By: Ricza Lopez (Buffalo State College)
Follow Ricza on Twitter
When we first go away to college, there are some of us who go and buy what we need according to the list the school gave us. There are also some of us who feel the need to bring their whole room from back home to this little cubicle that we unfortunately call a dorm. We can all understand that we want to feel like our dorm is our home away from home and add a personal touch. Let’s face it, not only does it cost lots of money, but in most cases, you share the space with another person. Now, over the years, you accumulate so much stuff, you don’t even know what to do. Here are some tips that you may want to think about before you get stuck in that predicament.
1. Take what is necessary: Just think of your college dorm years as “survival.” Take what you know you will absolutely need, unless you are living off campus. I suggest you do not bring extremely large items that can possiby occupy more than half of your side.
2. Avoid taking more than you can carry: I am definitely a victim of taking stuff home and bringing back more than I initally carried. If this means that you have to cut back on the shopping for that break, do so because you know you do not want to carry all of that at the end of the year.
3. Give some of your things away: If those clothes do not fit or you just do not see any use for that gadget of yours, donate it. Sometimes, Resident Assistants or student organizations have clothing drives and leave boxes in the main lobby of the dormitories for you to drop off clothes. Make use of your old gear and electronics, just because it’s your trash doesn’t mean it cannot be another person’s treasure.
4. Take advantage of your breaks: Use these increments during the year to take little by little home, especially if the things are not going to be of use for the next semester (i.e. taking those winter coats home during Spring Break). By doing this, it will be less weight that you will have to take home when packing time comes around during finals.
5. Last but not least, for us hard-headed people who wanted to be stubborn and not get that license to rent that car or even own one for that matter. You can always use storage or leave your stuff over at a friend’s house. It’s not bad that you help these storage companies make some serious money. If push comes to shove, you can always rent a truck or car to carry all of your stuff in, it’s always good to make that your very last resort though.
Just think of how many years you have left in school. It doesn’t matter if it’s 4,3,2 or 1 more year. Plan accordingly so that you won’t be left swimming through a pile of stuff.
