It’s the end of August and if you are a young adult, chances are you are about to embark on the adventure known as college. Congratulations! This is a momentous life event and the first step to your true adulthood and independence. And although this is an extremely exciting time in your life, it can also be nerve-wrecking when it comes time to move into your dorm. There are many unknown variables such as your roommate(s), floor-mates, how big the space will be, what will be provided for you versus what to bring, and so forth and so forth. Aaron Bros. Moving System, Inc. has complied a list of essential items to consider as you prepare to move into your dorm.
1) Get in touch with your roommate before your move-in date. Many colleges will pair you at random with someone to share a living space with for the next 9 months. We recommend reaching out to them before meeting during orientation, especially when it comes to deciding who is bringing what. Since you are sharing a living space that is very tiny, having double of such items as microwaves and televisions is unnecessary. Communicate beforehand and divvy up who is responsible for what.
2) Limit the clothes you take. Storage within your dorm is going to be small, like size of your high school locker small. Bring enough clothes to get you through a semester and leave the rest at home. 3) Storage is limited in your dorm, but there are creative ways to maximize the space you do have. Some ideas are:
- A collapsible hamper for your dirty laundry
- Under-the-bed storage containers
- Hooks, hooks, and more hooks. You can use them to hang everything from your backpack, to your robe, coats, accessories, whatever you can imagine. And having items off the floor and organized will automatically make your space seem larger.
- Over-the-door organizers that can hold anything from shoes to toiletries to small clothing items and anything else that can fit neatly inside the usual dimension.
- Wall organization like a simple magnetic board or cork board will go along way in keeping your schoolwork visible and organized and all the other keepsake (phone numbers, contact information, flyers, etc.) you acquire along the way.
4) Not only will you need school supplies, but you will also need living supplies. This includes items that you may be responsible for purchasing for the first time like paper towels, garbage bags, silverware, dishware, and cleaning supplies. Stock up and stash them somewhere in your dorm for your personal use only. 5) Flip-flops for the communal bathroom. Yup. Enough said. 6) Most dorms come equipped with a desk. Don’t forget items to organize your desk and to make the space “term paper” ready. Some helpful items are:
- Staples/stapler/paperclips
- Printer and paper
- Printer ink
- Post-its (to remember upcoming assignments)
- Memory Card and Ethernet Cables
- Power Strip
- Hammer
- Screwdriver
7) Leave most of your personal items at home, but not everything. There is no shame in bringing comforts of home with you to your dorm, be it framed pictures, a stuffed animal, quilt, or whatever else will bring you comfort when you are homesick. There will be a few of those first nights where you may feel displaced and having something from home with you will ease the transition. 8) Investing in a small safe with a lock and key may be a good idea for your personal items like jewelry, credit cards, or anything else with a monetary value. Although you may come to know and trust your roommate(s), you never know who they may invite into your dorm. 9) Try to move-in at the mid point of moving day. Arriving too early, you may have to wait in line for prime unloading parking, elevator use and/or cart use. Arriving to late, and you may be stuck with the “bad” side of the dorm room. We recommend arriving 2-3 hours after the designated time. And let your parents help. It will be therapeutic for all of you and you need it as much as they do, even if you don’t realize it now. 10) Above all, be yourself. Venturing off to college can bring on a slew of emotions and surely anxiety over new surroundings and a new roommate is a major thing. As we learned in grammar school, being courtesy and friendly still can do wonders to break the ice. Make time to get to know your roommate and to co-exists together. After all, you both/all are embarking on an important phase in your young adult life.
As you prepare to move to college, remember that Aaron Bros. Moving System, Inc. and our affiliates can help whether it is renting you a U Haul or a self-storage space when your semester ends.
