Ahh, it’s that time of the year again: time to get packing for college! For all those sophomores and upperclassmen, lucky for you, you’ve done this before, as have I. However, there are many eager freshman coming into school that might not know where to begin, and this article is for you.
Step 1: Make a list of what you’ll need.
Most schools release a list of things to and not to bring; look those over and add your own personal items to the list. It’s important to also make sure that you don’t bring the items that the school prohibits; if you bring something you can’t have, then you’ve essentially wasted room in the car that you could have used for something else you might have needed.
Step 2: Think outside (and a little inside) the box.
When I was first moving in last semester, I didn’t think of a lot of common-sense items that I should bring. For example, I totally forgot that I would need a scissor. In my house, we have a community supply drawer which includes a scissor. I kind of just assumed that a “community supply drawer” would just follow me to college. Unfortunately, it will not! Moral of the story: don’t forget a scissor. Here’s a small list of other things I didn’t think of and were super helpful once I bought them: a portable steamer (for clothes), a foldable drying rack, paint/paint brushes (for fun), dryer sheets, lint rollers, stapler, and HDMI chord or Chromecast (to connect your laptop/tablet to the TV to watch movies).
Step 3: Organize your items.
This was especially helpful for me since at home I am not organized at all. By putting all of my stuff together from move-in day, it helped me stay super organized the entire year. For example, when packing clothes and shoes, keep all of the winter stuff together and all of the summer stuff together. Chances are you won’t need your snow boots and heavy coat when you arrive in late August/early September. If you put all of those things together in a box, then you won’t even have to unpack it once you get to school; you can just put the box under your bed and take it out when you need your warmer items. I organized the rest of my stuff by what they would be used for. One box had all of my desk supplies, another had electronics, and another had toiletries. By organizing it like this, it makes it so much easier to unpack and put everything in the same place at the same time once you get there. Don’t forget to write on the boxes what’s inside them so you don’t have to open them all to look for one thing!
Step 4: Pack the car.
This part of the process is the most strategic because not everything will fit perfectly together. I, personally, had to take 2 cars full of stuff because I had so much. Pro-tip: put your clothes in garbage bags with all of the hanger hooks hanging out of the top part (so it kind of looks like a make-shift garment bag). This way, the clothes can bend into any open spaces you might have instead of having rigid suitcases or boxes for them that take up more room.
Step 5: Unpack according to how you packed.
Once you get to school, it’s much easier to start at one end of the room, unpack what you need for that section, and continue to work down the room. If you start by unpacking all of your sheets and making your bed, then you can move to your clothes, desk, and toiletries. Don’t forget that if you have a roommate or two, you must be considerate of them too, so start on a side of the room that they aren’t already unpacking in.
Happy packing!
