10 Tips For What Not To Bring To College This Year
College is always extremely exciting, with a new place to live in and having a new environment to embrace! The hardest part, however, is packing your whole room and moving to a new place that you’ve never seen. Therefore, you tend to pack the stuffs you don’t really need but think you do. Here are a list of what not to bring to college.
1. Hair Products
College is a whole new ball game when it comes to getting ready and looking your best. Most days – in fact, almost every day – is looking pretty average and basic.
I did not use my hairdryer at all last school year or any pins, bows, ribbons and gel. I did use my curling iron and hairspray, once. The only hair-styling tools I religiously used were my hair brush and a couple hair ties. Do not try to be someone you are not in college. Put your hair in that messy bun because you have bigger things to tackle!
2. Decorative Pillows
3. Office Supplies
4. Colored Pens
This piggy-backs off the office supplies, but if you are used to taking color-coded notes, you are in for a big surprise. My entire life is color coded, but professors in college talk and click so fast that you will not have time to swap colors for certain information. If you worry about missing something important, go over your notes after lecture and highlight or underline in coloured pen. During lecture, do not get consumed with color-coding your notes. Here are some items of what not to bring to college.
5. Real Dishes
If you have not found this out by now, college is a hot bed of activists. Something about your early-to mid-twenties makes you feel incredibly emotional about certain topics like conservation. I was super excited about not using paper plates or plastic cutlery. I went to the thrift store with my friend and bought a cute, incomplete dish set to take it to school with me along with some dish soap. Sounds great, right? Nope.
The closest sink and bathroom was a two-minute walk. If you are in the mood for pizza rolls at 2 a.m., you are not going to be in the mood to walk to the bathroom and do the dishes. Unless you have a private bathroom, go with paper plates.
6. Lots of Mugs
This goes along with dishes, but note the word “lots.” Mugs are easy to wash and when you do, that mug is clean again! I brought about five mugs to school thinking I would use all of them, but that was not the case! I ended up using one mug the entire year and while the others got dusty.
Also, I received three or four mugs as gifts during my freshman year and I had no idea how to get all of these fragile ceramics home! Long story short: bring one mug and one mug only.
7. Only Nice Blouses
What I mean by “blouse” is a shirt that is nicer than a t-shirt, has some decoration, but not fancy. Something you might wear to a more relaxed church service or going out to dinner with relatives. A few blouses and dresses are good to bring if you have a nice event or want to go out with friends.
On most days you will want t-shirts, sweaters, or something more casual. I was under the impression I would only bring cute clothes to college and look good. To tell you the truth, I wore the same four casual pieces of clothing I brought every single day, until my first trip home, where I got more clothes. Do not try to overhaul your personal style for the sake of anyone else. Bring and wear clothes that will only make you feel comfortable and confident!
8. Bean Bag Chair
The only experience a high school student will have with college is through an older sibling or movies, neither one of which being accurate. This is one of the big and bulky things for what not to bring to college.
I had always wanted a bean bag chair to have movable and relaxed seating options and college was my chance to get one, so I did. In my imagination, college meant having friends over in your room and hanging out all the time, but that isn’t normally the case.
You will be around people for such a large portion of your day, your dorm becomes your hideaway. Coming back to an empty, quiet room to work on homework or just to watch Netflix is pure bliss. Money not well spent. (All of those extra decorate pillows mentioned above ended up decorating my bean bag chair instead of my bed.)
9. Hobby Supplies
My hobby includes knitting and cross stitching and I brought a duffle bag of supplies with me for whenever I was done with my schoolwork. A bunch of guys down the hall brought their gaming equipment and gamed together almost every night. This kind of stuff is great for the first few weeks of first semester, but soon enough, you will be drowning in school work, clubs, presentations, responsibilities and more.
Hobbies are great relaxation tools, but try to bring the minimum and have an idea of where you are going to store the supplies. Take a look at your dorm layout and closet situation before move-in day and maybe consider a junior loft with storage bins underneath if you are bringing lots of stuff. Keep in mind, these are what not to bring to college.
10. Double-Sided Tape
If you are living in a dorm with cinderblock walls, kiss any sort of wall-hanging decor goodbye if you try to use double-sided tape. The only thing that remotely sticks to cinderblock is duct tape. I had luck using double-sided tape on finished walls and the bed frame. If you plan on lofting your bed and putting your desk under your bed, use double-sided tape to decorate around your desk.
Another tip: If you want those cute little hanging lanterns over your desk, buy a string of lit-up photo clips and use the clip-on part to hang them from the bottom of your bed. Very easy to put up, move and take down. (Caution: be careful using any sort of tape on any surface with paint so you do not damage the walls and lose your security deposit.)
