by Lynn-Nore Chittom

Created on: February 12, 2010

While plenty of Hollywood campus hits have played the spoof on the naked ladies in the college dorm bathroom, the reality can not be avoided.  Male or female, dorm life includes sharing a bathroom, and often with more than just a few close friends. 

Unless you've managed to land a "suite deal" arrangement, your first college experience will probably include living on a hall with a number of other residents and sharing a communal bathroom.  Depending on your dorm this bathroom may be either single-sex or co-ed.  If a co-ed bathroom pushes the boundaries of your co-educational experience, you might want to find this out before signing up for that dorm. Some students have taken this offense all the way to court.  To avoid following that pattern, a little planning and research will help you determine if your school, your dorm and your bathrooms are all equal opportunity. If you know you will be living in a co-ed dorm and you are wanting to find out about the bathroom options, a call to your school's housing office should do the trick.

So, what do you need for that daunting trip down the hall?  Here are the basics to help you not feel to bare outside your room. 

The number one college bathroom essential is a good bathrobe.  As goofy as it might seem, your bathrobe will soon be one of your most treasured possessions.  Given the small size of most dorm bathroom changing areas, it works best if you undress in your room, slip on your robe and head down the hall.  Be sure to get a robe with a pocket, unless you want to be drip drying in the hall way waiting for your resident assistant to show up with your room key.  

The second most important essential is a carry-all for your toiletries.  Shampoo, conditioner, razor, shaving gel, soap and whatever else sounds good all needs to be transported to and from the bathroom in something.  A shower organizer is useful because you can hang it somewhere in your room and hook it over the shower head in the tub, but a waterproof basket works well, too.  For guys, something stainless steel might seem a little less fru-fru-ish and doesn't involve the word "shower-caddy.

As for the perfect dorm-bathroom towel, try to buy something simple that matches your room decor, as it might be visible drying on a hook on the back of your door.  This is not the time to accept a second-hand towel from the back of your mom's linen closet.  And, in the interest of keeping clean, don't forget to wash your towel (and bedsheets) at least as often as you do a load of whites! 

Last, but not least, consider flip-flops. Unless you're interested in sharing more than just left-over pizza with your new neighbors, best to keep a little distance between you and shower floor.  

These college dorm bathroom essentials should help keep you clean from Labor Day to Christmas and on to graduation.

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