Back-to-school checklist: Toiletries, gym bag essentials and dorm room must-haves for teens and college students

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Back-to-school checklist: Toiletries, gym bag essentials and dorm room must-haves for teens and college students

Back-to-school shopping is about more than notebooks, backpacks, lunch boxes and traditional school supplies. Sending your kids to school with personal care items can help make the transition easier, whether they are stocking a locker, packing a gym bag or moving into a dorm with a shared bathroom.

Use this back-to-school checklist from Dove to plan toiletries, sweat-management essentials, shower products and semester restocks for your middle school, high school and college-age kids. This guide is designed for parents and caregivers who want to promote a healthy and confident lifestyle for their kids by equipping them with a few personal care essentials.

Talk to your kid about what they need

When you’re back-to-school shopping, have a conversation with your child about what they need to be successful this school year and how you can help support them. Listen to what they say they need. This may open the door for them to talk beyond just school supplies and about their friends, hopes and fears for the upcoming school year. Whatever they share, be an active listener and a supportive parent and help give them self-confidence.

How to build a back-to-school toiletries checklist

A complete back-to-school toiletries checklist should include everyday hair, skin, deodorant and dental basics. Start thinking about when your student will be using the items and build your shopping list accordingly. Here are some questions to ask yourself when packing:

1. What is their schedule?
2. Do they need to pack for multiple occasions (everyday backpack, locker, gym class, etc.)?
3. What toiletries do they like to use?
4. What personal care items are they most likely to need on the go?
5. How much space will they have to store things?
6. Will they have a car?

What to avoid packing for your teen

When you are packing your back-to-school list, expect your kid to use, share or even lose all of the items that you pack before the end of the school year. Some things to avoid packing include:

• Expensive items: While you should pack some of your kid’s favorite items, avoid items that you would be upset about if they were lost.
• Heavier-than-necessary toiletries in daily bags: When your teen is carrying these items in their bags, they won’t want extra weight and will appreciate travel-size bottles.
• Improperly packaged bottles: School is hard enough without your hand sanitizer exploding in your backpack. Make sure all the items have a secure lid and won’t leak.

What to pack in a teen’s backpack?

A backpack is something your student will have access to most of the time, so it’s a great place to put toiletries that they may need on the go, before school, during class (depending on your school’s rules) or after school.

To help keep their backpack organized, dedicate one section of your kid’s backpack to emergency items or get a small bag that can fit into their backpack to house everything.

Backpack Checklist (travel-sized or small items):

• Deodorant
• Hand sanitizer
• Lip balm
• Tissues
• Hair ties, bobby pins or claw clips
• Travel toothbrush and paste
• Dental floss or floss picks
• Menstrual care (pads, tampons, etc.)

Middle school or high school locker checklist

Typically, middle and high school students have lockers to keep things in between classes and overnight. To help your kids prepare for any hygiene emergency they (or one of their friends) might have, send them to school with a small stash of personal care products.

Similar to packing a backpack, consider a small bag of items that they may not want to ask a teacher or nurse for when they need them. If you have included an item in their backpack, you probably don’t need to include it in their locker kit, since they’ll rarely be at their locker without their backpack. When packing for a locker, think about how often they will use the item. If it is used daily, consider a larger size, but if it’s rarely used, prioritize travel or trial sizes.

Locker Checklist:

• Deodorant
• Whole body anti-chafe stick or whole body deodorant spray
• Hand sanitizer
• Lip balm
• Lotion
• Face wipes
• Dry shampoo
• Hair ties, bobby pins or claw clips
• Mini mirror
• Travel hairbrush
• Nail file
• Safety pins
• Toothbrush, toothpaste and mouthwash
• Dental floss or floss picks
• Menstrual care (pads, tampons, etc.)

Gym bag toiletry list

Whether your kid has before-school practice, midday gym class, or after-school sports, they will need one dedicated bag for their workout attire and post-workout care.

Tips for packing a gym bag:

Use multiple bags: If your kid has multiple activities, such as before-school swim practice and after-school ballet, consider using two clearly labeled bags so they are easy to find and grab when needed.

Keep the bag packed: If your child needs a gym bag every day, there’s no need to completely unpack everything. Simply remove the sweaty clothes and replace them with clean clothes (or have them do it) and keep all other items in the bag so nothing is forgotten.

Gym Bag Checklist:

• Deodorant
• Whole body anti-chafe stick or a whole body deodorant spray
• Body wash or a beauty bar
• Shampoo
• Conditioner
• Hair styling products
• Hairbrush
• Lotion
• Face wipes
• Hair ties, bobby pins or claw clips
• Toothbrush, toothpaste and mouthwash
• Menstrual care (pads, tampons, etc.)

Tips for helping to manage sweat and body odor at school

Sweating or body odor after P.E. class, sports or even just a long school day is normal, especially during middle and high school. Creating a routine can help them manage their sweat confidently and discreetly.

