This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UNT chapter.
Ah, freshmen year. The good ole’ days. Though stressful at times, it is often ones first taste of freedom. One thing that was really fun about freshman year was dorm-living. You heard me right. Yeah, sharing a bathroom with three other girls wasn’t the best. Yeah, my roommate and I grew tired of each other at times. But it was my first time having the ability to make my own decisions whenever I wanted, and it was liberating. The first step of this was decorating my dorm room. I bought and brought a lot of things, a lot of which I didn’t need. Here are ten things you can probably leave at home come move-in day.
- Your entire wardrobe. Honestly, you just don’t have the room. If you are going home for Thanksgiving, switch out your summer/fall clothes with your winter clothes then. Same for Spring Break but reverse. This might not work for all colleges due to varying weather, but it worked for me.
- A printer. To be honest, I loved having a printer in my room. But most colleges give you printing credit in tuition, so it isn’t necessary.
- Your entire book collection. Trust me, I fought my mom on this. She won. I ended up bringing maybe ten, and I barely touched them all semester. This semester I have made it more of a priority to read, but honestly, you don’t have a lot of time for it.
- High School Apparel. People will judge you. It doesn’t matter what they think, but still. Leave it in the past. You should be on to bigger and better things. College is the time to be alive.
- A Brita. Unless you are fine with constant room temperature water or you have a mini-fridge big enough to have it on the shelves, then it isn’t a good idea. I’m glad I bought one, but I’m moving into an apartment soon, so I can use it then.
- Throw pillows. I brought one, and I still constantly throw it unto the floor. They are cute, but unpractical.
- Large furniture. The rooms are tiny, and that’s a game of Tetris that is 100% avoidable.
- School supplies. Waiting until you get here is your best bet. I haven’t used half of the stuff I bought, and it’s been sitting in my desk untouched for months.
- Kitchen appliances. Most schools won’t let you have anything besides a microwave and a mini-fridge anyways, so be sure to check with your dorms/schools rules before buying anything. Some schools even provide them. Also, talk to your roommate about what you are bringing so you don’t end up with two microwaves and no mini-fridge!
- A negative attitude. If you come in expecting to hate college, you probably will. Be open-minded, join organizations and set out to have fun. That’ll make all of the difference, I promise.