It can be tempting to pack up your entire room and bring it with you when you go off to college for the first time. After all, going off away from home CAN be scary and it’s okay to seek comfort in familiar items. However, dorm rooms are tiny. And you probably won’t have near enough room for all of your knick-knacks at home. Here’s a college packing list: What NOT To Bring!
College Packing List: What NOT to bring
Appliances
It’s always nice to have a mini-fridge and microwave for snacks, but you probably don’t need a blender, coffee maker, or other appliances like them. Often times, students find that these things come included in their dorm (at least in the common spaces) and that they don’t have the room for larger appliances anyway. And of course, make sure you take a look at your space before deciding if you even need to purchase the coveted mini-fridge. How lame would it be if you didn’t have room for it?
Dorm Decor
It’s always nice to personalize your space, but there is a thing as “too much.” Leave your posters, photo collages, and other things at home. If these things are important to you, make sure that you display them in a manner that is respectful to your roommate. It’s always best not to make your roommate hate you from the moment that they walk into the door.
Your Entire Closet
I know, it can be tempting! Who doesn’t like options, right? Wrong. When it comes to college, it is best to change out your wardrobe every few months as the weather changes, leaving the bulk of your stuff back home. You can swap out your clothing when you go home for breaks after the semester. Additionally, you can leave your t-shirts and other loungewear items at home! Bring your favorite of each, of course, but you’ll be given so much more in free school apparel that you won’t even miss your old stuff.
An Ironing Board
It sounds like a great idea in theory, because who wouldn’t want their clothing to look nice, but you may not have room for one of these. Typically, dorm rooms are only 228 square feet, and with your other furniture taking up space, you probably won’t have anywhere to store (or use!) your ironing board. Besides, you probably aren’t going to be wearing anything that really even needs to be ironed!
Bulky Suitcases
True, you will need suitcases to transport your items to and from school, but bulky, hard-shelled luggage can be tricky to store. Rather than devoting an entire corner of your room to your huge suitcase, opt for collapsible, luggage like duffel bags, instead. So now you have your college packing list: what not to bring.
