College Essential #3: A Good Packing List

If you google college packing list, it seems like a billion results come up. I'm going to show you guys some of my favorite lists, and give you some tips that helped me a lot when packing! Instead of relying on just one list, I looked at a bunch of different ones and put them together to make a list that was perfect for me! Here are some lists I used:

The most detailed list I've found is this one posted on someone's Livejournal: What to Bring to College and College Advice. This one focuses more on personal items you'll use. It's important to take this list with a grain of salt. For example, I don't know anyone who has needed a fully-equipped tool box at college. This list basically covers everything you could imagine. What I like about this list is how it splits things up by category. I think that we all know what items we use in our daily bathroom routines, and we shouldn't need a packing list to help us. However, we can use these categories to make our own lists! I will talk about this a little later in the post!

The Container Store also has a great checklist, but once again, the categories are the most important part. This list should also be taken with a grain of salt, since they are trying to get you to spend as much money at their store as possible. However, I found this checklist very helpful when figuring out how to organize my room. They have their "Dorm Room Basic Six" which includes: closet, walls and doors, desk, laundry, bath, and storage. If you want to shop around their website, here is their college section.

Bed Bath & Beyond has a similar set up to the Container Store, but I don't like their interface as much. The Container Store seems much neater! However, BB&B does have more options.

Those are the three main lists I relied on. Now here are some of my tips!

1. Make your own list. Once you've gotten some input from other lists, it's all up to you to decide what you need. Use other lists to help you create yours! For example, I combined categories from various lists to make my own personal list! My categories were: clothing, bathroom supplies, storage, bedding, electronics, school supplies, medicine/first aid, laundry and misc. 
2. Leave some of your shopping until you see your room. I had NO idea what my room would be like! If you know what your room/closet set up will be, then go ahead and buy your storage containers ahead of time (if you can transport them). However, when I got to my room, I realized that there were some things I couldn't use (such as those huge containers for under bed storage) and some things I needed (an extendable shower rod to put in my closet to make more space to hang my clothes). I would never have known this without seeing it! 
3. You don't have to bring everything with you. I didn't buy any of my medicine (bring your prescription stuff with you, obviously) or first aid supplies ahead of time. You can just go to Target or the drug store once you get there. It's just a waste of space! Why would you bring laundry detergent from home when you can easily buy it with your parents when you get to school?
4. Buy a memory foam mattress pad! Everyone who sits on my bed is shocked at how comfortable it is. College mattresses are horrible, and these will save you! The only thing I miss about my bed at home is the size. I seriously am so comfortable when I sleep! I got a Serta Memory Foam 3-Inch Mattress Topper, overstock.com, $130. That's less than I spent on the Clarisonic! SO NECESSARY! I put a thin feather mattress pad topper over it, and it's just the best! 
5. Enjoy your summer! Don't spend your entire summer preparing for college! Relax and enjoy!

Good luck!