Secret Off College Campus Supply List

College Campus supply list stacey gustafson writer

Image courtesy of imagerymajestic / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Remember the handy supply list sent home to your grade school child each summer? It included must haves like colored pencils, pink erasers, spiral bound notebooks and No. 2 pencils. Well, forget about finding a supply list for your college kids once they move off campus. An off college campus supply list is more like the Jamba Juice secret menu, only few parents know about it.

Secret Off College Campus Supply List

1.Beer Pong Table – My husband and I carted an old plastic and metal table to our daughter’s off campus housing. We figured it would do the trick for meal times, serviceable and cheap. The kids turned it into a makeshift outdoor beer pong table.

2. Netflix – Purchase a subscription to Netflix for the college kids to insure that their after class time will be well spent binge watching favorites like How I Met Your Mother, Orange is the New Black and House of Cards.

3. Packaged microwavable food – Ready to eat stuff like Raman noodles, instant oatmeal, cup of noodles, and Mac and Cheese will fulfill the hungry college students between meals cravings.

4. Nail polish – Girls can’t get enough nail polish. College essentials include 599 bottles of nail polish, 59 Emory boards and 27 nail clippers. They will go nuts over glow in the dark and magnetic brands.

http://www.amazon.com/Glow-Dark-Nail-Polish-Blue/dp/B0026SDCB8

http://www.amazon.com/Sally-Hansen-Magnetic-Nail-Color/dp/B0083Y9L3W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406500834&sr=8-1&keywords=magnetic+nail+polish

5. Hot Tub – Here’s hoping that a hot tub stays on the wish list. Did you know that one teaspoon of regular water has 138 bacteria but one teaspoon of hot tub water has 2,000,000 bacteria? Also, 81% of hot tubs contain fungi and 95% contain fecal matter!

6. How to Cook in a Coffee Cup cookbook – Learn how to cook five minute chocolate cookies in a mug, pasta in a bowl, scrambled eggs, instant pudding, and stuffed potatoes. Yummy.

http://collegelife.about.com/od/fooddining/a/25ThingsYouCanCookinYourDormMicrowave.htm

7. Black light bubbles – These luminescent blue or gold black light bubbles are a big hit at parties. Add loud music and your neighbors are sure to be your best friends.

http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/ec70/

Have you made any unusual purchases from your off college campus supply list? Let’s share.

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Comments

  1. Hot tub, OMG! I am so old I remember when it was a big deal if someone had a TV in their apartment.

  2. Gerald Kovac says

    I will never again step into a hot tub-except in my own house.

  3. When our sons lived off campus, I just really didn’t want to know how they were living. One son ultimately couldn’t take how messy his housemates were—and this is not a neat freak kid!

    • staceygustafson says

      I still don’t get the slob thing. Just as easy to throw dirty clothes in a basket.there is not a square inch in my son’s room without clothes.

  4. I love the beer pong table! Sounds like something my eldest might have done. Fortunately for mine and Hubby’s sanity, he went to college 24 hours from home, so we never saw that kind of stuff. 🙂 And child #2 is five hours away, and she likely would have turned the table into a dining spot for her pets… Child #3? He graduates next spring and I think I’ll remember not to send along a card table… 😉

    Thanks for sharing this bit of practicality and humor.

    • staceygustafson says

      It’s a mixed bag. I know or not to know, that is the question. My daughter shares a lot with us and I have to keep a straight face.

  5. This cracked me up. I’m a Higher Ed Consultant, and I frequently remind students (and parents) that those lists of “dorm room essentials” handed out by major retailers are meant to make money for them, and have nothing to do with filling real needs.

    In no way did I ever HAVE TO HAVE an espresso maker or a bed skirt ruffle, despite what Pottery Barn is advising teens.

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