Isabel Tiburcio, Contributing Photographer

It’s move-in day. You and your parents are probably arguing about desk placement and panic-making a shopping list for a day-of Target trip. 

While I can’t help you with the feng shui of your first-year dorm — although desk-in-front-of-window supremacy forever — I can give you a look into some of the dorm essentials that turned my formerly sad prison-like dorm into a home.

Here are a few things I bought, brought and made that you should too.

IKEA Dog Bed

Starting a bit controversially, so hear me out. Bean bags are expensive, make that weird sound when you sit on them, take up too much space, and are annoying to stow away. A dog bed is chic, cozy, sturdy and happened to be on clearance for $2 during move-in last year. Best $2 I never spent — thank you to my suitemate Nastya. Since it’s a flat surface, unlike a bean bag, it’s great for studying, sitting with more than one person and naps that won’t make your neck ache the next day.

Target Cube Book Shelf

I will admit this was a panic day-of Target purchase, but has got to be the best one I’ve made. This shelf of 3 by 4 feet cubes is perfect for storing literally anything. It comes with cute cloth cube bins that currently hold my socks, hair products, school supplies, food and miscellaneous clutter. It can lay straight up for a tall, space-saving feel or horizontally for enough top shelf space to hold my TV and some decor! It’s super easy to use and sits directly on the ground, leaving your wall free of holes.

My Camera Collection

Decorate your space with hobbies! As a filmmaker and photographer — whose only source of dopamine is thrifting cameras — my room is filled with them. Eighteen of them to be exact. Five digis, four video cameras, four film, three DSLRs and two instant cameras. Not only is this a fun way to show off my personality and cover my blank walls, this collection also serves as a gentle reminder of what I’m most passionate about. At Yale you’ll get busy fast. Your GCal will be booked with meals, classes and clubs. It’s easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of this place. Your dorm should function as a grounding home base. Waking up to see my cameras grounds me in what I love. If you’re into tennis, hang some rackets. Fashion? Hang some handbags.

Watercolor Paintings

I am no painter. I am actually comically bad at it. But halfway into my first semester, sick of having blank walls and refusing to spend a ridiculous amount of money on prints, I decided to decorate it myself with amateur paintings of flowers and animals. Not only is it easy and free, it’s a great activity. When I want to spend time with friends, I invite them over for mocktails and watercolor. It’s a creative way to spend time with people on campus instead of meals and coffees. Also, it’s super cute and customizable. If you’ve got a pastel blue theme going in your room, paint a dainty blue teapot. If you’re more into sports memorabilia, paint the jersey of your favorite player!

Polaroid Wall

You’ve definitely seen this one online, but please please start taking polaroids of the friends who visit your dorm this semester. You can tape them on the wall, hang them from fairy lights or keep them in a scrapbook! As someone who desperately wants to be a girl who journals — but can’t for the life of her — it’s an easy way to keep track of who your friends are through the years. 

There’s always pressure to decorate your dorm. If you walk into a girl’s room and her walls are empty, there’s a good bet she’s a serial killer. I didn’t want to spend money on prints for my dorm, or an Ikea beanbag, but with this creative decor I didn’t have to! Turns out dorm shopping procrastination and cheapness was the key to a room that was authentically me and an escape from GCal-meal-scheduling hell.