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Every Amazing Prime Day Dorm Deal I Scored for My Son’s First Year of College

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Shower caddy, check. Lamp, check. wood veneer coated mdf

No matter how well-prepared your child is for college, shopping for their dorm room is no easy endeavor. You're essentially starting from scratch because many of their furniture and decor from home may not be suitable for their new living situation. And because you don't want to completely strip their own bedroom, you have to secure new essentials like sheets and lamps all over again. Luckily, Amazon Prime Day is the ideal time to stock up on said pieces. In fact, our Editorial Director Joanna Saltz, who is sending her first off to college in the fall, took advantage of this massive sale to score some incredible dorm room must-haves on Prime Day. "My son needs so many things to start his first year at school, and I’m looking for any way to actually save some money," Saltz adds.

SHOP AMAZON PRIME DAY DEALS

Since many people are likely in the same boat, she's sharing what she bought with everyone, below. Whether you, like Saltz, are sending your first child off or, perhaps, seeing your third child out the door, all the items on the list are applicable to their lives at college. The tightly curated list includes a lamp, mattress topper (dorm beds are not known for being comfy), and a decorative accent like a bulletin board. Read on and shop Saltz's six favorite college dorm essentials that she picked up during the final hours of Prime Day.

"I LOVE that this mattress topper is a combo mattress cover and pad—one is for comfort and one is for protection from moisture and other gross things. It’s just the right size for the dorm TwinXL mattresses, and it’s hypoallergenic. Bonus I didn’t even know about: It comes vacuum sealed, so we can travel with it to school without it taking up all the car space."

"If you’ve been to school, you know how annoying it is to carry a laundry bag by those two thin rope straps (you basically end up dragging it down the hall). This one has the most substantial backpack straps, making hauling it to the laundry room so much easier. So easy that my son will actually do laundry?! Remains to be seen."

"I'm not looking to spend a million dollars on the fancy stick vacuums (I’ll be thrilled if this ever even gets used!), and this one is a total steal. It also transforms into a handheld vacuum for smaller messes."

"You can find charging lamps everywhere and anywhere, but I specifically loved that this one came with two different types of chargers (USB and Type C). Every gadget seems to come with a different way to charge these days, and this lamp can handle them all."

"In a desperate attempt to keep my son organized, I snagged a massive pinboard that will hold everything from photos to important papers. Cooler-looking than cork, this one folds up for easy transportation without getting destroyed. (Thanks to Prime Day, the giant size is a steal!)"

"This shower caddy is massive, it can hold those mega Costco-sized shampoo bottles which are always a bit unwieldy. And it also comes with a hook to hang in the shower, so you don’t have to put it down on a gross shower seat. I also really like that it zippers close so my son can take it to go home and back."

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