MSU uses twin XL bedsheets, which is kind of inconvenient. Just remember that, while twin XL sheets will fit on twin size beds, twin size sheets will not fit on twin XL beds. So, unless you happen to have a twin XL bed at home, you'll probably have to buy new sheets. When it comes closer to move-in day, stores will start to stock college dorm supplies, and usually they'll have sheet sets to fit your bed. Otherwise, check out Target or Bed Bath and Beyond.

If you don't want to buy sheets, they have a program at MSU where you can get a free linen package every week. It's all white linens and includes a fitted sheet, a sheet, pillowcase, and two towels. Obviously, if you feel like decorating your room and coordinating your linens and whatever, this isn't ideal for you. I used this though, and it's really convenient and nice because you don't have to drag your bedding to the laundry room every week, and you can exchange it weekly for clean sheets. And it's free!

I would highly, highly, highly recommend buying a mattress protector. This is the exact same one that I bought. They re-use the mattresses after "cleaning them" but really, there are so many dorms on campus and a lot of work to be done over the summer, so you never know how well they clean them. I wiped my mattress down with some Clorox wipes and then put on this mattress protector. It's very cheap and it provides a good barrier between you/the sheets and the mattress. And if you don't use the linen package or have backup sheets, it's good to use if your sheets are in the wash and you're ready to sleep.

My roommate had this mattress pad. It was very comfortable, especially because the mattresses in the dorms are really firm, bordering on hard. It was easy to clean and made the beds a lot nicer, but I didn't bother with one because I didn't have a problem with the beds. But if you're not used to firm beds, or if you get there and find that you're having trouble sleeping, a mattress pad could definitely help you. I know a lot of my friends had one. Just make sure you get one in twin XL!

One of my friends had this bedside organizer because her bed was lofted. It was really cool! I thought about buying something like this when I was planning on what to pack over the summer, but ultimately didn't buy it. But since the bed is so high and it's such a pain to climb back down to put away your glasses or cell phone or whatever, this organizer was super efficient. (Since I'm not efficient, I would have to crawl under my bed every day to pick up my glasses or whatever dropped through the crack.)

My roommate bought a heated blanket during the black Friday sales since the room became super cold in the winter, but that's not essential.

Hope this helped! The next post of the series will probably be school supplies. (: I know that the Academic Orientation Program is starting next week, so have fun and good luck to all of the incoming freshman!

Rakuzen