Dorm Trunks - No Longer A Vintage Piece

When you think of the word trunk, what comes to mind? You may think of archaic, beastly unmovable foreign objects. You may hear stories from your parents. Memories of them and their dorm room trunks. But college trunks are making a comeback among colleges in 2012. What was used mainly as storage has been popular among college freshmen for their simplicity, protection, seating and organizational ability. At DormCo, our two most popular options are the Collegiate and Armored models. Both of these great trunks are favorites among students and are proudly Made in the U.S.A. In deciding which style, you only need to look at your size and extra feature requirement.

When students decide to go home for the weekend, you will see the usual march (It doesn’t fail). Students will be carrying numerous loads of laundry, clothing, computer and just random stuff to their car or parents. The higher you live in the dorm or the farther you must walk to you ride, the less you want to be making multiple trips to get everything you need. This applies to the return trip as well. A dorm trunk with wheels can simplify the moving process into one trip, saving you time, effort and making the travel less stressful.

Both trunks have the ability for a padlock to protect your valuables. Keeping your valuable possessions safe from the flow of college traffic is on the minds of many students. Instead of purchasing an additional safe, a footlocker functions well as a safe box for your things, keeping them secure and out of sight. In addition, organization is made easy with a footlocker, leaving you a convenient place to store your college books, valuables, electronics and mainly anything you don’t want out in public view.

Lastly, seating in a dorm room is always something college students can never have enough of. A solid trunk can be used as an extra seat if you have a hangout in your room. If you are playing video games or want storage near desk level, the college trunks yet again find use for college students. What really differentiates the two models are the bell and whistle features. The Armored is a higher priced option with additional trunk protection and customization options. Both models give you options for color, making either perfect for college.

College trunks are becoming popular again because of the new age style and numerous personalization options available to you. These affordable footlockers allow you ample storage while still being functional options for dorm room security. When you decide that a college trunk is for you, the next step is decorating it and truly making it your own.

Dylan Swartz

Travel on the Cheap

Let’s face it; college students do not have a very large travel budget. Between rationing packages of Ramen and scrounging through the common sofa for change, a dollar could go a long way for college students who plan wisely. So here are a few recommendations I can give you to stretch your travel budget and visit more than just the college cafeteria.

A rather unknown way of traveling is actually right with your school. Believe it or not, your school actively plans trips for students and many of these short trips may be paid for by your college. School clubs are granted a budget every year. This money can be spent however your club decides to. So if you like to see new places, pay a visit to the clubs happening around campus. Some clubs like international and entrepreneur are great ways to see new places with your group of friends. Many specific clubs like nursing, psychology and criminal justice plan major related trips. Imagine visiting a potential workplace, an area to see psychology firsthand or interacting with local law enforcement and ask questions.

This second tip should be something everyone practices. Carpooling is a smart way to save money when traveling. Next time you are thinking about driving to the store, ask around and see if anyone wants to share a trip with you. If they have a vehicle, you could rotate trips to the store. If not, maybe they could throw a few dollars your way or a Gatorade if you’re into that. This is a much cheaper alternative than the taxis available to you or them.

The healthiest way to get around campus is the simple time tested bicycle. Your campus supports bicycle riding with secure bike racks all over campus. Those two wheels can get you from spot A to spot B quickly and easily. Visit a part of town you’ve never seen and make it an adventure. Ride with some other friends, have a great time and not pay gas!

Traveling around college does not have to be walking or a car drive. Many different options are available for you. Give each of these a try and be amazed about the places you’ll see.

Dylan Swartz

- Innovative College Supplies -

No Longer Your Parent's Egg Crate!!

Dorm Rooms are the birthplace of unique things. When you see some stuff and wonder “how’d they think of that”, remember that college is the first time many students leave home. These cool products help give you an identity and experiment with all sorts of new gadgets to suit your lifestyle. There can be many reasons for these unique products from protecting your valuables, to maximizing your small storage space and anytime something new instantly cleans up your room, consider it a hit.

Power strips & surge protectors are two solid investments for college students. You already spent the big bucks on expensive electronics like laptops, desktops or tablets, so it only makes sense to protect these. A power strip allows you to take that single or double outlet and hook up many more chargers. Sometimes outlets are places in spots that make you just wonder. These strips can be useful because they are often a few feet long and allow you to place it in a spot easier to access. With a surge protector, spikes in electricity are prevented. Damage to electronics oftentimes can be serious if power is lost or if someone turns on a power hungry device. This can and will happen. These two products often come as a combo and are very inexpensive to purchase on DormCo or any superstore.

