11 Practical College Essentials for the Student Who Is Actually There to Get Stuff Done

These range in price…dramatically. So before I start with a dramatically priced item, take into account the amount it cost for a dining hall pass and if you have the ability to shop for your own food.

My family of 6 is currently living in a 600 square foot apartment temporarily and our only oven is a Breville Joule Toaster Oven. I love this thing. When I finally move into my “dream” kitchen, I will still use this. It really does replace my current oven. However it does take up a large amount of space.

In this oven I have roasted a whole chicken, two trays of veggies, sheet-pan pancakes, countless loaves of bread, homemade fries, chicken nuggets, chicken tenders, brownies, cakes, salt dough ornaments for my kids' craft time. You do have to watch it a little more closely, but it really can do it all. OH, and you proof bread! The temperature ranges from 80 degrees Fahrenheit to at 480 degrees. It’s one of those appliances that can potentially replace several others. Check out my pictures below for real proof!

For a student living in an apartment with a questionable kitchen—or someone who would simply rather avoid the communal kitchen—it can toast, bake, roast, reheat and air fry without needing a full-size oven. Leftover pizza? Done. Frozen food? Done. Actual chicken and vegetables because you're pretending to be a responsible adult? Also done.

The Breville Joule comes at a hefty price tag so their other items may suit a smaller space and budget better, such as their compact airfryer/ oven version.

Best for: Off-campus apartments, graduate students, or anywhere countertop cooking appliances are permitted. Important: Dorm rules vary significantly, so always check the school's appliance policy before buying.

College is a fantastic time to know how to make basic repairs. Hem thrifted pants. Fix a ripped seam. Repair curtains. Make a cheap pillow cover. Adjust something you found at the thrift store instead of buying it new. A traditional sewing machine takes up so much space. With a compact sewing machine, you don't need a giant sewing room. Most college students aren’t making quilts, but kudos to those that are!

"But the library has printers!" Correct. The library also isn't three feet from your bed when you realize at 11:47 p.m. that you need something printed for your 8 a.m. class or you made a typo in that report.. A small wireless printer is especially useful for students who print study guides, papers, forms, shipping labels or worksheets regularly.

As a Food Science Major, I had SOOO many labs which meant way too many lab reports. I was grateful to be able to make those last minute changes to reports, print them out, and head out the door.

My husband has been in IT for 10 years (and has been the go to family-printer problem-guy for even longer). Here are his top recommendations for the best bang for your buck printers:

- Brother MFC-J1010DW ~$100 A strong budget all-in-one for everyday printing. It prints, scans and copies, has Wi-Fi/mobile printing and automatic two-sided printing without costing much upfront.

- Canon PIXMA G6020 ~ $300-400 Best mid-range printer for most homes: Canon PIXMA MegaTank G6020 — low ink costs, automatic duplex printing, touchscreen controls, and high page yields without paying for a business-class printer

- Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550 $500-700 Best for someone who wants noticeably better photos and graphics. It uses six-color ink and can print borderless images up to 13 × 19 inches, making it much more capable for creative work.

This was my biggest purchase (besides college debt) as a college student and I had ZERO regrets about it. Unfortunately, I dropped my trusty college Surface Pro three years after college graduation and it no longer worked. I’m hoping to get a new one within the next year because I miss it so much. I’ve been using a Chromebook for about a year. It’s decent but also very limiting when it comes to using new applications. As far as browsing the web, creating web documents, and basic computer functions it is a nifty device. If you’re a content creator or looking to be extra creative in college, it just won’t do the job.

A Surface Pro can function as a traditional laptop for papers and research while also working as a tablet for reading, handwritten notes, PDFs and studying. Add a keyboard and stylus and you have a pretty impressive little college workstation that can still disappear into a backpack.

I’ve never been an Apple gal except for about 2 years when I consistently used my ipod touch. I can’t attest to any great Apple products but I know people love them!

