So, you or your kid are headed to college in the fall: congratulations. It’s an exciting time! But before you start searching Amazon for your dorm room essentials (and nonessentials), you might want to take a peek at the dorm packing list of electrical items your college allows. While you may be eyeing one of the best 4-slice toasters to make that Gordon Ramsay-style avocado toast that makes you feel like an adult, this small appliance is probably not in your future. Sorry to destroy those morning breakfast in bed dreams; however, most dorms consider toasters to be a fire hazard.
Those open heating coils that help to transform a slice of bread into crunchy, golden brown toast can set off a smoke detector at the most inopportune moments. This can happen when you toast your bread or waffles too long, or when those fossilized crumbs on the bottom toaster tray that you meant to empty two months ago start smoking. No judgement. It happens to the best of us. But it will eventually attract bugs of both the small and large nature.
Other small appliances to leave at home
Sadly, dorms are not ventilated for cooking, and believe it or not, making toast is considered cooking, or at the very least, adulting. However, these confined quarters that you will call home for the school year are about minimalism, which means you will also need to skip the waffle iron, because you can’t make buttermilk chicken and waffles in your room. And leave the panini press as well, because it’s a no-no too. That’s right, no midnight grilled cheese to get you energized for midterms and finals. If college is starting to sound like a downer, don’t be dismayed.
You can still have a mini fridge to fill with some of your favorite diet soda, and some universities will allow microwaves without the convection oven option, so you can make microwave popcorn or a store-bought frozen meal when the dining hall doesn’t satiate your appetite. But check your college dorm’s policy before you pack one up. And if you can have one, make certain you are selecting the correct wattage so you don’t cause a power outage in your suite when you go to use it.
