What Not To Bring To College

Last week I talked about all of my top dorm room essentials. However, what I didn’t talk about were all the things I brought to college and never used. There weren’t a whole lot of things I brought and didn’t touch thanks to my mom diligently checking every packing list known to man but as I packed up my dorm room to come home, I couldn’t help but notice some things that I didn’t end up needing.

Throughout this video I’m discussing what I brought to college and didn’t end up using. For some of you, these items may be things you use daily, but for me personally, I didn’t end up needing them. For new college content every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday be sure to hit the subscribe button.

1. Two Laundry Baskets: I grabbed a two-pack of laundry baskets and ended up sending my parents home with the second one almost immediately. I know that some people like one for their clean clothes and one for their dirties but I found that I just didn’t have enough space to keep two of them in my dorm. I loved this cloth, collapsible one though!
2. Too Many Clothes: I’m sure your parents have told you a hundred times that you’re not going to be able to fit as many clothes as you have packed into your dorm and I’m sure you want to pretend they are wrong. Take it from me, they aren’t. I had a wardrobe at Kent which meant there was very minimal space to hang things up, not to mention your coats take up a ton of that space. Pack light and remember if you didn’t wear it at home you probably won’t find yourself reaching for it at school. And if you have a job like mine…. good luck Charlie!
3. Cheap Shoe Racks: I started the year off with a couple of cheap (literally $5 a piece) shoe racks from Walmart and man was that a rookie mistake. They could barely hold any weight let alone be dragged out from under the bed every time I needed to grab a pair of shoes as I had intended. Do yourself a favor and invest in a good, sturdy shoe rack or just a big clear tub to throw all your shoes in.
4. Too Much Decor: Don’t get me wrong, I love cute decor but you don’t need a ton of random knick-knacks. Nothing stresses me out more than a cluttered space; I found that all knick knacks did for me was take up space. Grab a few cute things for the top of your desk but no need to go overboard.
5. White Board: I grabbed a whiteboard for school because pretty much every video I watched prior to college said to bring one for outside your door. However, Kent already had one outside of our rooms so this ended up being rather unnecessary. We hung it up in our room and never used it.
6. Extra Closet Space Rod: I brought one of those hanging rods that you can attach to your closet rod and it was a total bust of an idea. If you have a wardrobe you definitely do not have room for a second layer of hanging clothes (even your tiniest of crop tops). However, if you have a normal ceiling to floor closet in your dorm, this may work for you!
7. Trash Can: Check your dorm details prior to move-in day. If your room already has two trash cans (one for the sink, and one for your desk) you probably don’t need another one.
8. Tupperware/Ziplocs: My mom sent me to school with a few containers in each size as well as Ziploc bags in every size. I never used either of these things because frankly I never brought anything back from the dining hall, nor did I ever pack a snack in a plastic bag.
9. Tons of Pillows: You do not need 15 pillows no matter how cute they may be. I had the same amount of pillows on my dorm bed as I do my bed at home and it was the perfect amount. However, all of my roommates threw their zillion pillows on the ground each night because they were too nice to sleep with and there were so many of them.
10. Acrylic Storage: While yes, I did end up using clear, acrylic storage containers for organizing my Alex nine drawers and my desk, I ended up with a lot of extras/random sizes and shapes. I would recommend waiting to buy these kinds of things; figure out what you’re going to be keeping in those drawers once you get to school, take the measurements of the space, and then go from there! The Container Store and TJ Maxx’s kitchen section both had tons of options for this kind of stuff.

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Well, that’s a wrap for things I brought to college and didn’t use. I hope you found this post helpful but as I mentioned, no two college experiences are the same so what didn’t work for me, may end up working for you. Let me know what other college content you want to see in the comments below. Thanks so much for stopping by!

With love, McKenz

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