College Packing: Tips and Experience

by - September 02, 2012

Surely, I've mentioned on this blog on several occasions that I'm a college student and a fashion major. Blahblah, you know the drill.

This upcoming semester (in about 4 days), I'll be a junior! Yay, hurrah, finally.

I have no idea if any of my readers are just entering college or going to be in college or already in college. Maybe you just moved out and are living on your own. Or maybe this post is totally useless to you???

Either way, as with all things that I write, I hope you find inspiration and enjoy :)

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STORY TIME

Packing can be a complete nightmare, especially for college and if you live far from home. Luckily, my college was somewhat close so if I forgot anything or needed anything, it wasn't a hassle to get it.

My freshman year, I roomed with three other people. All of us pretty much packed our entire homes with us, just in case we had weird emergencies that required us to whip out ten extra blankets or fifty pairs of socks. Needless to say, our inexperienced freshman selves knew only to come prepared.

Only when summer vacation rolled around did we realize how much stuff, for lack of a better word, we had tucked away in every nook and cranny and crevice of our room. Sweaters that were never worn, lint rollers that were never used, tissue boxes that collected dust, and light bulbs that never saw the light of day. Packing it all away proved to be a more challenging feat than we anticipated.

I swear, one year, my roommate literally just dumped all of her junk into garbage bags and called it a day.

My greatest advice: pack what you need. and pack lots of undergarments.

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TIPS

1. Bras and underwear.
Pack a lot. Make sure they're ones you actually wear! I made a sad mistake of bringing many new bras that I had never tried before and they were so uncomfortable to wear that I left them to take up space for the rest of the semester. Same with underwear. The fun thing about this is that you can avoid doing laundry for longer (which is a godsend when you're too tired or busy to care about laundry).

Lion Roar Ankle Socks
2. Socks.
Same philosophy, really. Especially for the winter, socks are a staple! You can never have enough.

3. Bring clothes that don't require too much fuss.
I hate wearing sweaters that need tank tops underneath because the knit is too loose or shirts that need to be hand washed. It takes up extra space in my suitcase/closet and it just takes up too much time.

4. Clothes that don't transfer color in the wash.
Personally, I wear a lot of dark colors anyway so doing laundry isn't hard for me, since I literally just dump it all in with no real concerns. I guess this depends on your style and how often you do laundry.

Good Cook EZClean Nonstick 3-qt. Sauce Pan
5. Eating utensils/cooking stuff.
If you have a kitchen in your dorm or you like to make food, I recommend bringing a pot that can be used for multiple things. Something medium sized, nonstick, with a handle and a lid. You can make pasta, stir fry broccoli, chicken, ramen, whatever. It'll come in handy! Having a spoon, fork, and knife is useful too.

6. Emergency toilet paper rolls.
Sounds weird esp if your school has people cleaning and restocking the bathrooms but I've had a few occasions where the people don't come or there's no more toilet paper anywhere and it becomes a dire situation between your bladder and the inefficiency of the school's maintenance crew. So, having an extra roll will save you. trust me.

7. One thin and one thick blanket.
Depending on where you live, the room could be hot as hell or colder than your freezer so having one of each will be nice! Plus, if it gets super cold, you can layer both!

8. Two pillowcases and two bed sheets.
Remember to wash one set every so often to stay clean! All the bacteria build-up on the pillow can lead to face acne. and who wants that...

9. Scissors and tape.
If you like decorating your room with pictures or just have random threads in your shirt that you need to cut off, these things will be helpful :) plus, I'm pretty sure I went through tons of tape. I don't even know why...

Beginner's Sewing Kit
10. Sewing kit.
Doesn't have to be intense or anything but it's good to have if you rip a hole in something or have a fashion catastrophe.

11. Hand sanitizer.
Do I even need to explain this??

12. Disinfectant spray.
Again. You can never be too safe!

Women's New Classic Flip-Flop
13. Flip flops (Waterproof).
I pretty much live in my flip flops at my dorm because it's convenient and they're wonderful for when you get out of the shower to prevent the floor from getting wet and gross. Come on, let's be respectful of the people who get in the shower after you :/

14. Portable fan.
During the spring semester, it can get nasty hot so this will help combat it!

Blue Q Large Stand up Shopping Tote
15. Laundry tote bag.
Does anyone know those 99 cent bags you see near the cash register of Marshall's or TJMaxx? Well, thanks to my mom, those are the only bags I'll use for carrying laundry because it's much easier than lugging around those pop up hampers. Doing laundry was a pain because the machines were all the way downstairs and if you're anything like me, carrying 2 weeks worth of clothes isn't ever a walk in the park.

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Those are my tips! I'm sure even if you aren't in college or uni anymore, they can be helpful in your everyday life :)

What was your college experience? Let me know!

~Jenn
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18 comments

  1. Congrats on going into junior year, I was a fashion student in NYC graduating from FIT. Following your blog, it's great!
    -Kosi
    http://onecreatesoneself.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! and no kidding! That school is amazing for fashion-- totally jealous that you went there. and thank you so much!!

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  2. Hi Dear ;)
    Great blog nice post etc. ;)
    I love your blog! ;D
    Can we follow each other?
    Come to visit me!
    kisses

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great tips :D and thanks for the comment on my digital make up :)

    i guess college to you is our university :) but I haven't been yet, however i've lived alone more or less since I was 16 so I have this stuff already.. x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No problem! :)

      oh, yes. and really? that's kind of awesome though, being able to be independent at such a young age.

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  4. Great tips! I completely agree with lots of undergarments and socks. Also toilet paper would be a smart choice!
    Much love,
    Sara

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  5. This is a great idea, writing about your college freshman experiences! Unfortunately, it came to late for me (as I am not a freshman anymore), but out of experience, I totally agree with you: if you have more underwear, you don't have to wash it so often... and always carry something with you that you can kill bacteria with!

    Hope you have a wonderful junior year! ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. :) definitely! haha, speaking of, I really need to buy more because I have less than I thought I did, so weird. and YES! oh dear god, I did some intense sanitizing today when I moved into my new room.

      and thank you!!

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  6. Great post! How are you liking being a fashion major? Thank you for leaving a comment on my blog! Sorry for such a late response to your comment left on my blog.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It has its ups and downs! Haha. I've met some really nice people and professors and learned about things that I never knew before but it definitely gets stressful sometimes.

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Thank you for taking the time to stop by! Always happy to hear your thoughts :)