Moving to College

Well since I will be moving to school tomorrow morning I figure this would be an appropriate time to talk a little bit about the whole process of moving off to college.

Moving to college can be a very stressful experience for several reasons. For one, simply moving that much "stuff" can be a frustrating process. Then there is of course the issue of leaving behind your friends and family. The first year is the most difficult for this simply because the experience is a foreign one.

Let's get down to the actually process, though.

Packing Up
When you are thinking about packing for college you need to keep the mindset that this will be the place that you will be living for the next 9-10 months. Yes, you will be home at different intervals, meaning that certain seasonal stuff can be picked up and dropped off. However, you don't want to be running home every weekend because you need to get some more clothes or you forgot your favorite CD.

So plan ahead. Think of everything that you might need, even if it is something that you might only use a few times. Many schools will offer a general list of things you might want to have with you while at school. Here is the list my school offers:

• Stationary
• Munchies
• Computer (along w/original software)
• Small stereo
• Only pets allowed are fish
• Trash Can
• Backpack
• Quilt/Comforter
• Flip Flops (for the shower)
• Laundry Detergent
• Stamps
• Stackable Crates
• Plants
• Fans
• Posters or decorations
• Power Strip
• Cleaning Supplies
• Two sets of linen
• Shower/Bathroom Carry All (for shampoo, soap, razors, etc.)
• Bathrobe
• School Supplies
• Sewing Kit
• Storage Containers, which may fit under the bed
• Television, VCR, and/or DVD Player
• Telephone
• Alarm Clock
• Umbrella
• Towels & Washcloths
• Laundry Basket/Bag

You also have to take into consideration the location of your school. For me, my school is in the middle of nowhere. Without a car on campus (normally students cannot bring a car onto campus until junior year - again this varies by school, but this is a general rule) being able to just run out to the store and pick stuff up is less of an option for students at my school. However, if the college you are attending is located in a city, well then maybe there are things you can pick up once you get there.

Another thing to look for is if you school has a list of things you cannot bring to campus. Many times this includes items that would be considered fire hazards. This is the list of non-permitted items that my school offers:

• Ceiling fans
• Toaster ovens
• Water beds
• Hot plates
• No homemade lofts
• Any items with exposed heating elements (i.e. Candles)
• Kerosene heaters
• No cinder blocks
• No previously burnt candles
• No privately owned air conditioners
• Electric grills or skillets
• Electric heaters
• Extension cords
• Halogen lamps (of ANY kind - desk, floor, table, etc.)
• Firearms, ammunition, any weapons, bows, guns, BB guns, slingshots, and launching devices
• Fireworks, powder, and other explosive or potentially dangerous objects
• Drugs, narcotics, harmful materials

While you must think of stuff you will need, also remember that everything that you want to bring with you must be packed up and moved. While this might sound obvious, think about the difficulty of carrying a dozen boxes full of belongings up several flights of stairs to your dorm room. Basically what I’m trying to say is try not to exceed your ability to move everything (you don’t want to have to rent a big-rig shipping truck to get all your stuff to school).

One thing that I have found useful is packing things that need to be set-up and packing things that you will use at a later date separately. For example, I have this small tower of drawers (two large drawers and two small drawers stacked on top of each other). I put everything that I will not need on move-in day – such as school supplies, extra electrical equipment, hygiene supplies, etc – in these drawers and tape them shut. I also put all my notebooks and any books that I have purchased already in my backpack. For stuff that I will need on move-in day – power strips, Ethernet cables, television cables, etc. – into a couple of boxes. This just makes moving everything in easier than if I had everything all jumbled together.

Planning Before Move-In

Now that you have everything put into boxes or bags or whatever, it is time to think about actually getting to school and moving your stuff into your room. The first thing you want to do is find out what time is scheduled for you to move in, and on what day. Many colleges have a day for just freshman move-ins (usually this is the day before the rest of the campus moves in). When you contact your roommate, it would be a good idea to discuss what day and what time each of you is moving in. There are a couple pros and cons to moving in at the same time and different times.

If you both move in at the same time, then you can discuss what you want to do with the room before you set up all your stuff. You may want to move furniture around or place appliances in specific areas to create more floor space. I remember my first year my roommate and I moved in on different days and, because neither of us wanted to undo all of our setting-up, we left the furniture exactly how we found it. Unfortunately, leaving the room set-up the way we found it limited the amount of space we had.

However, if you do move in at the same time then you may find that you and your roommate are in each other’s way of moving stuff in. Generally, dorm rooms don’t have a lot of room. There is enough space for you to live comfortably, but with parents there and with you and your roommate moving in clothes and computer equipment and everything else, you may find that you and your roommate are constantly bumping into each other. So like I said, there are pros and cons to both choices.

Moving In

So now you are at your school, you’ve checked in and gotten your key, and you’re getting ready to unpack the car. You have all of this stuff sitting in front of you and you’re thinking to yourself “What is all this junk.” Well, that’s the thought I always get anyway. So where do you start?

First, I would look at the room and get a general idea of what I want to do with it. The basic question is this: How can I get the most space out of this room? Am I going to leave the desk and dressers where they are? Maybe my roommate and I should bunk our beds? Where should the fridge and the TV go? If I decide to make any changes I do that before I move anything into the room. Also, another thing I do is check to see where the outlets are. Many times the internet and the TV cable connections are behind beds or dressers. It is a good idea to connect these cables before you move anything into the room

Next I move the things that I don’t want to move more than I have to into the room. These items would be the fridge, the TV, the microwave, and anything else that is big and heavy. These take up the most space, and therefore and the most important things to position.

After that you can start moving all the little things in. You can do this in any order. Usually I pile stuff up in the hallway and I move stuff in as I make room. I usually wait to do my desk until last because I use it as a place to stick things on and if I put my computer and wireless router on it before I move the other stuff in that would take up the desk space.

Wow, that turned into a pretty long post. Well, I hope it helps. If you have any questions just leave them down below and I’ll get back to you.