It is back-to-college season, already started for many, and soon for others. So it means it’s time to gear up for an exciting new year. Here are five useful and cool must haves for back to college, actually a couple of lists of five products that are perfect additions to your shopping list. These are all based on personal buys over the past couple of years and items in our shopping cart for the coming year.
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Five Cool and Useful Must Haves: Already Haves
Dual Monitor Stand
We got a similar stand for my son and the moment his roommates (or rather their parents) saw it, they wanted to get one for themselves! This has truly been useful and used well over the past two years by my son and will continue to be used. A great product to add to your list if you don’t have it already.
The best part is that if you only have one monitor, you can close it up and make it shorter overall and use it for just the one!
Anker Power Strip with USB
Anker Power Strip with USB, 5 ft Extension Cord, PowerPort Cube USB with 3 Outlets and 3 USB Ports
Compact and mighty useful of course. One that has made its way to three different living places for my son over the past two years and still going strong.
Mini Rice Cooker
A more recent purchase for my son, and one he is glad I got for him. He spent this summer on campus for summer quarter alone in a rental, and this cooker meant quick and well-cooked rice when he needs it. He made fried rice with grilled tofu and veggies too!! It certainly looked delish..
Document Organizer
Document Organizer with Safe Code Lock
Given the need for important documents at any time while away by himself, this organizer gives at least one level of peace of mind, and of course, keeps things organized as well for him. I am glad we got one, and realize now it is good to get one for ourselves too (so adding it to our cart now!)
Electronics Organizer
Travel Electronics Organizer Pouch Bag for Tech Gadgets
Like the document organizer, this one is a life-saver for travel of course, but also has proved to be super useful for my son on a daily basis. It is small enough to keep it in his backpack everyday and also for his frequent visits home(<3)! If you want, there is a smaller version as well available.
A Bonus Five of Useful Must Haves
- AirTags or Key Finders. My son uses it for many of his things, including his bike (and very cleverly too)..
- JBL Portable Speaker (simply powerful speaker for its size and so very useful!)
- Mr. Pen Assortment of items (paper clips and binder clips of various sizes, rubberbands, etc). What I got for him two years ago is still proving useful.
- Anker Portable Charger. You never know when you might need this, and while this is definitely a must when on trips, my son has found it helped him many times over the past two years.. (his phone chooses to run out of charge at the most unexpected of times after all; aka, he forgot to charge it.. but that also means he needs to have charged the portable charger!). We have one for everyone in our family.
- Wireless Headphones with Noise Cancellation. While this means he often can’t hear me talking to him when he is home, it also helps him focus on work, and also enjoy music when he wants to relax. The Bose brand is certainly the best from what we have tried and used so far. My daughter does enjoy using the Beats headphone too.
Five Cool and Useful Must Haves In Our Cart
Reusable Smart Notebook
I think this one is going to help my son a lot as well, for he does like to take notes by hand. Eco friendly, cool, and useful too – what more do we need, right? So have it in my cart for before he heads out to his junior year in a few weeks (his college has a later start than many others)
Mini Projector
I got one like this for my brother a few years ago and he uses it both for work as well as fun. With my son moving it into a new apartment this year with roommates, this projector is sure to provide them a way to have movie nights and also use for school if needed. Compact, and currently has a coupon to apply as well making it really worth the price.
Mini Desktop Vacuum
I have added this one to my cart for its coolness and the reviews too seem to make it promising. But will I need it? Or rather, will my son find it useful?
What do you think? Yay or nay? Let me know in the comments if you think this deserves to be on the list of useful must haves.
Neck Massager
Shiatsu Electric Massager with Heat
Neck pain has been something troubling my son for a while now, and he is starting physiotherapy to help but I am sure having this is sure to be a bonus for when he wants relief for those study nights.
Bedside Shelf
So my son already does have a bedside caddy we got a couple of years ago but based on more recent needs, I am guessing something like this will prove to add more value for him (he could use both items!)
The Bookish Five
My book of choice for this week’s Friday memes – Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo
Family Lore: A Novel by Elizabeth Acevedo
From the bestselling, National Book Award–winning author Elizabeth Acevedo comes her first novel for adults, the story of one Dominican American family told through the voices of its women as they await a gathering that will forever change their lives.
Source: Netgalley digital review copy
(1 & 2) Book Beginnings and First Line Friday
BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAY is hosted by Rose City Reader. What book are you happy about reading this week? Please share the opening sentence (or so) on BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAY! Add the link to your blog or social media post and visit other blogs to see what others are reading.
Happy Friday and welcome to the FIRST LINE FRIDAY, hosted by Reading is My Superpower! It’s time to grab the book nearest to you and leave a comment with the first line.
3 Friday 56
THE FRIDAY 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice. To play, open a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% on your e-reader). Find a sentence or two and post them, along with the book title and author. Then link up on Freda’s Voice and visit others in the linky.Â
4 Book Blogger Hop
The purpose of THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, and befriend other bloggers. THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is hosted by Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer.  Â
Standalones or Series?
Either works for me. All I need is a good read, though I do try to start reading a series only when I have at least a couple of the books out, and the next (maybe the last one) coming soon. Hate the waiting game!
5 Related Reads
Books about sisterhood, immigration, and then one by Acevedo.
- Lobizona by Romina Garber (teen and YA). My review here.
- The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo (teen and YA). My review here.
- The Bookstore Sisters: A Short Story by Alice Hoffman (women’s fiction). A sweet short read.
- Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (all ages!). My post here.
- Breathing Underwater by Sarah Allen (middle grade novel). My review here.
Did you see what I did there? 5 reads for # 5 on my bookish things
And Now, the End of This Post
Dear reader, have you read the featured book, or any of the related ones? Your thoughts on the same? Which of the featured products appeals to you the most? What would find its way on your list of useful must haves? Also, any recommendations for back to school/college?
I recently put this one on my list!! I love generational reads! Happy weekend!
Interesting perspective, especially considering autumn is my favorite season! 🙂
Yeah, same, I enjoy series and stand alones. And oh, waiting for sequels is hard, I can wait to start some series until near the end, but others, oh I do not have the self-control needed! Thanks for stopping by! Happy reading!
That sounds like an interesting book.
Have a good weekend!
Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog
These are all great ideas and I plan on buying the Anker Power Strip with USB for Morgan as she starts college soon.
Awesome finds! Your list of must-haves for back to college and beyond is a gem. The cool and practical items you’ve curated hit the spot. Looking forward to more of your fantastic suggestions!
All cool items! I have the mini-vaccum at home, and it’s good for picking up cat hair and other dusty stuff on the table. The bedside shelf would be a useful item too for us!
I could use one of these organizers – more so the document one. This list will be perfect for the holiday season as well.
These are great items – I’d enjoy a lot of these myself! That mini rice cooker would be awesome – my daughter makes rice all the time and it sounds like a perfect portion.