Tips for building a sweat management routine include:

1. Allow your kid to pick out their deodorant or antiperspirant at the store so they can test the different scents.
2. Apply deodorant or antiperspirant before school.
3. Keep a backup deodorant in a locker, gym bag or sports bag.
4. Change out of sweaty clothes as soon as possible after practice.
5. Bring a small towel and clean socks for long activity days.
6. Remind them to shower after sports or heavy sweating when facilities and schedules allow. If they don’t have time or access to a shower, consider sending them with body wipes and encourage them to reapply deodorant or antiperspirant.
7. Restock gym bag items frequently so products do not run out unexpectedly.

College dorm toiletries checklist

College students living away from home need toiletries for daily routines, shared bathrooms, gym visits and weekend travel. Many college students do not have a car on campus, so it’s important to send them with a few months’ supply when they leave for school. A good dorm checklist should include in-use products for the shower caddy, plus backup products that can stay in dorm storage.

• Shower basics: body wash, beauty bar, shampoo, conditioner, razor and shaving cream
• Daily freshness: deodorant, whole body deodorant, lotion, facial cleanser, moisturizer and lip balm
• Shared bathroom items: shower caddy, shower shoes, robe, towels and washcloths
• Dental care: toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, mouthwash and a toothbrush cover
• Hair care: dry shampoo, hair styling products, brush, comb, and hair ties or clips

For communal bathrooms, a shower caddy and shower shoes are especially important. Keep the products your student uses daily in the caddy, then store club-pack extras in a bin, closet shelf or under-bed storage so they can refill without taking every bottle to the bathroom.

Tips for helping college students take care of themselves during their first semester

College is an incredibly exciting milestone for both students and parents. Kids are becoming adults and have more freedom and responsibilities than ever before. The first semester of college can be a challenge for students, learning how to balance studying and classes, extracurricular activities, and friendships. Sometimes this can lead to a slippage in taking care of themselves.

Tips for talking to your college freshman about personal care:

1. Be honest: You were 18 once and know that they are excited about all of the new things they’re going to experience. Get excited with them about all of the things they will get to do at college.
2. Instill routine: Throughout your kids’ childhoods, you helped them set routines by getting them to school on time, making healthy meals, providing an outlet for exercise and setting reasonable bedtimes. As they move to their college campus, talk to them about building a new routine with the resources they will have available to them.
3. Set goals: College is a time to explore new things. Creating goals at the beginning of the semester can help you guide new students and keep them on track even when there are a lot of potential distractions.
4. Address peer pressure: As they are meeting new people and making friends, they may feel peer pressured to stay up late or eat unhealthily. Remind your teen that they don’t have to do any of these things to have a full college experience. It’s okay to say you have to go to bed early if you have a test the next morning.
5. Be available: Make sure they know they can call or text you anytime with questions and that you won’t be judgmental.

How many toiletries does a college student need for a semester?

How much body wash, deodorant or shampoo a college student uses depends on product size, shower frequency, activity level, climate and personal routine. Instead of packing one of everything, plan for your child’s personal use plus backups. Look at your student’s schedule and try to plan to send enough products so that they won’t need to refill until you see them next (fall break, Christmas, etc.).

Bulk packs can be helpful because they let families stock a semester’s worth of essentials before move-in. They are also useful when students want one product in the dorm, one in the shower caddy and one in a gym bag or backpack.

If your student runs out of an item in the middle of the semester and doesn’t have easy access to a car, do not worry. There are a lot of retailers who can easily and quickly ship products for affordable prices to student mailboxes.

How and where to shop for personal care products

Today you can get personal care products nearly everywhere, both in stores and online. The number of choices can be overwhelming. Use these tips to simplify your shopping experience:

• Create a list: Talk to everyone in your family so that you know exactly what you need to buy for each person and in what quantity. This will help avoid impulse purchases in the store.
• Limit the number of stores: Simplify your shopping by sticking to one to two stores for all of your products. This will save you time from having to drive to multiple stores.
• Shop in bulk: Multipacks are a great way to shop economically, especially when your family needs multiple bottles of the same product.
• Check the sales: As back-to-school approaches, there are often sales on school supplies and personal care items to help families prepare for the season.

Personalize your back-to-school shopping for your students

Remember, everyone has different product format and scent preferences that may be changing rapidly as they mature, try new things and are influenced by friends and social media. Helping them prepare for the unknown scenarios shows that you care and gives them confidence that you trust them if they have a hiccup.

Once you have gone back-to-school shopping, make sure you talk about what you bought, how it’s packed, why you packed it and how to use any new products. Give them an easy way to communicate with you that they need more of something, such as adding it to your weekly shopping list. Set reminders (monthly or on school breaks) for checking on when your kids might need product restocks. Keep the conversation open so they know they can always come to you for advice, especially during the teenage years when they are experiencing a lot of changes.

This story was produced by Dove and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.