I like to think that there are two types of girls in this world: those who are packed and ready to go weeks before move-in, and those who keep telling themselves they only need three boxes and two days to get everything done. I won’t bore you with the details of which type of girl I am (*cough* the second one) but let’s just say I was missing more than a few things when I moved into the dorms freshmen year. So you can avoid (at least some of) the same mistakes as me, here’s a list of six things you’ll definitely need this year.
Lysol Wipes
I’m going to be real with you: dorms get dirty. Drinks will be spilled, germs will be spread, and ice cream will inevitably be dripped during your first The Notebook binge of the year. All of that is totally fine (I mean, who wouldn’t drip some ice cream during that lake scene?) but it’s always nice to have something a little stronger than a damp paper towel from the bathroom to clean up your messes.
Planner
Planners are sooo middle school, right? Um, wrong. If you weren’t already planning on using some kind of planner – digital or otherwise – consider investing in one. As much as we’d all like to think we’re the kind of girl who can remember everything without writing it down, we probably can’t. You’re on the quarter system now: with midterms every few weeks, it’s hard to keep all your dates straight. Get a planner with a daily and monthly calendar so you can see what you need to accomplish each day, as well as what you need to accomplish each month. Seriously – don’t let that economics midterm sneak up on you and force you to cancel beach day with that cute guy from your floor for a day of cramming in the library!
Small Fan/Extra Blankets
More often than not, you and your future roomie are going to have different ideas of what a “comfortable temperature” constitutes. Having a small fan and extra blankets can come in handy with it’s 90 degrees and your (literally) cold-blooded roommate is freezing and refuses to turn on the air conditioner. Even if you and your roommate can agree, some dorms don’t have air conditioning. SLO doesn’t have too many unbearably hot or cold days, but you’ll be grateful if you’re prepared for them when they do happen.
Extra Chargers and Headphones
I got 99 problems and not having a charger when my phone is at 10% is every single one of them. Every. Single. One. Okay – maybe running out of Plu$ Dollars and waiting for your quarter-long crush to finally ask you out qualify as problems too, but not having a charger or a pair of headphones when you need it is pretty inconvenient. Cords get lost, worn down, and left behind, so having an extra computer charger, phone charger, or headphones is a must. Always keep one in your backpack, and you’ll never be caught with a dead device or without music.
Shower Shoes
You don’t want to have to step on the wig-worthy amount of hair other girls left in the shower, do you? I didn’t think so.
Iron and Small Ironing Board
Imagine this: you’re rushing to get ready for the career fair, and you can’t find that one pencil skirt your mom made you buy before leaving for college. You rolled your eyes at the time, (because puh-lease, it’s not like you’re going to start a nine to five during your first quarter of college, right?) but now you need it. You search desperately and finally find it… At the bottom of your closet, wrinkled from being shoved between the shoe organizer you stopped using weeks ago and your shower caddy. No other options? No problem – just whip out your iron, smooth out your skirt, and go kill it at the career fair like the totally put-together, pencil skirt-wearing collegiette you are.
Don’t get me wrong – this list isn’t exhaustive. Besides the fact that it only has six items, it’s also composed of things that I, the self-proclaimed “second” type of girl, could think of. To really make sure you’ve packed everything, check out a few of the hundreds of packing lists on Pinterest, on the Internet, and in stores. Once you find several good lists, look for commonalities between them; if a particular item is on every single list you see, you can bet that it’s pretty important. After that, you can rest easy… Until the mad rush to Target on move-in day when you realize you forgot to pack a toothbrush. Good luck, future collegiettes! We’ll see you in the fall.