When I moved to Princeton, I had one overweight suitcase, three (or was it four?) odd boxes, and an obscene amount of corny high school memorabilia for sleepwear. In hindsight, I was giving the impression that I was taking a month-long vacation in small town Princeton, New Jersey, as opposed to conveying the message that I was an incoming college student. My meager belongings were partly forged out of circumstance (I lived in a quad) but primarily out of budget as well (it cost an arm and a leg to ship things cross-country).
As students moved into their dorms, broke in their good old furniture from Target, and made homes out of their boxes, I gaslit myself for weeks and thought that I could exist on a mattress topper, the aforementioned belongings (which primarily consisted of — cheugy — sleepwear), and the self-satisfying notion that I wasn’t breaking the bank in furnishing my dorm. I was soon proven wrong.
A feeling that can only be described as envy quickly settled as I toured other people’s dorms (also awe — who knew how good students were at playing furniture tetris in their dorms!). Nespressos, ice machines, and TVs galore — as my eyes purveyed the mini microcosms of department stores, it became clear to me that I needed to furnish my dorm.
Some people are okay living with a mattress topper, a pillow, and the barest of necessities. But as an avid consumer, here’s a quick guide on furnishing your dorm (and haggling).
The sustainability sale at Princeton will be your best friend. The first recourse is to always take advantage of the post-shopping regret amongst undergraduates (or the panic to get rid of furniture as students inevitably graduate) and to buy the essentials. While I’ve never actually gotten anything from here before (always late to the line), I’ve always seen a wide assortment of furniture for incredible prices.
The second plan of action is to plead and beg PSEC (Princeton Student Events Committee) to discretely and “randomly” select your name in their giveaway raffles. (Just joking — do NOT get blacklisted from these events)
But, when push comes to shove, you can always check Facebook Marketplace. A beloved secret amongst millennials and post-grads looking to furnish their apartments, Facebook Marketplace has been my personal holy grail.
And now, the tip to haggling: really emphasize your college student status and meager earnings. Really, it’s that simple. The kind and good willed people of Mercer county are more than happy to drop off their — not your — junk.
After all, one man’s junk is another person’s treasure.