Move-In Day: The Dorm/Apartment
Part of the "Surviving College" series
Whether you're preparing to move into a college dorm or an off-campus apartment, do NOT bring more stuff than you will absolutely use--it takes up needed space and clutters a room 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)
- A pair or two of dress shoes & a couple of dressy outfits (for class presentations, dinners, etc.)
- Fitted sheet, flat sheet, blanket/coverlet, pillowcases and pillows
- Textbooks
- School supplies
- Pens, pencils, a highlighter or two
- Three-ring binders or folders for classwork
- Notebook paper (if using pencil and paper to take notes)
- Printer paper (if printing off notes/using computer a lot)
- Paper clips and binder clips
- Post-It notes
- Computer
- Printer
- Phone/cell phone
- Trash can and bags
- Clothes hangers
- Bath towels and washcloths
- Bathing supplies and plastic/rubber flip-flops (cheap shower shoes)
- At least one lamp and light bulbs
- Cleaning supplies
- broom & dustpan or carpet sweeper
- disinfecting spray/wipes
- paper towels
- duster
- air freshener
Optional/Situational Items
- TV
- Refrigerator
- Microwave
- Thumbtacks/pushpins (if you've got a bulletin board)
- 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/apartment. Since move-out processes are usually rushed, 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.
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. Apartments can come either furnished or unfurnished, but usually have closet space at least. 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 sleeping 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 or apartment complex supervisors about curtains (some dorms and apartments 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. Ask before starting these adjustments in an apartment as well.