Packing for College: Everything Your Dorm Room Needs

Packing for College: Everything Your Dorm Room Needs

The Fort Lauderdale movers at All My Sons Moving & Storage have created this guide for packing for college. Packing for college can be extremely overwhelming, but this guide provides you with a comprehensive list of everything your dorm room needs.

Closet

If you go to school in a colder climate, Fort Lauderdale movers suggest that you don’t bring all of your winter clothes with you in August. Start off by bringing warmer weather clothes because closet and storage space is limited in a college dorm room. Most likely, you will be going home for Thanksgiving, so that would be the perfect time to bring back a few winter pieces with you. To avoid overpacking, think about what clothes you wear on a daily basis. If you usually wear lounge clothes, you should mainly pack lounge clothes. Of course, you want to pack nice outfits to go out in, but if you wear workout shorts and yoga pants on a daily basis at home, that won’t change in college. A tip from Fort Lauderdale movers: bring at least one business outfit that is suitable for a job interview. You never know when you might have an interview, and you don’t want to be stuck without this!

Bathroom

Most likely, you will have community style bathrooms in your college dorm. The most important thing you will want to pack is your shower shoes! Any pair of rubber flip flops works just fine, just don’t forget them. Next, you should pack a shower caddy so that you aren’t carrying everything in your hands each night. Your caddy can include: shampoo, conditioner, body wash, razors, shaving cream, face wash, wash cloth, tooth brush and toothpaste. Other items that you should pack with you that might not necessarily go into your shower caddy are: cleansing wipes, make up remover, cotton balls, nail polish, nail polish remover, make up, perfume, deodorant, hairbrush and hair ties. Typically, you have a mirror in your bedroom so you can keep some of these items in small storage spaces in your bedroom. You should also bring several towels with you so that you are never without one if you wait a little too long to do your laundry.

Organization

Storage space is so limited in a college dorm room, and so is space in general. Don’t go overboard and start buying tons of storage bins before you get to school, because storage bins are big and bulky. According to the Fort Lauderdale movers, it’s generally a good idea to get to the dorm room first and assess the storage situation before buying organization bins.

Decoration

Instead of bringing your pictures in bulky picture frames, you should consider bringing unframed photos and taping them on the walls. You can make an awesome photo collage and you can easily hang them with tape. To spruce up the walls, you can add some string lights. String lights are fun and are easy to decorate with. They are also bright enough for one roommate to still navigate the room while the other is sleeping. Next, either you or your roommate should bring a full-length mirror. It’s always nice to have this around, so that you aren’t running down the hall to the bathroom every time you leave your dorm room. Sometimes, people forget to pack a rug. Dorm room floors aren’t pretty and could be dirty too. A rug will help make the space feel more comfortable.

Electronics

The most important thing you will pack is a power strip. Wall outlets are limited and a power strip is lifesaving! You should consider bringing a TV if you really enjoy watching television or if you plan on staying in with your friends often. Cable is usually free, so all you have to do is hook up the TV and you’re good to go. Depending on your intended major or how often you print things, you should consider bringing a printer. All colleges offer printing services, but you do have to pay a small fee.