College is an exciting time in every young adults life, making the transition from living at home to living alone. The fact that there is nobody telling you what to do or when to go to bed is pretty invigorating. However, before you get to that point, you need to move into your dorm room first. In order to avoid one more argument with your mom that results in her crying that you’re off to college, here are a few tips to make the transition as smooth as possible.
1. Do Your Homework
Not talking about schoolwork, you should not have any of that, yet. You should have gotten an email or a letter with a million instructions on the procedures of move in day. Every school is different so be sure to read up on things like the time you can move in. and what paper work has to be filled out before you can get your key.
2. Reach Out To Your Roommate
You usually get the name of your roommate and you can reach out to him or her on social media to discuss some things about your room. For instance, both of you do not need to bring a flat screen TV, because frankly they won’t fit. Other things that would fall along those lines are speakers or lamps. Then make a detailed list of everything that you plan on taking.
3. Hire A Moving Company
I recommend this for two reasons. One reason would be if the college is far away. It is extremely expensive to ship heavy things or big boxes and you can only bring a certain amount of luggage on a plane. The second reason is for actual move in day. Think about the thousands of people that will be moving in on one day at the same time. Now think about the number of elevators your dorm has. If you do the math you will realize that you will be spending a lot of time waiting for the elevator or hiking up the stairs. Movers like Allied Vans will get all of this done for you and save the arguments with your mom.
4. Set Yourself Up for Success
Try packing all of your things in storage bins instead of boxes. Not only will they ship or pack better in the process, but you will already have your storage set up in your room. Other than your dresser and your desk, these storage bins will be the only place you have to put things like food and supplies into. They also do a great job stacking neatly under your bed.
5. Be Thorough
You will be handed a sheet that asks you to list anything you see broken or damaged in your dorm room. Make you sure you spend a good portion of your time on move in day making sure this inspection is done right. You will be very excited that you are on campus and will want to go out and have fun, but you will not be happy when you get charged for a bed that was broken before you even moved in.