In the coming weeks, thousands of tiny white rooms on campuses throughout the country will be welcoming their newest residents and their carloads of stuff.

Freshman orientation for the Class of 2016 has actually been in full throttle for months at big-box stores (both brick and mortar and online), at specialty sites such as Etsy, on Facebook pages, Twitter feeds and on Pinterest boards. Incoming students have been stockpiling decorating ideas along with ramen noodle soup.

Although the shaky economy has students and their families rattled about college loan debt and living expenses, they will spend an average of $907.22 this year on everything from comforters to hand-held vacuums, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation. That is up from $808.71 in 2011.