College Packing Tips

This weekend I am leaving to head back to school for my junior year of college! That's totally crazy! Heading back each year presents new challenges and experiences and can end up being pretty stressful. I remember freaking out before starting freshman year about how I was going to pack everything. I had collected to much stuff and didn't know how it would all fit in my mom's car. 

Packing up for college is a big job, but there's no reason to stress out over it! Here are my tips to make the trip as smooth as possible!

// leave clothes on the hangers //

Now you may be thinking that it would be easier to pack everything into suitcases, but those big suitcases take up a ton of room in the car and aren't as easy to squish around as clothes on the hanger. If you haven't already gotten slimline felt hangers, go pick some up. Trust me they will save your small closet. Once all of your in season (ones you will be wearing right away) clothes are on the new hangers, bundle them up in bunches of 15-20. Keep all the hangers together with hair ties or  rubber bands, then slip the bundle into a trash bag, securing the opening of the bag around the top of the hanger. This will save space in the car and make move in day so much easier!

// use spacebags //

This mainly applies to those of you who may be moving far away and won't be able to come home to switch out clothes. I packed all my heavy winter gear into spacebags and vacummed the air out to save space in the car. Then all you have to do when you get to school is store the bags until it's cold enough to pull the clothes out.

// wait to buy big items //

I talked about this a lot in this post, but you really don't need to have everything before you leave. You don't know exactly how the room will be laid out or how much space you'll have so wait to get bigger items like furniture and storage pieces.

// pack inside of other items for your room //

The key to packing for college is packing unconventionally. Big boxes and suitcases just take up space. I bet you have items for your dorm that you can pack items in instead. My freshman year I bought two canvas hampers (one I use for dirty laundry, the other for spare bedding and towels), when I moved, I had them packed full of my towels, sheets, and other bedding.

// pack an overnight bag //

If your trip is going to happen over several days, it'll be easier if you don't have to dig through bags to find a pair of pj's and your toothbrush. Make sure to leave out things you'll need on your trip and for move in day - pajamas, clothes for traveling and to wear on move in day, toiletries, etc. Keep it in an easily accessible place in the car (i.e. not under all of your bedding) so that you can easily pull it out when you stop for the night.

Do you have any other tips for packing for college? I would love to hear them!