9 Things Not to Bring to College The Princeton Review
If you’re heading off to college in the fall, a hearty congratulations to you!
Now comes the hard part…and no, I don’t mean registering for classes, or choosing
a major, or nabbing an internship.
I mean:
What are you bringing to college?
There are the extra-long twin sheets, of course.
Those are notorious.
And your computer, a phone charger—yes, definitely your shower caddy.
First-aid kit, that’s good.
See, here’s the thing.
Having never been to college before, you might not know how much—or how little—you’ll
actually need.
We’ll leave the must-haves to you.
That list is easy to come by.
And we’re going to tell you now, so you don’t have to learn the hard way, about
all the stuff you DON’T need.
And there is a LOT of stuff you don’t need.
For starters: clothes.
Wait, what?
Folks, I’m not saying you don’t need clothes.
You.
Need.
Clothes.
What I’m saying is, you don’t need all the clothes.
Are you going to school in Buffalo, New York?
Then you can probably leave most of your shorts at home.
Speaking of clothes, think about what you actually wear on a day-to-day basis.
You may have stuff at the bottom of your drawer or the back of your closet that you’re always
meaning to wear.
Don’t bring that stuff.
Let’s talk about really nice clothes: You should be able to get dressed up—for the
internship-interview occasion, and for the formal-dance scenario.
But you’re not going to need to do that every day!
Maybe once or twice a semester.
So you can leave some of that fancy-wear at home.
And shoes.
My friends, shoes.
How many pairs do you regularly wear?
These take up space!
And dorm rooms are notoriously small.
So are suitcases.
So be practical: one pair of sneakers, one pair of casual shoes, and one pair of formal
shoes ought to do the trick.
Plus shoes for the shower, if the bathrooms are communal.
Less is more.
Speaking of clothes, as a lifelong ironer, I’m especially sorry to say this, but leave
the iron at home.
And for the love of pepperoni pizza, leave the ironing board at home too.
Just think about it: How much do you iron now?
If you’re like most high school seniors, I’m guessing...not so much?
And if that’s the case, then you aren’t likely to iron in college either.
If you do need the occasional item ironed, there’s almost certainly someone who either
didn’t watch this video or actually IS a regular ironer who’d be willing to lend
you an iron and an ironing board every so often.
Your dorm may even have them available for borrowing.
(Quick fire safety note here, folks—if you’re going to iron, use an ironing board!)
But the question remains: Are you really going to iron?
This brings me to a larger point: While your environment will be changing dramatically,
you will still be who you are.
If you’re not currently someone who irons, or wears fancy shoes—and if you don’t
fundamentally want to be—then pack for the life you’ll have, not the one you imagine.
Speaking of laundry, you will need those extra-long twin sheets (or whatever your school’s dorms
require)—but you won’t need more than a couple of sets.
Same with towels—especially if you’re someone who likes those extra-large bath sheets.
These things are BULKY, people.
And space is at a premium.
It’s nice to have a spare set of sheets so that you can change your sheets without
having to do your laundry right that minute, but beyond that, you’re going to have to,
well, do your laundry every so often.
While we’re on the topic, you know those large laundry baskets into which you can put
all of your folded clothes?
Yeah, don’t bring one of those.
Instead, bring a collapsible laundry basket—or, better yet, a laundry bag.
Here’s the beauty of the laundry bag: You put all of your dirty clothes into it.
Then you wash your clothes—and the laundry bag—together, and then you bring back a
clean laundry bag full of clean clothes, and start the process again.
Waste not, want not, my friends.
Speaking of non-collapsible things that are bulky: Try to limit the amount of luggage
you bring—specifically, limit the kind of luggage that can’t be collapsed, like those
hard rolling suitcases.
Instead, bring things like duffel bags if you can, so that once you’re moved in, you
can easily store the bag you’d had everything packed in.
If you must bring a rolling suitcase, then I’d advise you to use it for storage.
Maybe put some of the things you’ll infrequently need inside of it, and store it under the
bed.
And pro tip: You may need bed risers to accommodate your bag.
Those are a good investment—as long as you’re not in a bunk bed.
While we’re talking about things that are large, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention
large furniture.
Now, it may be the case that you talk to your future roommates, and you check in with the
school, and they all say that a futon for a shared living area is the way to go.
But unless you get explicit guidance to that effect, leave the papasan chair at home.
And now from the gigantic to the tiny: Don’t weigh yourself down with tons of office and
school supplies that you don’t currently use.
Are you not a person who uses a highlighter?
Then don’t buy a 10-pack.
Do you really need white-out?
(Won’t you mostly be submitting typed work?)
A stapler’s nice, and some scissors, but do you need 1,000 paperclips?
Those little tabs that lawyers use to mark where you should sign a document?
A multi-compartment desk organizer?
No, no, no, no, and no.
You probably don’t even need a printer.
Public printers are typically ubiquitous on college campuses.
The bulk and expense of bringing a printer, and toner, and all that paper should be highly
discouraging factors.
If you find that you get to college and just can’t live without your very own printer,
then you can bring one up the next time you visit home (or buy one while you’re on campus).
Finally, you’re sure to have mementos that bring up pleasant memories and thoughts.
Maybe you want to bring some pictures, or a small trinket from home.
These are not especially bulky, and they can be good for your soul.
But maybe don’t bring your entire collection of stuffed animals.
One barometer you can use is this: Everything you bring should be doing a job, serving a
purpose.
25 stuffed animals don’t have a clear function, but a picture of your family does.
Put each of your objects to work.
If you do that, they will, as the saying goes, spark joy.
Thanks so much for watching, folks.
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dream college.
See you here next time.