Top 5 Student Moving and Packing Tips

Your dream college has admitted you as a student after four long years of hard work. But now a new worry looms on the horizon: moving and packing a lifetime’s worth of belongings into what is effectively half of a room. Learn how to easily tackle this daunting task using the 5 tips below.

1. Minimize your wardrobe to the basics

Prepare to either ask that your parents hold onto your clothing for you or donate most of it. Most college students’ wardrobes occupy more space than a traditional dorm closet has to offer. That goes double for wardrobes that are already filling up most of their closet at home. Ideal candidates for clothing donations should include clothes that you last wore a year ago and clothes that only match one or two other items in your wardrobe.

These candidates should mostly leave you with “the basics.” These may include:

• solid color t-shirt (ideally white or black)
• button-up shirt
• outerwear (a jacket, a coat, etc.)
• blue or black jeans
• slip-ons or flats
• sneakers
• sweater

At least one pair of dressy shoes and one professional outfit should also survive the donation process. You’ll need them for career fairs, networking events, and internship interviews while you’re in school.

2. Use space bags to save space in your moving boxes

Space bags are particularly good for this purpose. Space bags reduce the volume that your belongings take up in a given space, which can in turn expand the number of items that a moving box can fit. Space bags also protect your belongings from damage.

3. Use a laptop bag to carry lightweight electronics

While most schools provide a computer lab for students who need access to either degree-specific software or a computer in general, many students still opt to purchase their own laptop. The convenience of having a portable computer in modern academia greatly offsets its costs.

However, despite a laptop’s portability, transporting one does pose some risk. The safest way to bring a laptop and other similar lightweight electronics like a phone or a tablet is to pack it into a laptop bag. These bags are often messenger bags or backpacks that are designed especially for protecting electronic devices. They allow the device owner to keep their electronics close by while they’re traveling.

4. Buy toiletries and school supplies ahead of time and pack them separately

The residents of many cities and towns throughout the country need a car even when they only need to buy one thing from the grocery store. This is likely to be true of the city where your school is located as well.

If that is the case, and you lack access to a car, then you should pack toiletries that will last you until you have worked out how you’re going to get around your new city. Be sure to pack them in a box that is solely for toiletries. This will make your toiletries not only easier to find, but also less likely to spill all over your favorite shirt.

Follow the same line of thought for school supplies as well. In addition to ensuring that you have the materials that you need to be successful, it will also help you save money on the marked up prices at school bookstores.

5. Use a long distance moving and car shipping company to move your car

Unlike students who simply have belongings to move, students that have a car face the unique and often overwhelming challenge of transporting their car to their new city. Many of them opt to drive their car to their new city. However, the logistics of first hauling your belongings and then driving your car can be another source of stress for the already busy incoming freshman.

Additionally, driving your own car puts it at greater risk for damage before it even arrives at its destination. In this instance, long distance moving and car shipping services is the way to go. It saves you the time, money, and stress of having to haul everything yourself.

Getting ready for college is no doubt one of the biggest hurdles that you’ll need to overcome in your lifetime. However, now that you have these 5 moving and packing tips under your belt, you will be ready for the new semester in no time.