MUST HAVE: College Packing Tips to Make Move In Easier

This post is all about packing for college and essential tips that will make your move in day run smoothly.

As you know, I love being prepared and organized. And let me tell you, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Getting organized for moving in, is tough even for master organizers. We are especially struggling because I am going to an out of state school.

So for those of you who have lots of just STUFF that somehow you just can’t part with, I’ve got some tips for you. Because I am currently there too.

Without further adieu, here is the list.

1. IKEA PACKING BAGS

OH MY GOODNESS YOU NEED THESE BAGS. They were around $2 per bag at IKEA. They are amazing for packing your things for many reasons.

First, they are made of a very durable plastic that will not rip and can handle some wear and tear.

Second, the handles are amazing because they are long enough to go over your shoulder when you are carrying them.

Third, they have so much room!! And they fold up really small when you are done with them.

Some even come with zippers if you want to stack them.

Lastly, did I mention they were cheap?!?!

2. Hanging clothes in trash bag

This is genius and I wish I could take credit for this idea. My dear friend Pinterest helped me out with this one.

So what you do is put all of the clothes you plan hanging in a closet, on hangers and then place them in a trash bag.

When you arrive on campus, you can easily rip the bag and put those clothes straight in the wardrobe!

3. Jewelry Hack

When traveling with jewelry, the most annoying thing that can happen is it all get tangled.

When you are moving into your new dorm, nobody has time for that.

I packed all my jewelry by putting the necklace through a straw to keep it from tangling. Then I put each necklace in an individual plastic baggy.

Easy peasy tip but saves a lot of time later!

4. Have your best friend help you pack

Packing is grueling. It takes a very long time. It can be sad. It can be frustrating.

Having your best friend there makes such a difference. It adds an element of silliness and fun to packing.

Plus, it takes away from the family stress and adds an extra set of hands to help. And he put together my stuff from ikea. BONUS!

5. Beauty supplies

Pack all of the stuff that you will need in a caddy. You are likely to need a shower caddy anyways so why not just go ahead and put everything in it?

Use every bit of space you possibly can.

I also tried to pack smaller sizes of beauty products especially since I don’t use makeup or many products frequently.

6. Keep everything in one space

I kept all of my college stuff in my basement in a pile. Throughout the summer, whenever I got something new I would add it to the pile.

When moving out got closer, I would clean out my room and still add it to the pile.

This is so nice because if you are trying to pack for college and everything is everywhere, not only will it be a mess but it will take forever.

TIP: the day before you pack up the car, carry all the stuff in the pile up the stairs. You want to minimize the amount of trips you will be taking. Packing the car is a lot of work and you don’t want to add stairs to the mix.

7. Pack the car early

Oh my it feels so good to have my last day at home just to relax. I packed the car two days ago and it was great.

We did this because we were worried all of the stuff wouldn’t fit in the back of the truck. The problem was mostly securing my stuff from the rain and getting stolen. We even considered renting a car that had a huge trunk so everything would be covered.

So we packed the car super early to see if it would all fit or if we would have to rent a car. Luckily, it fit!!

However, at the time I was not prepared to pack the car this early so I packed pretty much all of my clothes.

I have been rewearing the same shorts for a few days now because my clothes are unreachable in the truck.

Oh well. Moral of the story, pack early but be smarter than me.

8. Do what you need to do

Maximize space! Maximize space! Maximize space! We ended up taking a lot of things out of their boxes and putting them in the drawers of my dressers or cubbies.

We even took a bunch of stuff out and just shoved it in the crevices of the truck and in between things.

Feels messy but you gotta do what you gotta do to make it all fit 😉

9. Pack your food just as your would store it in your dorm!

This is pretty self explanatory. I bought multiple snacks that I wanted for my dorm and put them in a clear container that I plan on placing under my bed.

I bought several snacks at once because it was cheaper and then left me fully stocked.

Also, if you are like me and are very specific about goldfish getting stale, buy several smaller bags instead of the really big box.

10. Don’t pack a long mirror

Ugh. Mirrors are hard to pack because they are so fragile!

Of course mine broke the second we tried to start packing it.

So if I could do it again, just buy a mirror when you get there.

I hope you found some of these tips helpful. Stay tuned as I move in and get started with recruitment!

Sincerely, Meghan Ann