As a person who always wants to be prepared for any situation which may arise packing is one of the hardest tasks, I have ever tried to complete. This is why I pack months in advance and repack multiple times throughout the summer to make sure I don't over or under pack. When I got home from UMaine that meant going through all of the boxes and bags I threw together, consolidating and repacking them before finding a place to shove everything where it would be out of the way.
Now that it is getting towards the end of the summer I need to go through and repack. Repacking is perhaps the ultimate challenge because I don't want to run out of pants while not having an overflow of clutter strewn all over the place. My roommate and I have agreed on a minimalist approach to our dorm room this semester and to me, this means bringing about a quarter of the stuff I had up with me last semester.
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It should help that our room is a bit bigger than it was last year but I don't want to push anything. One suitcase, my hampers, and a couple of bins full of things should be enough to get me through to Thanksgiving and then I'll swap some things out when I come home for break.
Going to school in Maine means that at the beginning of the first semester I could need anything from summer shorts and t-shirts to winter jackets and polar gear. This makes packing a nightmare and means that I need a little bit of everything. Trying to fit clothing and bedding ranging from summer to winter-grade is perhaps one of my largest challenges.
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It is possible to fit so much more in a suitcase when it is all meant for summer usage because it isn't as thick and poofy. If I didn't have to worry about winter clothing, I could fit a majority of the shoes I want or need for the school year and all the clothes I would otherwise need for the first semester.
Despite all the challenges repacking poses, it is a necessary evil to prevent a clutter catastrophe. As long as I pack smart and stick to my limits everything should be A-okay.