1. Packing too many clothes:
The biggest mistake you could make when packing to move into the dorms is to pack too many clothes. Trust me, you will not even wear half of what you bring! I brought my whole wardrobe (fashion is important to me), but I didn’t even wear most of it. For second semester, I focused on keeping only a few minimalist staples in my wardrobe that I can mix and match. Take the time to evaluate which pieces you want to bring the most and what you will get the most wear out of.
2. Forgetting essentials:
When moving into the dorms, I was shocked at the amount of girls I met who forgot simple things like pencils, tape, tissues, napkins, cleaning supplies, and even simple medications. Plan ahead and stock up on simple office supplies, medications, and toiletries to prevent borrowing from others and making countless trips to the store each time you find something you’re missing.
3. Relying on storage bins:
Many people that I met while moving into college had plastic storage bins to help keep their items organized. Although this seems like a good idea, most of them ended up hating the bins because they took up so much space and weren’t as useful as imagined. Instead of buying storage bins, focus on limiting the number of items you bring and instead buy drawer separators or research ways to fold and organize clothing and items to maximize space.
4. Not bringing décor from home:
I suggest that you bring as many wall and room decorations from home as possible. This can save a lot of time and money by preventing you from going to the store to find things to spice up your room. Pack a few of your favorite items in a box and ship them to the school a few days in, then you can have pieces from home that make your room feel more comfortable.
5. Buying too many snacks:
Yes, these tasty morsels will be useful at times, but avoid buying to many and having them spoil! My parents bought me so much food during move in that I still had some of it left during the second semester, but it had to be thrown out! Buy a few things at once, but keep the number limited to 5-6 items.