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15 Tips For a Stress-free College Move-in Day
This post is all about the best tips for college move-in day.
College Move-In day marks the start of one of the most wonderful times of your life!
But it’s also one of the most stressful and crazy days of your college life! Being away from home for the first time in your life you’ll probably be going through a lot of emotions! But everything is going to be OK!
Follow these tips to make sure you have a smooth college move-in day!
Related: 25 Dorm Room Essentials You’ll Actually Use
1. Know the specifics about your Move-in Date and Time
College move-in could be a disaster if everyone was moving into their dorms on the same day. So check with your college to know if there’s a particular move-in schedule to follow.
If they allow you to choose your move-in slot, then book an early spot so that you can settle into your dorm room before everything turns chaotic!
Also get the following information in order to avoid the confusion on move-in day.
- Address of your dorm building, your room number, and which floor you’re on.
- How are you going to get your stuff to the dorm? Does the building have an elevator? Will moving equipment (eg. a dolly) be made available to you?
- Specifics about for parking/unloading outside your dorm building.
- The process for checking in and getting your dorm key.
2. Pack in Advance and Pack Smart
Pack at least the night before. Don’t wait until the last minute because then you’ll get stressed and will probably end up forgetting something important.
Also, pack efficiently. Label your boxes so you know what’s inside them. This will make the moving process quick and stress-free. If you just randomly put all your stuff into packing boxes you’ll end up doing much more work when you’re organizing your dorm room.
3. Pack essentials in a separate bag.
Unpacking and organizing your dorm room could take a couple of days. So, it’s better to have your essentials, like spare clothes, toiletries, phone charger etc, packed in a separate bag for that first night in your dorm.
Trust me, after a hectic day of unpacking all your dorm stuff you wouldn’t want to go through those big boxes just to get a pair of pajamas, or a phone charger.
4. Keep hanging clothes on hangers
An easy moving hack is to keep hanging clothes on hangers when you’re moving. You will prevent them from getting too wrinkled and you’ll save time by just hanging them straight away in your dorm closet; no need to unfold and hang them again.
An easy way to do this to take the clothes you want on a hanger and put them in a garbage bag. Tie the garbage bags around the hangers. Now when you move into your dorm all you have to do is open the bag and stick them right into your closet!
5. Wear something comfortable
On college move-in day you’ll be walking up and down staircases lugging around boxes and containers full of your stuff. So don’t dress to impress, dress in something comfortable like your favorite pair of shorts or sweatpants.
Also, avoid wearing sandals like flip flops that can be slippery. Try to choose something practical, like your favorite pair of sneakers, that you can move around in easily.
6. Coordinate Move-In Time with Roommate
A really important thing to do before moving in is coordinating with your roommate about how you want the whole thing to go about.
Especially the move-in time. Try to plan it so that the both of you’re not moving in at the same time (maybe one of you’ll go in the morning and the other in the afternoon). Because that can make the already tiny dorm room feel super crammed, especially if your family is accompanying you to help.
So talk with your roommate and plan your move-in times. Trust me, this will make everything a lot less stressful.
7. Coordinate on purchasing dorm items
An important thing to do before moving in to your dorm is discussing with your future roommate about who’s bringing what, especially the big items. That way you won’t end up buying two TVs or two futons!
Also, see if you can split the cost of the shared items. Like share the cost of the TV or the mini fridge? Or may be one of you’ll buy the Keurig and the other will buy the TV stand?
8. Plan a layout for your dorm
One important tip to save some time during college move-in is to have a layout of your dorm room planned beforehand.
For instance, who gets which side of the room, if you want to have your beds lofted, or where to place the futon or TV etc.
This way you can avoid the stress of having to move around the furniture trying to figure out a layout for your room on the move-in day, when you’ve already got a lot of other things to do.
Related: 7 Things I Wish I Brought to College Freshman Year
9. Bring a Door Stopper
Soo important! Something I really regret not bringing with me on move-in day.
Most dorm rooms have doors that shut automatically. It’s so frustrating when you’ve to push open the door every time you bring in stuff and can make the whole moving in even tiring. So you should definitely bring a door stopper with you.
Plus, it’s especially helpful to keep your door propped open in that first week of college move-in. It’s a great way for meeting people and making new friends in your hall!
10. Bring a Tool Set
Whether it’s to fix some furniture, loft your dorm bed, or unboxing packaging, having a small toolkit with scissors, hammer, screwdrivers etc will come in really handy.
My dad had the foresight to bring his small toolset with him and we’re sooo thankful that he did!
It’s also super helpful to have in your dorm throughout college! So don’t forget to buy a small tool box kit to take with you.
11. Bring Command hooks and strips
Most dormitories don’t allow you to put nails into the walls. So don’t forget to bring some command hooks and strips with you.
Command hooks can be used for supporting shelves, lights and command strips help you hang photos or decorations. They stick to any smooth surface and come off easily, making the move-out process easy too!
12. Cleaning supplies
It’s always good to be prepared and carry some cleaning supplies with you on the college move-in day, because they may not have thoroughly cleaned out the room after the last occupant has moved out. Also, you can’t be sure about the previous occupant’s cleanliness level too.
So before you start unpacking make sure to do a quick cleaning up of your dorm room. Better be safe than sorry!
13. Double check all important documents
On college move-in day you’ll likely have to sign a lot of paperwork before you get the keys to your dorm room. So have all your important documents stored safely in a folder and easily accessible.
14. Bring a fan or two.
You’ll most probably be moving into college during the summer. So, between the scorching heat and physical activity of moving things around you’re bound to get real sweaty. Plus, since most dorm rooms won’t have air conditioning it’ll be wise to bring a small clip-on fan or two with you.
15. Bring water and snacks.
The whole college move in process can be really time consuming and exhausting. And you don’t want to be hangry on top of it and irritate everybody around you!
So, have a good meal beforehand and bring lots of water and some light snacks (like a granola bar or fruits) with you to have during the move-in process.
This post was about the best tips for college move-in day.
Everyone is nervous on Move-In day. It can be really stressful and overwhelming for both the student and parents! But try not to get overwhelmed by everything. Not everything may go as planned.
Just go with the flow and enjoy the day with your family! It’s a very important day in your life as it marks the start of your college life!
For more college tips, be sure to check out these posts..
