High school is a long journey, but for some of us, it is coming to an end. College is the next step in life for a lot of students at Rocky Mountain High. It is a frightening prospect for a majority of seniors, especially when it comes to what to do when you make it to your senior year. If only there was a guide for things that would make your life in your own dorm easier.

The internet is full of advice for soon to be college students, but it would be useful if college students had access to the ultimate list of essentials for their dorms. That is what I have done here. As a junior, I cannot say I know enough about college to actually be trusted, so I present to you useful tools for college from a person who has never been to college.

Modern technology makes it easy for us to live a luxurious life every day. However, college students are regularly broke, so they need cheap alternatives to otherwise expensive luxuries. Fortunately, there are many things out there made for people just like college students. All of this tech I’m listing can be purchased at a maximum of $527.

One of the most important pieces of technology to Millennials and gen Z are our smartphones. so let’s start with smartphone-related tech. First of all, having a portable charger with you at all times could save you so much stress. I’m assuming a lot of you already have portable chargers, but if you have portable chargers that suck, it is easy to get better ones and I advise that you do so.

Second, you may want to invest in an iPhone extension cord so that you can use your phone at a place where an outlet may not be as nearby as you want. That argument is silly, but I‘m certain that you’ll run into the problem at least once. Investing in an extension cord for a laptop is likely more important than a smartphone extension cord so that is likely a more valuable piece of advice. Purchasing an extension cord and a portable charger will likely cost you from $5 to $10.

Next, you may want to focus on things that would prove useful when it comes to actual academics. First, should try investing in an instant wi-fi printer. They’re small and cheap and make it so that you can print your assignments without having to leave your dorm. They usually cost around $57, so it would be a cheap way to save time.

A useful academic piece of tech is a mini projector, specifically a Vamvo L4200 Portable Mini Projector, or Tontion 2400 Lux Video Projector for a lower budget. Mini projectors would make it easy for you to enjoy yourself while working but also watch academic videos that you may have been assigned in a much more enjoyable way. A mini projector usually costs between $50 to $200.

A book light should be something that you should purchase immediately because everyone knows the college work often continues late into the night. If you don’t want to wake your roommate by keeping the lights on while you work having a book light would make it so much easier for you to work without damaging your eyes. These usually cost around $10.

Aside from academic and smartphone-related tech, it is vital that you have luxury items in your dorm. The Frigidaire Mini Refrigerator, though an odd recommendation, would be an excellent purchase because it could be used to store all of your food, obviously. I imagine having a cold drink in your dorm whenever you needed; it would make college life so much easier and more pleasant. Even if your dorm provides you with a way of keeping your food cold, you can keep a mini-fridge right next to the bed or you work space so you don’t even have to get up.

Another food-related luxury would be purchasing an electric tea kettle. Tea isn’t for everyone, but an electric tea kettle makes it so that you don’t have to manually boil water–which is a royal pain. This means that you could just have noodles sitting in a bowl and pour boiling water over them to cook them immediately. It saves time and guarantees is a delicious meal. These usually cost around $25.

For the money, soon-to-be college students who don’t like tea but instead prefer coffee, one of the smartest investments you can make would be a microwave-friendly coffee maker. It’s just a coffee maker that you can stick in the microwave to warm up your coffee, which would make your mornings move faster and save you the pain and expense of going out to get coffee.

The last and perhaps most important luxury that one can have is a snack drawer. Just have a drawer in your dorm filled with your favorite snacks. This would likely cost you from $5 to $30 a week unless your food preferences or limitations involve pricer food items.

The last category of tools for a college dorm is stress-relieving. College is naturally a very stressful environment, so having things in your dorm that reduce that stress is critical. The best ways to reduce stress appeal to your senses–beginning with your sense of smell. Your sense of smell carries memories and is one of your strongest senses. Because of this, it would be wise to have candles or diffusers enabled to let your mind relax through scents. This would mean spending from $15 to $50 for a diffuser and essential oils.

Second to smell, is eyesight. Walking into your dorm and having to wade through stuff would obviously not be good for mental health. That is why investing in organizing bins for all the rooms in your dorm would be a smart idea. Organization is scientifically proven to reduce stress, so having bins around your dorm with labels and designated items is essential. These would have varied prices based on how big your dorm is and how much stuff you have.

Also consider keeping grocery bags obtained from trips to the store. The bags can be used for trash and recycling, but when you don’t want to get out of bed or out of your chair to go throw things away. Yoy should always keep a plastic bag nearby. Grocery bags cost you nothing.

The last, and I believe the most important tool, to invest in for your college dorm would be a collapsible floor table with floor cushions. Dorms are typically very small meaning that eating spaces are limited. If you do have floor space, however, being able to bring out a small table and seating would be beneficial to you and your roommate, if you have one. This investment would cost from about $100 to $200, but would last you all four or more years.

If you decide to purchase all of these things for your dorm, you would have spent around $800. In the long-term, all of these investments would save you a ton of money and time. Even though I have not gone to college, I have done extensive research and I believe that all of these suggestions should be taken seriously. Then again I’m the one who wrote it so I guess I’m a little bit biased!