A 6 tier storage rack allows you to fit up to 6 different shirts or pants in place of one hanger. This can mean serious space savings in your already small closet. The gel models are coated in a special coating, which means shirts stay in place. While swinging pant models allow you easy access to pick the color or style you want. As students have more electronics, the amount of free cables can be daunting. Reusable Q knots are a genius way to let you organize loose cables into manageable bundles. If you want to remove the Q knot, it’s simple and can be reused again!

An arm/ankle wallet has its origins in traveling and is a must have essential for students traveling abroad or just on spring break. But an arm/ankle wallet is no longer for the frequent traveler. All around campus, Student ID’s are needed to access buildings. A comfy ID holder can keep your identification protected until needed. In addition, you can store money, a driver’s license and even an iPod. This works out great when exercising at your school’s gym. No longer must you risk losing your important things by keeping them in loose pockets or on the floor.

Dorm products fill the unique needs of college students, who have to live in a dorm room, often times much smaller than their room back home. This means your dorm room supply checklist should be sure to include these college essentials.

Dylan Swartz

Dorms With A Dash Of Style

They say that your dorm room reflects who you are. But when you move in, you see the barest room around, which is not the impression you want to make. Often just plain jane colors, a bed, dresser and chair are your canvas. But being so empty gives you the opportunity to change the room to how you want and the freedom to decorate, albeit with a few restrictions that accompany it. Besides posters and picture frames, whole new waves of awesome dorm room decorating supplies are being offered nowadays. Best of all, these new generation products are completely wall safe removable.

The day of just old posters is over. Students like you have new options, one being picture mounts. Some are sticky mounts that let you place your favorite memories wherever you want at whatever angle you think is best. If you desire a solid picture mount, unique shapes like trees and hearts allow you to keep your favorite memories alive. New Peel n Stick décor options now give you the ability to decorate your college dorm with roses, graffiti art or any other design you may like. Again, these are completely removable so as you change your mind, so follows your dorms décor. Best of all, they literally peel and stick onto your wall.

Students are used to having to mount dry erase boards onto their wall. But a new peel n stick variety makes that process so much simpler. They are still dry erase marker capable, so you can shift your to-do list with ease. Yet with better design, calendars and world maps are offered. So you can plot out your next backpacking trip or jot down that concert next month you’re going to. However, you may be thinking bigger. Full-size removable wallpaper is now available so changing that drab wall color is now feasible. Like all the Peel n Stick, the wallpaper is wall removable safe, so come the end of semester, you don’t have to worry about patchy walls.

Tin Signs are becoming the next hot dorm decorating essential. They are available in smaller sizes and are truly more durable that flimsy posters. Combined with a massive variety of stylish pictures and vintage artwork, they are quickly making a comeback in college dorms. To the same effect, wall tapestries may be just the décor idea you’ve wanted. These quality canvases are available in unique styles that you wouldn’t normally find at your local store. These high quality art pieces are another alternative you have to college posters.


Decorating your dorm room has never been simpler. The supply of college dorm room products available to you has never been better. These new options give you the freedom to decorate your dorm room just like yours back at home. Best of luck hunting your stylish dorm décor.

Dylan Swartz

College Networking - The Social Network

In the past decade, social networking has been playing an ever increasingly important role in the daily lives of college students. This internet connection is a great way to stay in touch with friends, family or someone you just met. But beyond this social interaction, many students aren’t taking full advantage of what real human networking has to offer. I’m not talking “friends” or “likes” online, I mean making powerful and important connections with people, connections that may come in handy finding employment, conducting research or meeting even more connections.

On campus, there is a wealth of professional knowledge. Teachers are always eager for students to ask intriguing questions or dive even deeper into a specific subject. Professors are a wealth of information, not just on what you are learning right now, but about life and what lies beyond college. Connections with these working professionals can help you during and even after college. Just introducing yourself during office hours (which will be seen very positively) can break the ice and is a great way for shy students to meet these professors.

Mentioning your interest in a specific subject may reveal some campus job or nearby position you overlooked. I met my future college employer during a campus club meeting. A semester later, I was offered a job at advisement through a recommendation from my previous employer. From here, I worked on campus for an entire year with the whole Social Science division (talk about connections). Just before graduating, a teacher from that division approached me and offered me a position working in Mid-Management at a Summer Camp. To sum this story up, connections often lead to more connections and unexpected (awesome) paths will reveal themselves.

A great way for you to get started is with a more professional online profile. LinkedIn for me has been a more professional way to connect with past teachers/employers. Their basic service is free and more than enough for almost everyone. As this is a cleaner profile, you should leave party photos and anything unflattering off. I still believe that Facebook is an extremely useful service and perfect for friends, but there are many richer channels for your professional career. Go ahead, get started building your personal connections, the sooner you start the easier it’ll be.

Dylan Swartz