10 Dorm Desk Essentials for Stress-Free Studying

This post is all about the best dorm desk essentials.

Staying organized in college is key to keeping on top of your work and acing your classes. If you don’t have a clean, organized place to study, you’ll have a hard time focusing.

Even if you plan on doing most of your studying in the library, you’ll be using your desk for those all-nighters or early morning cram sessions. I loved doing my homework at the library or coffee shops, but I still spent about 50% of my study time at my dorm desk.

We compiled a list of 10 dorm desk essentials that you need to make your life easier and optimize your space in your dorm.

The Best Dorm Desk Essentials

Desk Organizer

When you don’t have a lot of space to work with, you need to make sure that what you do have is well organized. For that reason, the number one dorm desk essential that you need is this dorm desk organizer.

The Beautiful Desk Organizer is a great way to store your paper, pencils and other school supplies. I absolutely love this gold desk organizer because it is sleek, has 8 different compartments for storage, and comes in three different colors!

I love the gold but it also comes in an aqua blue and bubblegum pink, to fit your personal dorm aesthetic. This dorm desk organizer is only $25.97 and has great reviews.

Planner

Again, an absolutely essential school supply is a good planner. College is full of crazy deadlines, overlapping assignments, and a tight class schedule. A good planner is a great way to help you stay on track and organized.

The Day Designer Academic Planner is what I use and I’m obsessed with it. I love the organization and space it offers.

It comes with spaces to write your top priorities, your daily prompts, inspirational quotes, to-do lists, and a great layout for day to day planning.

If you’re looking for a more affordable option, this planner is super cute and has great reviews.

School Supplies

Of course organization is great, but essentials for your college dorm desk must include at least some school supplies. When you are juggling classes and working on projects, you want to make sure you have everything you need in your dorm room, so you don’t have to venture out to get them when it is time to buckle down and study.

I love these cute Mead Spiral Notebooks from Amazon. They come in a six pack or a 12 pack in super cute pastel colors. I like having a different color for each of my classes.

Sticky notes are also an essential when trying to keep track of a busy schedule and plan your assignments. This set from Amazon comes in the cutest colors and includes sticky notes in three sizes, making it easy to coordinate and plan your studying.

Another great way to stay organized when you are keeping up with school work or cramming for a test, is using great highlighters. I’m totally obsessed with the Zebra Pen Midliners. These highlighters come in the cutest fluorescent colors and are so fun to use. They’re great for studying and organizing your notes.

Desk Lamp

A desk lamp is maybe the top desk essential for school. You will use it when you are cramming for a test late at night and don’t want to have your main lights on, when you are organizing your notes, or even when you are doing your makeup at your desk.

I love this LED Desk Lamp. It’s super bright and also includes a small storage container to put pencils or other random items in. The best part about this desk lamp is that it comes with a charger built in. This really comes in handy when you are short on outlets and space in your college dorm.

Power Strip

While we’re on the topic of outlet space, another college desk essential is a good power strip. When you are sharing a small room with another person, there is bound to be an issue over the lack of outlets.

I recommend this Surge Protector Power Strip for fixing that issue. It comes with 8 outlets and 4 USB charging outlets, to make sure that you are optimizing your space and charging all that you need to.

Cord Organizers

When you are living in such a small space, it is extremely important to make sure that every single thing in your room has its place. This will make it so that you optimize the space you have available, and keep your room looking tidy.

Included in necessary things to organize, are the cords from all of your appliances, electronics, and lights.

I highly recommend getting a set of these cord organizers. They come in a pack of 16 black or white clips, made to blend in with your walls or furniture. There are several different shapes in the pack to fit any area.

This may not seem like an important detail to your dorm room organization, but I assure you it will make a difference in the look of your small space.

Desk Extender

A desk extender is another thing you may not think of immediately when buying supplies for your dorm room desk, but it’s worth it. Getting any extra space is extremely valuable when you have such a small area to work with.

The SKYZONAL Desk Extender is a totally genius product. It basically just makes your desk bigger, making it comfortable to rest your arms, keyboard, and mouse while working on a project.

Over Desk Shelf

Creating more storage space for yourself is so worth it in your cramped dorm room. Over desk shelves are an excellent addition to your room if you have the space on top of your desk. You can stash your notebooks, snacks, or other miscellaneous items in these shelves.

I love the DormCo College Cube Bookshelf. It’s sturdy, easy to build and made specifically to fit on top of dorm desks. Having this extra space is definitely worth the small hassle of building these shelves.

Some colleges already provide you with one of these, so make sure you check before you order!

Noise Canceling Headphones

Whether you are lucky enough to be friends with your roommate or not, you will want to be able to cancel out any noise they might make while you are studying. When you are living in a communal area, you will want some noise canceling headphones.

The holy grail of noise canceling headphones are the Sony Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones. These headphones block out all sound, come with a microphone built in for phone calls, and even have Alexa Voice Control so you can simply play music by telling your headphones to do so.

If you’re looking for a more affordable pair, these Anker noise cancelling headphones are only $50 and have amazing reviews on Amazon.

Decor

The most fun part of getting dorm desk essentials is, of course, the decor. It is really important for you to be able to make your dorm room feel like home and to like the appearance of it.

I think these fake succulents are so fun. The MoonLa Succulent Plants come in an assortment of five succulents, perfect to scatter around your dorm desk to make it feel more put together. Caring for real plants is almost impossible in a dorm room, these take any of that stress away.

I also love the look of a customizable letter board. This 10×10 felt letterboard is a great addition to a dorm room. You can easily change the message on it to fit anything you and your roommate desire!

These are the top dorm desk essentials you need to stay organized in college.

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10 Dorm Desk Essentials for Stress-Free Studying