Call me the queen of
over packing. If the weight limit is 50 pounds for an airline I guarantee you
my bag will be 49.9 lbs. I figure out the number of days I will be gone and
then basically multiple that by 2 and bring that many numbers of outfits. A girls
gotta have options right?!
I always see those
people on planes and wonder how the heck they are able to fit everything in
a carry on!!
So now you can
imagine what packing for college was like for me. I took over our bonus room
and basically had a mountain of stuff waiting to go. I think my roommate was a
little overwhelmed when she first walked in and saw all my stuff. Luckily, when
it was all organized, it fit right in nicely.
However as the year
went on, I realized there were a lot of things I bought to college that I literally never
used. They just took up valuable space that could have been filled with something else. Space is at a premium in a dorm, so don't waste an ounce of it !
Here are a few things
I would reevaluate bringing before you load your car with all your stuff!
1. Off
season clothing- with closet space so limited, it’s crucial that you make the
most of every inch (literally). I would highly highly suggest not taking your
entire closet in August. Bringing your clothes in season allows you to have
more room in your closet and makes it that much more fun when you switch your
closet out and have a whole new wardrobe! Are you really going to wear a thick
cashmere sweater in August anyway?
Instead: During breaks bring home the
clothes that are slowly going out of season and bring back the clothes for the
upcoming season!
2.
Plates / silverware- I made this mistake. I
bought adorable plastic Lilly Pulitzer plates last year and to be 100% honest, I
didn’t use them once. Whenever I
wanted to eat something other than dining hall food the last thing I wanted to
worry about is more dishes.
Instead: My roommate and I bought paper
plates and plastic silverware and used that all the time. Instead of having to
do dishes in a tiny sink and worrying about dish soap, I highly suggest
reconsidering bringing nice plates and silverware. Trust me on this one. As
much as you want those cute pink plates, they will be a waste of space.
3.
Dust Buster- I tend to be a major neat freak.
Luckily, both my roommate and I were both pretty clean when it came to our dorm
room (my room at home on the other hand is a completely different story…).
However no matter how much we tried to keep our dorm room clean, friends were
always walking in and out and tracking dirt in. I considered buying a dust
buster before going to school and I’m so glad I didn’t buy it because there is
no way it would have been able to vacuum my entire dorm room. I would have had
to get on my hands and knees trying to get up the dirt all over the room!
Instead: Get a
mini size vacuum. It
makes it
so much easier to vacuum your
room when you can use a regular vacuum. You can buy a mini vacuum tons of
places like bed bath and beyond and
target and they are so convenient!
4.
Books- I brought so many of my books from home.
So many novels that I convinced myself I would have time to read. I don’t think
I read one of them…
Instead: Limit yourself to maybe 5 books. They take up so much room on your bookshelf and
you’re already going to have so many books from classes. Unless you really
think you are going to read all of them, I highly suggest limiting the number of
books you bring.
5. Ironing
board- I hate ironing. I suck at it, and I honestly just hate everything about
it. Unfortunately, I had to force myself to do it on a weekly basis. Ironing
boards are big and bulky and even the mini ones take up precious room.
Instead: I guarantee you that someone on your hall will have one
that you can borrow, or some halls even have built in ironing boards! Luckily
on my hallway we had a built in ironing board so no one needed to bring one!
But if you are still convinced you need one, I would advise talking to your
roommate and coordinating so you don’t both bring one!
6. Sports
Equipment- I played both tennis and lacrosse in high school, and I was
convinced that I would have enough free time to play tennis and lacrosse! HA!
Both my tennis racket and my lacrosse stick sat in the back of my closet all
year…
Instead: If you really believe you will use your sports equipment
I would try to keep it to a minimum and maybe only bring it during the seasons
when it’s nice out! There’s no point in having it sit in the back of your
closet (like I did) November- March when it’s too cold to even possibly use it!
7. Drying
rack-Simply put dorm rooms are small and there is no convenient place to hang
or stand up a drying rack. You are going to have to get creative and find
places to hang your wet clothes. I actually brought a drying rack to school and
ended up bring it back home still with the tag on it during fall break so my
mom could return it.
8. Bed
Risers-I had my bed raised about halfway, so I could fit my dresser and some
storage containers. I even had trouble getting up on my bed at that height! My
mom and I brought bed risers with electrical plugs in them and when I moved in
I learned that they didn’t even fit my bed posts!
Instead: Most schools offer where you can have your bed raised
halfway, which is what I did. I also had my dad put really small gray paver stones(lowes or home depot) under each of my bed posts so I could fit my storage containers better (
you can kind of see them in these pictures)! They
were a really inexpensive option !
9. Pots
and Pans- I honestly did not cook one meal all year. Now I am not the biggest
chef but I don’t think anyone really did much cooking on my hall. You just get
so busy and end up going to the dining hall for most meals!
Instead: If we ever wanted to cook my RA office offered a service where
you could use any of their pots and pans at any time. It was super convenient
and made it so we didn’t have to keep an entire pots and pans set in our little
dorm room!
10. Bulky
Luggage- Between weekend trips and fall breaks at home you are going to want some
kind of luggage. Preferably luggage that is easy to store but still holds a
lot. You are not going to have any space for bulky suitcases anywhere in your
dorm no matter how hard you try.
Instead: Keep
foldable duffle bags in your room! They make for the perfect travel bag and
take up practically no room to store!
What would you suggest not taking to college?
Remember,
xoxo
Shannon
