Organize-It Blog

Dorm Laundry Essentials to Help Keep your Life Together in the New School Year

The transition from home to dorm can be stressful in so many ways. At home, you have easy access to laundry, kitchen, and all of the usual comforts. But in school, it’s kind of like you are camping in a room, with all of your essential life activities taking place some place else – cafeteria downstairs or in another building, laundry downstairs (or at home on weekends), bathroom (at worst – down the hall), or slightly better, in your room, but shared with three other people you may or may not know. All of your routines get turned upside down when you go to college, but you can reduce your stress by showing up for school prepared. We are featuring several blog posts to prepare you for school, so be sure to check back weekly for great new ideas that will get you ready and manage your transition stress.

Clothes make the man – and the woman, and are essential to making an impression during school and for play. When you get to campus though, keeping them clean, stored and presentable becomes an instant hassle. Moving to the dorms will make you realize just how much you took your home life for granted. To help you deal, here are 10 dorm laundry products, our best, to make washing, lugging and pressing your laundry easier and keep you looking your best.

Over-Door Garment Drying Rack

When you’re in a hurry and can’t finish the dry cycle, or just when you need to hand wash some underwear or stockings (or that garment that missed the wash cycle), this over-door drying rack is a lifesaver. Just hang it over the door overnight and you’ll have dry, ready-to-go clothes the next day. Four 20-inch rungs give you plenty of room for hanging and it costs only $14.99.

Laundry Sorter and Bag

Laundry baskets are sturdy and great, but for dorms, laundry bags might be better. This one is lightweight and has three sorting compartments to keep your laundry organized. Plus it sports a carrying handle and is made of see-through mesh for easy identification of your dirty (or clean) stuff. Whether you are taking laundry home, to the dorm laundromat, or a commercial space, this is a great do-all bag – plus it comes in blue ($9.99) or white ($8.99) varieties.

Small Laundry Sorter/Mesh Wash Bag

Don’t you hate it when your fishnets get snagged or your dress socks get hung up on your jeans zipper? Solution: a little, inexpensive, gem-of-a-laundry sorter. It’s perfect for separating underwear and socks – plus you can throw it in the washing machine as a protective wash bag, which eliminates snagging and “intra-washing” mishaps. It’s only sixteen inches long, has four compartments, is made of lightweight mesh, and costs only $3.99.

Laundry Bag

For long, cross-campus laundry hauls, this laundry bag really fits the bill. Throw it over your shoulder with the included strap and toss it in the machine for easy washing when it’s dirty. It’s made of durable, reinforced nylon and the manufacturer offers a limited lifetime warranty. It’s 33 inches high and costs only $16.99.

Over-Door Ironing Board

Few dorms come with room for an ironing board. Over-door ironing board to the rescue. It comes with a pad and folds up and out of your way when you’re not using it. Plus it comes with a wire holder for your iron. Just let it cool and hook it over the prongs. It works on standard 1-3/8-inch or 1/3/4-inch thick doors and requires no extra hardware. Cost (on sale): $38.99. Ironing not a priority? Consider these: interviews and special dates – or any time you might want to impress someone. It happens.

Ironing Mat

No free door for the ironing board? No problem. Just buy this ironing mat and use it on your desk, table or counter. It has thick padding to discourage mishaps, is 19.5 x 28 inches, and has a built-in silicone iron holder. It folds up for easy storage and costs only $12.99.

Eco-Intelligence Iron

If you work in college or dress up, you’re going to want an iron. Rowenta’s Eco-Intelligence Iron is smartly designed to save energy by up to 25 percent, so makes a great green gift for your tree-hugging loved one (even if it’s a gift you buy yourself). It has a patented steam and anti-drip system and one of the coolest designs on the market. There’s no reason an iron can’t be pretty and industrial designs can be sublime too. It’s on sale at the time of this writing for $115.99.

Rowenta Hand Steamer

For low-maintenance, casual, t-shirt wearing students, you might be able to bypass the iron and all of it’s apparatus and use an inexpensive hand steamer. This uses distilled water to blast smaller wrinkles from your clothes. It has a lint and fabric brush to open weave as it steams out imperfections. It doesn’t quite do the job of an iron, and you can’t press folds into fabrics, but it’s a quick-and-dirty fix for looking presentable for the day – and requires less storage room than an ironing board and iron. I use one myself, and I seldom get out the iron. Cost: only $29.99.

Over-Door Hanger Valet

When you dry and iron your laundry, you sure don’t want it to get wrinkled. This over-door hanger is a great way to keep your clothes organized and wrinkle-free as you iron. It hangs over standard doors, is study and made from steel, holds five hangers, and extends five inches from the wall. Cost: $15.99.

Wire Hangers

With cramped closet situations, wire hangers make the best use of lateral space and are fairly inexpensive. They come in a variety of models, including multi-tiered versions, which give you space you didn’t know you had by utilizing the vertical. Tank top hangers, slack hangers, scarf and belt hangers, and even lingerie hangers are available for storing all your garments. Prices range from $3.99 to $13.99 for specialty, multi-tiered hangers. You also might enjoy the Clutter Control Freak post for more ideas on tricking out your closet on a budget (with hangers).

Whatever your dorm laundry needs for the coming fall, you’re sure to find it at Organize-It. New shoppers, be sure to sign up for our newsletter (go to main site and scroll to bottom for link) to receive a 10-percent discount on your first order. Also, you might want to sign up for our blog email list (use “subscribe” button on right of page), so you can receive notifications as we publish new articles.

EXTRAS

Laundry Tips:

Keep a laundry schedule to stay on top of things.

Sort as you soil to save work later.

Save your quarters.

Keep detergent and dryer sheets on hand.

Fold right away to minimize wrinkling and stay on top of it.

Laundry Checklist:

Detergent

Softener

Dryer Sheets

Basket or bag

Quarters

Iron

Ironing board or sheet

Dryer rack for in-room use

Spray starch