About ramen soup though...that stuff is really bad for you, isn't it? Seems a lot of pre-made foods are so high in sodium you aren't really gaining anything by it.
About concrete blocks---I thought about doing this...but...I'm not sure I like the unstability of having my bed on those things. A normal mini fridge would fit under our beds with it on its highest setting, but our fridge is a little taller than a usual one, so it doesn't fit
Maybe I'll try the blocks, though, just to see!
I wish our beds were lofted, I'd have so much more space if I could put my desk, fridge, and microwave UNDER my bed!
Ramen is a bad idea. It has loads of points and it doesn't even taste that good. What I do is I get Health Valley vegetarian Chicken Soup and then put the ramen noodles in without the flavor packet. It's 6 points, is very filling, and is excellent.
I've been taking summer classes, and since there are no meal plans offered over the summer, I've been eating all my meals out of my dorm room. The essentials: a mini coffee maker, a toaster, a microwave. A freezer is really nice to have too. The coffee maker doubles as a hot pot - just run the water through without any coffee or a filter and it comes out good and hot for tea or soup. The toaster is great for English Muffins (great lowpoint snacks) and Crumpets (ditto). The microwave cooks my frozen foods, potatoes, broccoli, etc. It's really nice to have a freezer so you can stock up on Red Ones, Lean Cuisine, and Healthy Choice meals, as well as frozen vegetables. You'll probably want a Brita filter also - water in dorms is invariably gross. Some tupperware - for the frozen vegetables and the soups is a good idea. Silverware is a must - but it's cheap at Walmart. I bought a set of dishes - bowls, plates, bread plates and mugs, but I only really use the bread plates and the bowls. Buy really big mugs so you don't have to get up and refill your tea (or coffee) 20 million times when you're studying. Getting a water bottle is good so that you can carry around lots of that Brita-filtrated water, and not have to buy $1 a bottle Aquafina water. I also like having my little tupperware pitcher for mixing my lemonade crystal light. That's about it for utensils. Don't bother getting a mini convection oven. The RA's (resident assistants) are usually ****s and you'll get it taken away and you might get a fine. Not worth it.
Hope this was helpful. Have fun your freshman year - it goes by so quickly!!
Check before you bring a toaster to school. My school doesn't allow them (some stupid frosh set his room on fire, i think), and if you are caught with one, you void your housing contract (which is very bad cuz there aren't many rental options nearby).
Brita has a water bottle that has a filter built in. It's pretty cool. It's like a bike bottle size. That way, you can add water throughout the day from any faucet.
Make sure you get microwave proof dishes. Pyrex is pretty good to get, if you can afford it, cuz it's oven/microwave/dishwasher safe. It's the ultimate in laziness. Prepare it in the dish, eat it from the dish, store it in the dish, and then reheat it again later on.
Some convection ovens look like convection ovens, but my sister had one that looked just like a microwave. You could not tell by looking at it that it was a convection oven. But they are pricey.
For the concrete blocks, you put them down the short way, not the tall way. You can run into stability problems if you start stacking them. Your school may also have loft kits for the students to use. I fall out of bed too much to even try that.
Oh, and get a mattress pad. Those beds are very very firm. And bring a bunch of pillows. That way, you can make your bed look more sofa like when people visit, and it's nicer to read in bed.
I know ramen isn't the healthiest, but it is cheap, and it's a lot lower in points than most of the stuff I could find in the dining hall. I think the stuff I found was 9pts for the entire bag, but it filled me up for a long time. It was definately a better food choice than the pepperoni pizza, chicken burger and fries. :-)
You can add a bunch of frozen veggies and beans for more bulk and a healthier meal.
Oh, and go to as many free dinner events as you can, cuz you can generally get extra bottles of water and soda for a fraction of your time. My friend did this, and had a huge stockpile of drinks in his room. Hee hee. Also, if you get a meal plan, try to find out when important people are visiting the campus, cuz the dining hall food tends to be better than normal. They want to impress the visitors, I guess.
And bring lots of quarters. The mini M&Ms tubes fit $13 in quarters. And check the washers before you put your laundry in. I got rust stains over all my clothing, while my roomie had ink stains over all her laundry (someone left a pen in the washer). Stay with your washing too. My sister had sweatshirts and underwear stolen constantly.
Try to get involved with some academic type departments at your school too. If you need a reference for a campus job, you have people to do that. They also will put you into the loop for scholarships and all sorts of insider info. If you want to try doing the RA thing (free housing), get involved with the housing dept and help them out with their events. When hiring time comes around, they'll remember you, and be more inclined to choose you. Network with the staff and faculty. You will be very glad you did it.
thanks for all the tips! last year I bought great big velour pillows, for that reason!
Our school doesn't offer any type of lofting kit, and only one dorm has lofted beds. I'm still trying to figure out how the heck i'm supposed to get in my bed if its on blocks
Dorm food
