Your mom has probably already nagged you a million times about the things you know you'll need to pack before move-in day, but what she hasn't probably mentioned are those that you don't need. Here are five of them, all from experience:
1. Food
Unless for some reason you don't have a meal plan, skip out on bringing large tubs of peanut butter or containers of Easy Mac. Even though you might open one up once in a while, it's just another thing taking up space in your tiny, tiny dorm room. If you have a meal plan like most college freshmen, you'll find that the dining hall and even convenience stores on campus are all you really need to keep you nourished! You also are put at a higher risk for unwanted visitors like ants and mice when you leave food in your room, just saying from experience.
2. Throw pillows
Unless you're a clean freak and make your bed every single morning after getting up for your first class, throw pillows will most likely spend most of their time on the floor of your not-recently-vacuumed floor instead of on your bed. Additionally a small twin bed is not always the space for a bunch of little throw pillows, even if you think they look super cute on the Dormify website, not to mention they'll take up a ton of space in the car on move-in day. They're not worth it - I promise.
3. Your entire wardrobe
You may think that you can store your at-home wardrobe in the tiny dorm closets if you just buy a few storage bins from Amazon or something, but no, you can't. With both you and your roommate in that tiny space, you're not even going to want that many clothes and shoes and winter jackets pouring out of your stuffed closet. Instead, do a big closet clean-out before you head off to school, only pack the things you know you will wear, don't bring all of your high school varsity soccer sweatshirts, and only bring winter stuff after Thanksgiving break, swapping it out with your summer stuff until after spring break. This way you won't get an anxiety attack each time you go to find something to wear in the morning.
4. Textbooks
You obviously need textbooks for class, but don't buy them beforehand and bring them with you on move-in day. This is just another thing you can do when you get there so you don't have to pack them in the car with you on the way to school. Instead, you can ship them to school or have them available as a package to pick up from the bookstore once you get there.
5. Things you don't use at home
This might sound vague, but it is for a reason. For example, I don't use my curling iron ever so I don't bring it to school. Nor do I use my Polaroid camera, paint my own nails, or use a shower cap. These random things are those that others might find useful or fun at school, but I know I would never truly need. Just because you think you might need it or you saw it on some Pinterest college packing list, doesn't mean that you should bring it with you. It will just sit under your bed or in a desk drawer collecting dust.
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