On the journey from frenzied freshman to serene senior, Katie Hastings has learned what it takes to make student housing feel like home. She recommends:

Stay cool

No student should be without a dorm-sized refrigerator for late-night sodas and yogurt for breakfast.

Hot and fast

Tired of cafeteria food? A microwave makes it easy to reheat leftovers, or to prepare instant meals.

Butter up

A toaster provides instant comfort. Poptarts anyone?

Late night light

Pick up a small over-the-bed light for late night reading that won’t disturb your roommate.

Feel the love

Hastings, who calls herself the “picture frame queen,” likes to frame photos of friends and family and scatter them around. “That’s the best kind of decoration,” she says.

Personal care

One fact of dorm life is the long trek to the showers, or at the very least, sharing a shower with others. Keep the necessities handy with a plastic tote. The “basket case” shower tote, sold by Bed, Bath and Beyond, comes in fun colors like “orange crush” or “purple haze,” and holds shampoo, toothbrush and body wash. It comes with a removable organizer tray and a plastic cup. Drainage holes keep things dry and mold-free.

Where to shop

•If you want to add comfy seating to your dorm room, Target carries colorful rocking beanbag lounge chairs as well as traditional beanbag seating with prices beginning at $19.99. For more information go to Target.com

•In addition to the bed-in-a-bag items, Bed Bath and Beyond carries an “Equip your space” line of furnishings, accessories and necessities. One handy storage item is a $29.99 over-the-door shoe rack which holds 36 pairs of shoes. For more information go to bedbathandbeyond.com

•Linens ‘n Things, “Destination Dorm” products include the George Foreman jumbo grill, toaster and electric kettle set which retails for $37.99. For more information go to www.lnt.com

•Walmart carries the Senseo single-serve pod coffee maker, which makes one or two cups of coffee at a time and uses pre-packaged coffee pods, for $64.47 (online only price.)