How to pack for college!

Hey Lovelies! Summer is coming to a close now (cry face) which means...BACK TO SCHOOL! Currently I'm getting ready for my senior year of college (Ugh I feel so old). So I'm in the mist of the fresh hell that is packing up all my crap. Which reminds me of my first time packing for college last year (horrible flashback). So I'd thought I'd give you some handy hints on packing for college, whether you're a freshman or a transfer student going to sleep away college for the first time (like I was) and hopefully save you from heartache and overpacking.

1) Know Yourself
I want you to first take a deep hard look at yourself (and your wardrobe). What do you like to wear, what do you feel comfortable in? What are your fashion staples? If you're the kind of person who wears the same three shirts everyday, then don't pack a lot of stuff because your just going to wear the same three shirts. Now, I know you're probably saying "But Ellen I'm going to change. I'm going to mix it up. New year, new me." No. Seasons change, people don't. If you're Sally three shirts at home, you're going to be Sally three shirts at college. That's a fact.  So go through your closet and pick out the stuff you wear the most. If you're the kind of person who wears more jeans then skirts, pack more jeans. If you love dresses, pack more dresses and less of the stuff you wouldn't wear because you're not going to have a lot of space. Also pack for the things you're going to be doing. At my college I work at the writing center as a tutor so I have pack a lot of professional, dresser, clothing for my job. You might not have to dress up as much so your wardrobe might be more causal.
TIP: When deciding whether or not to pack something try to imagine the three different occasion where you would wear it along with three different outfits you can make with it. If you can't, leave it home.
This is also I great chance to go through your closet and get rid of the stuff you don't wear anymore/don't fit/ too wore out.

2) Know Your Location
Learn as much as you can about the school you are about to attend. It's location, it's weather, what the seasons are like and it's distance from home. If you live close to home, pack for a season because you can go home and trade in your fall apparel for your winter wear and so on. If you are going to school half way across the country, prepare the pack for the long hall because you're not going to come back for every break, so stock up. Find out what kind of winter your going to have. If your going to school out west or down south, your going to have any snow but it still may be cold so keep that in mind. My best friend Kaitlyn goes to school in Texas and it can be 20 degrees in January so don't be fooled, it's not always going to be hot there. If you're like me who attends school in New Canada it snows there, a lot. Like Winterfell, a lot. And it's super freaking cold there. From November to April so it's important to pack for that.

3) Know how often you want to do laundry.
To laundry or not to laundry, that is the question. This question has a lot of different factors that go into answering that question. If you are living on campus, look into the laundry service they have. Are there laundry places in your building and if so, do you have to pay for them? Though generally most people hate doing laundry so you want to cut down on your laundry time stock up on a lot of the essentials.

  • PACK PANTIES!!!!! Pack as much panties as you can possibly carry because that is the one thing that you can't wear more the one day. Everything else you can get away with but panties once your out, you're screwed.
  •   Learn how long you can wear something. Quick lesson for ya'll
-Jeans: You can wear 5 to 10 times before washing. You actually shouldn't wash your jean regular because they'll shirk and you'll be sad. A good rule of thumb is if they're dirty wash them.
-Sweaters: 10-15 or they're dirty or smelly.
-Sweatshirts: 4
-t-shirt: 1-2 if you don't wear it a lot for the first time.
-Socks: 2 times.
-Suits/dresses: Unlimited unless you spill something on yourself(Lo-key if it was fashionable I would wear a bib all of the time for the amount of stuff I spill on myself)

4) STORAGE, STORAGE, STORAGE.
This is where you're going to have to use all of your creativity that you have and figure out to store all of the shit you manage to pack into boxes or suck down in you space saver bag.  You're not going to have a lot of space in your dorm room. Last year I lived in cracker box sized room that I shared with another girl. When I first saw my closet I legit thought I was going to cry. It was a good size but there was a huge freaking dresser in it. I put most of my cloths on a hanger. I was not about that three legged dresser. I ended up moving the dresser out of the closet in high heels and a mini skirt while Kat watched me fall on my face a couple times. Email your residence director on how big your closet going to be and/if they will provide you with a dresser. Also try to plan out what your going to hang in your closet and what your going to store in your dresser.
TIP: Hang up all of the clothes you want to wear. All the cute new things, your pretty going out clothes, your favorites, everything you're hoping to wear during the year. Trust me on this, out of sight, out of mind is a real thing. My roommate Quinn is a three shirt Sally (not that theres anything wrong with that),when we were packing up our stuff at the end of the year she when through her all her dressers and pulled out all these super cute things that I've never seen her wear,  because she didn't see them because they were in her dresser, so she wore what she saw. Use your dresser for pjs, panties, socks, leggings, jeans and work out stuff.
Okay, heres some storage hacks

  • Felt hangers: OMG these things are a God sent, where do I start? Felt hangers are like regular hangers only padded with felt so clothes won't slip off. The hangers are also sleeker so they take up less space so you can add more stuff. They cost a little bit more then regular hangers, but you can get a 16 pack at BigLots for 8 bucks and they come in super cute colors. 
  • Tank top organizers and skirt organizers. OMG I just discovered  these things and I am so in love I might buy them a ring. The tank top organizer is genius. It's at Bed, Bath, and Beyond for 9.99 and you get two of them and each of them holds 8 tanks tops, so you can hold up to 16 tank tops. But they're not just for tanks, you can put your cami on it, your tank dresses, anything with a strap you can on. Buy it, you'll love it. The skirt organizer found in Wal-mart holds six skirts (I currently have 8 on it right now) and it's this long thing with clips on it and its maze.
  • Scarf and jewelry organizer: again, out of sight, out of mind is a real thing. 
  • Under the bed shoe storage: If you have a crap ton of shoes, like me, you need this, it keeps it out of the way and organized so you almost have your life together.
  • Hidden storage. If your a hoarder like me (only some shame) you're going to run out of room legit quick so you need to find things that do double the work, like a ottoman that's also a storage cube. Or a pillow thats also a tray(ww.qvc.com/All-in-One-Pillow-&-Non-Slip-Tray-wCup-Holder-by-Lori-Greiner.product.H198128.html) Because why would you buy something thats only does one thing. Cray. 
Okay my loves. I've done all I can. Go on and get ready and try to not to overpack (though lets me honest, I'm going to be the Queen of overpacking. But you can't say we didn't try!)

Stay Stylin',
Ellen 


Comments

  1. I'm about to start my senior year of college and packing hasn't gotten any easier hahah...great post!
    I've nominated you for the Liebster award! There's a post about it on my blog if you'd like to check it out.
    xx
    http://wanderingthroughlifex.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you so so much! Love your blog!
    xx

    ReplyDelete

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