College is a worthwhile experience where you get to learn a lot, find yourself (if you are lucky too), and have a lot of fun. One aspect of college that can be great is moving into a college dorm to live among other students. However, you may be a bit nervous if this is your first time moving away from home. This is natural, and we are here to help you prepare for the move when heading to college to start your college journey.
When you apply to live in the university dorms you will get an email for your college’s Housing Office which will give you information about your room, and its location as well as help with the preparation. It is best to read this through carefully, and maybe even a few times. And then we can help you with how to move to college smoothly.
Furthermore, college dorms are known for being small. Therefore, you will not have a lot to take with you that can fit in the room. The important things that you should take with you are what you can fit into your bedroom. Without the bed, table, and cupboard. All the furniture will be supplied by the college.
One of the best ways to prepare for moving to college is by making lists. The lists can be divided into the following categories such as bedding, school items, cleaning supplies, health items, and toiletries. As well as clothes, obviously.
Lists can also help you to make sure that you do not leave anything important behind. If you do, you can always buy the item if need be, but you will be a student so it is best to save your money by following your lists to the note. Bedding includes covers, sheets, and pillowcases. It would be best to bring at least two of each. If you want to bring your own pillow you of course can. Plus, bringing a blanket would not hurt as well.
School items are your textbooks, notebooks, files, pencils, pens, and all other forms of stationery. As well as a school bag that you can carry around all of these items instead of rolling about your huge suitcase. And, cleaning supplies can be liquids to keep your room, and bathroom clean as well as washing detergent for your laundry.
Regarding health items, you would want to pack or add to a first aid kit. This can be bandages, medicine that you take, plasters, and even medicine for colds. As well as vitamins, and spare masks. Toiletries are your toothbrush, soap, toothpaste, face wash, etc. However, remember to pack towels, such as big ones to cover your body, as well as little ones for when you just have to wash your face and brush your teeth.
A good idea would be to find out if you will have your own bathroom or will be sharing one with a roommate or if it is a communal bathroom shared with everyone. If it is the latter, you should pack a bathrobe. And, a pair of flip-flops would not hurt regardless of the bathroom situation.
When it comes to clothes you would have to pack carefully since you will have limited space for all your items. Make sure that you have the seasons covered as well as spares. As well as good shoes for walking. For the latter, it would be wise to not go for the cheapest pair since they will fall apart quickly.
And, you would want to make your university dorm feel like home, so make sure you bring some items to make it feel as such.
It goes without saying that you should pack your laptop and all the cables that go with it. Including your mouse and mousepad. Plus, it would also be a good idea to pack a short extension cable. As well as to see if you have to bring a table lamp in case the college does not supply you with one. Also, pack a spare phone charger just in case.
This is why it is important to read that email from your Housing Office since it can tell you what you should bring, and what you cannot bring. The rule of thumb is that the following is not allowed in a dorm room:
Pets. This means that you cannot bring in big animals such as your dogs and cats. As well as little ones such as hamsters or fishes. There will be a huge possibility that you will not have time to look after them during school hours. And, afterwards, you may be tempted to go out and party with your friends and fellow students. Therefore, it would be better to leave the pets at home with your parents.
Furniture is also something that you should not bring with you. As we have mentioned, the college is meant to supply you with everything you need, including a desk, chair, bed, cupboard, etc. Furthermore, you should also check if you are allowed to bring a toaster, microwave or mini-fridge. If it is a dorm with a shared kitchen, then it would be a no-go most likely. If there is no shared kitchen, then you would most likely be eating in the campus dining hall. Best to check the food situation so that you can prepare for it.
When it comes to the decor of your college dorm you are not allowed to paint the walls or to add wallpaper to them. You would have to check what you can use to stick posters on the walls with the Housing Office. Some colleges may allow paint-safe adhesive that is removable, as well as specialty walk hangers if you have paints you want to have on your walls.
However, you cannot hammer in nails, or use staples or thumbtacks on the walls. Plus, when it comes to curtains you would have to go to the Housing Office for them or if you are allowed to use your own. But, you cannot install a curtain rail. And, if you have a roommate you would have to check with them before you change the curtains.
As we have mentioned your room will not be that big so it would be best to get your streaming services on your laptop. Furthermore, you should not bring an ironing board or an iron since there is probably no space for them, certainly the former.
And, if you do not have much time to look after your pet, you may have even less for ironing. So it is best to try to bring clothes that do not need to be ironed. If they do, you can check with the Housing Office if they have an iron or ironing board you can use.
However, if you want to iron, then you can bring your own iron if you must. You can use your desk as an ironing board by placing towels on it for cushioning while you are ironing.
While we are on the subject make sure that you pack enough clothes to last you a while. This means to have a few pairs if some are dirty. And, to also have winter clothes. You can use your suitcase as storage for the summer months and swap them out. Or you can make a plan to go home for the holiday to grab your winter wear if need be.
If you’re moving far, it’s better to look to Shyft for your move organization. Shyft is the world’s first tech-driven moving platform, and we’ll make sure that all your items and furniture get safely from A to B. Even if you’re moving just a few boxes and suitcases, you can rely on Shyft to organize that move for you. If you’re going a far distance, sometimes it’s more prudent to move your vehicle rather than driving it yourself.
We organize your move so that you can get your head in the game for life at college. And, we are very easy to get in touch with.
The first thing you would want to do is to go to our site where there is a short, and simple form for you to fill out. From there your Move Coach will give you a video call through the mobile app known as ShyftNext, which is free to download. We understand that you are a busy person and, therefore, this initial call will happen when you tell us what time you want to be called.
During this video call, your Move Coach will get to work by taking down your inventory list. These are all the items that you want to move to your new home if you plan to move out of your parents’ house. Furthermore, this list is sent to you half an hour after the end of the video chat.
When you are happy with your list as well as giving your moving details to us, we will present this all to our secure bidding platform. This is where verified, and experienced moving companies come to, as you guessed it, bid on projects. From here we gather three or more moving quotes so that you can choose which mover to move with. And, all the moving quotes that we send to you are guaranteed.
People that have used our services in the past have managed to save up to $600 on their move. This is a nice sum of money in your pocket for your new, first, home. Plus, we are on call to you every day, evening and over the weekends if you need advice, moving hacks and tips, or any other thing you are not sure about. Ask away, and we will answer the best that we can.
Another great thing is that we have a marketplace under our Home and Lifestyle Section. It is here that you can find a lot of things from furniture to places to move into. The reason why this is great is that every item and service in our marketplace comes with a discount. What is more, is that if you order a physical item then it will be delivered directly to your new home.
Thinking about the future is one of the main reasons to go to college in the first place. However, college can be a wonderful experience certainly if you live on campus. With that, we wish you luck for an exciting, fun, and sometimes stressful part of your young life. Enjoy all that living on campus has to offer you.