An electric kettle is one of those inexpensive little appliances that earns its square footage quickly, especially if you like to drink tea, pour ovecoffee (or instant), hot chocolate, oatmeal, instant soup, etc. Sometimes when I’m making pasta, I’ll boil water in my instant kettle first and then add it to the pot to complete the boil- it’s much faster, especially when waiting for 6 qt of water to boil!

I have the Corsi 1.7L. The downside is that it is very large however, they do make smaller versions. There are also some very cute antique looking electric kettles on the market if you want something pretty and little! Again: check dorm rules first.

You do not need a 200-piece mechanic's set. You do need a screwdriver. A small kit with a hammer, screwdrivers, pliers, measuring tape, hex keys and a few other basics can follow a student from their first dorm or apartment all the way into their first house. I have what I lovingly call my “mom tools”. My favorite tool is the electric screwdriver that is USB rechargeable. My husband also found one at Lidl (of all places) so keep an eye out at the grocery store.

Tiny living spaces get dirty remarkably quickly. A small cordless vacuum is perfect for crumbs, desk messes, car cleanups and the mysterious debris that appears on the floors approximately six minutes after you clean them. There are countless cordless stick vacuums on the market. Since my husband uses Craftsman tools we decided to go with a Craftsman Cordless Stick Vacuum that uses the same batteries as his tools.

Cheaper options are out there, such as those that charge while mounted to the wall charger. My mom has a Eureka and it has done well with their busy country floors.

This is less exciting than dorm-room decor and approximately 700 times more useful. A good portable charger can keep a phone alive through long class days, travel, campus events and those unfortunate moments when every outlet in the library is already occupied. I had 3 in college that I used consistently and my then boyfriend, now husband asked for a solar powered one for Christmas one year!. I could even use it for my Surface. Now that I'm thinking back on it, I really should get one to keep in my purse or diaper bag because they are so helpful for long days and old phones. Make sure whichever one you get is compatible with your phone.

Eating out gets expensive FAST. A decent lunch bag and a few containers make it much easier to bring leftovers, snacks or an actual lunch to campus. This is especially useful for commuters and students who spend the entire day bouncing between classes, labs, work and the library. A simple lunch box and a few Pyrex dishes (I prefer the rectangle ones for lunches) and silicone sandwich baggies will do wonders for your wallet.

Apartment laundry machines aren't exactly known for their gentle treatment of clothing.

A compact drying rack lets you air-dry sweaters or anything that you don’t want to shrink or get stolen. Fold it up when you're finished and slide it beside a dresser or under the bed. My college folding drying rack just bit the dust year 9 after college. We ended up using it for camping trips and air drying our cloth diaper inserts. My original one was metal, which seemed the most compact at the time but compared to the wooden ones I’ve seen, it doesn’t seem nearly as sturdy. If longevity is your goal, then I would opt for a good solid wooden one. These are a great yard sale find!

For the record, I’ve never owned one of these, and I debated whether to put it on the list. But when I think back to the amount of coffee I bought during college—usually the cheapest small coffee or sometimes an Americano, not the pricey stuff—I definitely spent over $300 at coffee shops. Sometimes, I felt like if I didn’t have that caffeine boost, I would not make it through my 3 hour labs or 2 PM class.

There are portable coffee makers now. Maybe these have been around for years and I live under a rock, but if I could go back in time, I would seriously consider one of these little gadgets, especially if I got it as a freshman. Now, for those seniors out there, unless you’re drinking every cup of coffee out I’m not sure how much it would save you. But It does look like a fun camping or hiking gadget too so I’m sure it would work beyond the college years. You could even regift it to a new college student when you’re done.

Before buying something for college, ask:

Will this help me cook, clean, repair, study, save money or solve an annoying problem and hopefully last past the college years?

If the answer is yes, it's probably worth considering to see if you can at least find something used. If the answer is, "Well, it matches my bedspread and throw pillows..." Maybe wait a week or two after classes start to see how important it really is.

College rooms are small and most budgets are tight but four years is a fantastic time to learn that being independent isn't about owning everything. It's about knowing how to do a lot with what you have.