Think
you are JUST packing for college?
Think
again.
Instead,
you will be packing and packing and packing. Since
most dorms won't allow you to store your items for
the summer, it'll be a blink and you'll be repacking
to take the accumulation to a storage unit or back
home.
Or,
you'll be packing to move to a sorority or fraternity
house. When that gets old, you may share an apartment
with four, or a house with nine. When you out-grow
that noisy experience, you'll be looking for a two
bedroom. Anyway you look at it, packing for
college means a good four years on the road.
Suitcases?
Forget about it!
Leave
the suitcases at home in the attic. Just pack one,
which you can take home for the holidays or off to
the beach for spring break. There is absolutely no
place to store several pieces of luggage in a dorm
room.
Use
your one suitcase to pack your undies; socks and other
lose items that will go into your dorm's dresser drawers.
If
you are flying across country to school, you will
not be able to fit everything into your two weight-restricted
suitcases. You will need to ship some things to school
and purchase other things there. When you box your
clothes, just ship them on their hangers.
Folding
is a waste of time!
Don't
take your clothing off of hangers and fold them. When
you get to the dorm, you will only have to unfold
them all and hang them up. Not only that, you'll end
up running out and buying hangers. Pack all of your
hard items- the suitcase, books, stereo and so forth
in the car and spread your cloths, on their hangers,
across them in the trunk and/or the backseat.
Do
invest in a few of the skirt or pant hangers that
hold more than one pair. Also purchase a second bar.
It will hang from your closet bar and double your
hanging space.
Drink
Lots of Milk
Milk
cases are now your friend. You seriously do not have
to drink a ton of milk. The plastic crates, also known
as milk crates, are the secret to all this packing
and unpacking. They are available for sale at dollar
stores, department stores and office supply stores.
Let me repeat, crates are your friends.
Use
them to pack your bedding, your munchies (not in the
same one as the bedding!), sports equipment, shoes,
books, school supplies, computer equipment, odds and
ends like desk lamps and so forth. They are very,
very sturdy. They have handles for carrying up ten
flights of stairs. They stack for taking a big load
up the elevator, if you are lucky enough to get to
ride on one. They will stack in your car for travel.
In
your dorm room, get creative. Stack two crates together
to make a nightstand. Turn them on their side, and
they are bookshelves. Balance a piece of lumber on
two and it becomes a long shelf. Buy a pack of bed
risers, to raise your bed a bit, and they become storage
under your bed. Put them in your closet to hold your
shoes.
When
it's time to repack, again and again, you don't have
to run and get boxes. Your crates, that have been
doing double duty, are ready to be filled for the
next trip. Or, to be stacked and stored over the summer.
Ever
play Tetris? Do it while you pack.
As
you pack, duplicate the video game Tetris. To be successful
at that game, and college packing, leave no empty
holes. For everything you pack, think how it
will be used and where it will be stored. For the
most part, the only storage in your dorm room is maybe
four drawers, if you are lucky, and one desk drawer.
If
you pack things into boxes, when you get to the dorm,
where are you going to put those items? Are you going
to live out of boxes all year? Instead, pack
the items right into their future storage container.
Bathroom-
Place
the toiletries into a shower caddy or even a plastic
bucket that you can take back and forth to the shower
Jewelry-
There
is limited dresser space. Remember the stereo and
TV has to go somewhere! Pack the jewelry into a hanging
jewelry keeper that can slip right into your closet
School
supplies-
stuff those pens, stapler and so on into a plastic
box or caddy that fits in a desk drawer. Drop it in
when you get there and grab it and go when you leave.
Video
games-
Pack those games into a milk crate or other container
that will either hold the game system on top of it.
A plastic drawer is great for this.
Winter
gear-
Heading off at the end of August, it is really hard
to think about winter. If you are close to home, you
will probably get your winter gear as it gets colder;
if you are too far from home for that, plan ahead
as you pack. Closets are small. Pack your winter coats,
fleeces, gloves, boots, and hats - along with your
extra heavy bedding- into containers that fit under
your bed. When you arrive in August, slip them under
the bed until it gets chilly. (You really will need
bed risers!) By the time you take winter gear out,
you will be ready to part with summer clothing, which
can be stored in the same box.
Laundry
bag/basket-
This holds laundry soap, stain treatment, fabric softener,
iron, mini-ironing board and extra hangers.
Goodie
Kit:
Everyone in the dorm will love you! You'll
have everything they don't have to make this dorm
room a home-away-from-home. Grab a plastic box or
tackle box and fill it with the must-have items. A
hammer, pliers, duct tape, safety pins, thumbtacks,
screwdrivers and flashlight. You'll be the one moving
in who is actually prepared to stack the bunk beds
(you'll need the pliers and hammer for this) Hang
the posters ( that is what the duct tape is used for)
or assemble any shelving (screwdrivers.)
Organizing
ahead of the trip makes moving in fun instead of stressful!
Lea
Schneider is
a professional organizer and member of the National
Association of Professional Organizers. She
has hauled things up nine flights of stairs and organized
dorm rooms at Ball State University, University of
Kansas and Florida State University. Her company,
Organize Right Now provides solutions for home, office
and life through consultation and hands-on organizing.
Visit her website, which includes a free complete
dorm packing list, at
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