10 Essentials Under $10 You Didn’t Know You Needed for College

These ten items probably won’t be on your shopping list when it comes to back to school, but they’ll make college life a lot easier! Especially if you’re living in a dorm. When it comes down to it, they’re essentials! These affordable essentials would also make great supplements to a graduation gift or care package. They’re sure to be put to good use!

This post shares college essentials under $10.

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10 College Essentials Under $10:

1. Thank You Notes
2. A Stapler
3. Hand sanitizer
4. Coconut Oil
5. Dorm Shoes
6. A Phone Wallet
7. Food Storage Containers
8. A Single Hole Puncher
9. A Binder
10. Tape

I know this list seems random – but trust me. I wouldn’t steer you wrong! And I didn’t make this all on my own either, I consulted with some of my best friends I’ve made in college so far, and they approved this list too. They even came up with enough ideas on their own that I may have to write a second post! What makes these items essential? Let’s get into it!

1. Thank You Notes

I hate to break it to you, but once you make it to college you’re going to need help. A lot of help. Whether it’s with classes or adjustments or a recommendation from a professor, you won’t make it through the year alone. A simple handwritten thank you note can go a long way, and mean a lot. Just off the top of my head I remember writing thank you’s for:

• My RA when he helped me write my first cover letter
• My professors who wrote me letters of recommendation
• A friend who helped me out when I was in a jam

If these people are helping you, you probably see them on a regular basis so there’s no difference in effort between sending an email and writing a note! While emails are great, the note will make a lasting impression. It will show the person that you truly appreciate what they did for you. And hey, the next time you need a favor they may be keener to help you out again since they know you don’t take them for granted.

2. A Stapler

Preferably a mini stapler. I got mine at Target on sale for $0.99 and it came with back up staples, but that’s beside the point. Staplers are a big deal in college – at least at my university, they are. The student with a stapler is everyone’s favorite. Often professors required papers or homework to be stapled, but our printers don’t all have stapling abilities (for whatever reason), so if you didn’t have a stapler or know a guy, you’re out of luck. The week I lost my stapler was rough for both me and everyone who relied on me for it. How do you avoid relying on others to have it or for the printers to always be able to staple? You buy your own! These are so cheap and the mini ones barely take up any room so this purchase is a no-brainer! If you can’t make it out to the store for back to school sales, I recommend checking out Amazon.

3. Hand Sanitizer

So, I’ve always carried around hand sanitizer because I have a service dog and I like to use it after I pick up her poop. However, having hand sanitizer really came in handy when I was eating in the dining hall! It was quick and easy and just another way to keep the germs from getting to me. I also hate eating without washing my hands, but sometimes trying to go wash my hands was impractical. If you have to open three doors to get back from the bathroom and show your ID, all while having left your food unattended, is it really worth it? To me, no. Most students carry their wallets around on keychains and you can easily attach the hand sanitizer to it! Or carry it in your pencil case/somewhere in your backpack. Depending on your schedule this could still mean you’ve got lunch and dinner covered!

I use PocketBac hand sanitizer from Bath & Body Works. They sell five packs online for just $8!

4. Coconut Oil

Alright before you roll your eyes and click away or keep scrolling, hear me out. Coconut oil is one of the most multipurpose items in existence if you ask me. I use it for so many things!

• Moisturizer
• Hair mask
• Makeup remover
• In food as a butter substitute
• Face mask
• Toothpaste
• Lip balm to heal dry or cracked lips
• Mouthwash
• Shaving cream

It’s magic. And that’s just off the top of my head! I’m sure I’ve used it for other things, and there are tons more I could try. Maybe coconut oil deserves its own blog post?

5. Dorm Shoes

What are dorm shoes, you ask? Dorm shoes are what you throw on at night when your friend says they made popcorn and can’t eat it all and you’ve been studying your life away. They’re what you wear when you do laundry, and when you are moving around within your building with no intention of going outside. They can be used outside in some cases, but when it comes down to it, dorm shoes are shoes you can easily throw on to run out of your room at a moment’s notice when you don’t intend to leave the dorm. They can get dirty, they’re nothing fancy, but they’re easy to slide on and go. I mean, who has time to lace up tennis shoes or put on sandals when it’s a fire drill?

I use flip flops I got at Target for $4 as my dorm shoes, and I wish I had made this investment sooner. Before this, I was either wearing converse or heels if I had to dash out, and flip flops are faster than both of those! They’re also more comfortable. Slippers can be great for this too! I just wouldn’t personally advise wearing slippers outside/in the halls/to the laundry room, and in your bed (which I have seen some people do). You never know what you’re tracking on the bottom of those things!

6. Phone Wallet

If you aren’t familiar with phone wallets, allow me to enlighten you: Phone wallets are a magical creation that allows college students to carry their ID (something they should have on their person at all times) on the back of their phone (something they will have on their person at all times)! You can even scan your card through the phone wallet/cardholder depending on the material, so you don’t even have to get it out to get into buildings at my school. Isn’t that useful?

Having a phone wallet wasn’t something I ever saw myself using, in all honesty. I got mine as a graduation present and started using it the second week of classes, when getting my ID out of my wallet every time I got a meal or needed to enter my building became too much of a hassle. Some businesses and schools will give them out for free as advertising, I imagine all universities sell them in some way, shape, or form, and you can always get one online! While cheap, these things truly are lifesavers. Every college student has one for a reason!

7. Reuseable Food Storage Containers

I received some Rubbermaid TakeAlongs Food Storage Containers as a graduation gift, and I put them to good use. I was given a five-pack of small square containers and they are the perfect size! I’d use them to hold leftovers from the dining hall, to smuggle food from home back to school with me, take snacks outside, and at the end of the year, I packed all of my command hooks in them!

Some of my closest friends prefer to carry freezer bags with them, so I’ve also linked some reuseable freezer bags that come in a bunch of different sizes!

8. A Single Hole Puncher

Guys, this is life-changing. A single hole puncher means you can store it easily and bring it wherever you go. It means it only takes a second to add holes to any paper, and when it came to putting together my college binder, it changed everything! Adding papers became so much easier and I didn’t have to overstuff the divider tabs which conveniently have a place for papers in the front of them. While I personally don’t use binders for anything aside from my one binder of important information, I highly suggest one of these if you plan on using a binder in any capacity while at college. After all, mine only cost $0.99 (again, from Target)! 100% worth it.

9. A Binder

No, not for classes. A binder to hold all of your important documents, major information, syllabuses, contact information for doctors, and all that jazz. To read about what I put in my college binder, click here! If you’d like an idea of how someone else does it, you can read this post by my friend Julia.

10. Tape

Oh, tape. Tape is wonderful. It can be used for so many things, and you don’t know how much you need it until you don’t have it. Tape is kind of like a stapler in that way. Painters tape is great for college students for hanging things like posters or postcards on the walls of their dorm. Washi tape is surprisingly multipurpose and great for jazzing things up.

And there you have it, 10 Essentials Under $10 that You Need for College!

I hope this has been helpful for anyone preparing for college! If you’ve already gone to college what are some of your college essentials under $10? Let me know in the comments!

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