Move-In Day: The Dorm

Part of the "Surviving College" series

When preparing to move into a college dorm, do NOT bring more stuff than you will absolutely use--it takes up needed space and clutters a room with two people in it FAST. It's hard to know what to bring and what not to bring, but here's a quick list:

• Amount of clothes that will last you 2 weeks
• GOOD walking shoes (sneakers, preferably)
• Dress shoes and outfits (optional)
• Bedding and pillows
• Textbooks
• Computer
• Printer
• Phone/Cell Phone
• TV (optional)
• Refrigerator (optional)
• Microwave (optional)
• Trash can and bags
• Bath towels and washcloths
• Bathing supplies and flip-flops (cheap shower shoes)
• At least one lamp and light bulbs
• Cleaning supplies (broom + dustpan/carpet sweeper, disinfecting spray/wipes, paper towels, duster, air freshener
• Fan (if your room is not air-conditioned)

Some More Handy Tips

Before you start moving a lot of your stuff in, check the cleanliness of the dorm room. Since move-out processes in the dorms are usually rushed, dorm rooms are often left in quite a nasty state. (Trust me--I moved the dresser in one of my dorm rooms, and found months' worth of cracker crumbs, hairs, and dust bunnies galore.) Bring along your broom/sweeper, duster, and disinfecting spray/wipes just in case, and take time to clean the room if it needs it BEFORE you move all your stuff in--cleaning it will take a lot less time if you're not having to clean around suitcases and bags.

School supplies and food are all available on campus, so you need not try to lug those sorts of things with you on move-in day. If you don't have or can't get a printer, you can most likely use the computer labs' printers on-campus--just buy a 1GB flash drive (aka zip drive or jump drive) to bring your files with you. If you do not have a landline phone line available, bring a cell phone. If you do not have a computer, the campus labs will be your best friends, and a flash drive will also work for you.

All dorm rooms should be furnished with a bed, desk, desk chair, dresser, and wardrobe/built-in closet for each person in the room. You can bring other furniture in if it will fit---creative furniture arrangement can come into play here. Some dorm beds can be adjusted by height, and with these you can create an "L" with the beds in a corner of the room--one roommate's bed is as high as it will go, and one roommate's bed is practically on the floor. You overlap the low bed's footspace and the high bed's headspace, and it works beautifully to give you a bit more space in your room. (The roomie in the high bed probably should invest in a stepstool to get up and down safely--I am speaking from unfortunate experience with the dorm room floor in the middle of the night.)

Check with your hall supervisors about curtains (some dorms don't allow them because of fire hazard), candles/incense (fire hazard), and lofting the beds. Most dorms do not allow you to paint, nail things to the wall, or otherwise significantly alter the dorm room itself.