Back to college tips!

Preppy Perfection gave me a great idea! After my packing tips seemed to go over so well and I got several e-mails telling me how great they were, I am going to do packing for college tips. So all of you college students getting ready to go back to school, I hope this helps! (just a side note: I'm totally high maintenance when it comes to packing for college, I have to have the whole place transformed into a place that will be acceptable to call "home", so some of these things may not be necessities to you, but these are just recommendations because I'm no expert! I would also welcome suggestions as to what your packing for college tips are!) I also think I'll do this post in installments over a few days, because I just have so many tips! Enjoy!

I personally am moving back into a dorm room and know all of the details and measurements. If you don't know or are an incoming freshman and haven't got a chance to see the room you will be living in, try calling the residence life office. My residence life has an e-mail address and I just e-mailed her to get the exact measurements for things such as the closet height, width, and depth, and the window measurements for drapery. Also, this year my roommate and I are going to have our own bathroom which is new to me, so I also asked in the e-mail what I will need to bring that the bathroom doesn't have (ex. shower curtain, bath rug, toothbrush holder, etc.).

Next, make a list of things you will need. Group the list by store. It iss also helpful to know what stores are located in your college town. I personally would wait until you get there to buy what you need. The town my college is in has pretty much everything: Target, Walmart, Michael's, Home Depot, a tiny mall, a Costco, and a grocery store. So for example you would put shampoo under Target, or pencils and pens under Walmart. I find that lists are the way to go so you don't forget anything.

Here are some things that I HIGHLY suggest, I learned from my mistakes:

-Make the color pallete of your entire room based on your comforter. I suggest getting a down comforter only because it makes the bed more comfortable, and believe me, you will want your bed to be extra comfy when you get into it ( found a super cute pastel plaid down comforter at the Ralph Lauren Outlet)! Also in addition to sheets and such, I suggest getting a temperpedic type mattress topper. The mattress that is provided has been slept on my other people which is really gross to think about, so the topper gives you comfort and raises you above so you are not sleeping directly on the mattress. Another necessity is a hypoallergenic mattress cover. I found mine at Target and it's almost like a fitted sheet, with a little padding, and it would go over the temperpedic layer and the mattress. That way, you are safe from allergens and that gross mattress. Also, I wash my sheets every week. I know that sounds a little much, but it is so much nicer when you are always sleeping on clean sheets (every bit of good sleep you can have is so worth it!).

-When I had my graduation party, as most people do, I made posters in the color of my high school colors and put a ton of pictures on these large posters. I thought these would be great to take to school and hang on my walls. Well they didn't look bad, but they didn't match my room and were not very sophisticated. I have since then bought several things for my wall. I featured these frames in one of my older posts. I also bought a large collage frame to hang above the head of my bed. You can find a lot of low priced frames at Marshalls and TJ Maxx. I just think that frames instead of posters, pasted pictures, or paper make for a more homier room.

-Buy a cute lamp. I hate the harsh over head lighting that comes with the dorm room. The lamp lighting is much more cozy, and makes the room look like home. Also you will want to place it next to your bed in case you need light and your roommate is trying to sleep. I bought my stand and shade at Target. They have adorable preppy lamp shades, and it wasn't hard to find one to match my color pallete.

- Get a Brita Pitcher. It filters your water and makes cold water readily available to you in your room. I got a cute one that is called grand green.

- You are going to want to have plenty of healthy (and well, not so healthy) snacks in your room. For this, I recommend a large tupperwear container. The reason you should keep all of your food in a container is because bugs will find the food, and that is just gross. I found a cute transparent pink one at Target, and I just slide it under my bed for easy access.

- Don't buy large packs of water bottles. Get yourself a trusty water bottle. It saves a ton of space. I wrote about a great water bottle here. Also, I'm obsessed with Crystal Light packets of all flavors. If you are like me, get another water bottle for your flavored drinks becuase getting the taste out of the water bottle is hard. So I have a water bottle just for flavored drinks and one just for water. My favorite Crystal Light packet is Pink Lemonade, and runner up is Pomegranate Lemonade!

- Don't buy a desk hutch from your school. At my school they are literally just slabs of unfinished wood constructed into a caveman-like shelving system. I went to the container store website and found this amazing hutch. It will deliver right to you, there is hardly any assembly required, and it folds up flat so traveling with it is a piece of cake. I also bought matching bins (not the exact ones but somewhat similar) to put on the shelves. Along with the bins, my printer rested on of the shelves (remember extra printer paper and ink!!!) (real bin shown to the right).

These are only a few things that I think are important for every college girl! There are plenty more tips to come, so keep a look out. My next posts will include a list of often forgotten items, items that I think are very important, and how to pack, haul, and store you clothing/shoes/accessories! Also, if anyone wants any specific tips on college packing, feel free to e-mail me at Summerwind41490@gmail.com. I don't tend to over-pack, but I do always go to school prepared and organized to make my dorm room neat, clean , and "homey".

Yours,
sCe