by Holly Huffstutler

Created on: January 22, 2010

When going back home during school breaks, many college students take the opportunity to bring more than their toothbrush, whatever clothes they need and resources for that paper they naively think they’ll have time to work on.

Christmas vacations, spring breaks, long  Labor Day weekends, these are the times when it’s a good idea to assess the multitude of things shoved into your dorm room and sagely decide what needs to go.

In the days leading up to that moment when we embark on the next big phase of our lives, many of us are tempted to bring everything we might need ever. This is partially right, because you don’t know what your new lifestyle will require of you, stuff-wise. But even the biggest of dorm rooms or college apartments will not be large on storage space, as all of us heavy packers realize after we’ve constructed elaborate systems of storage to keep all our stuff from falling on the ground. It is then that we realize that spatial limits can not be stretched and some unessentials will have to move  

Bringing things home over breaks can be broken down into three groups: what you never needed, what you don’t need right now, and what you technically shouldn’t have brought. With that in mind here’s a short list things a college student should consider taking home.

SEASONALLY INAPPROPRIATE CLOTHING:  I am not speaking of swimsuits here, I highly recommend them as a just in case, because you’ll never know what events might feature a pool. I refer instead to clothes you know you probably won’t wear for the rest of the year or at the very least until after the next time you go home. Heavy winter coats and sweaters whose time is gone, tiny shorts you won’t need again until the end of the year, etc.

CONTRABAND: Candles, coffee pots, hamsters or more legally serious don’ts. If you are nefarious enough to keep them or other forbidden things in your room, don’t be stupid enough to leave them where they can be found by an RA or RD who is most likely contractually obligated to do inspections after you leave town.

SOON TO BE UPGRADES: If you know you’ll obtain a better comforter or laundry basket or DVD back in your hometown, then bring the one you have home. The new one will take up the same amount of space in the car and you wont have two in your room.

DUPLICATES; Again these items are mostly a victim of overpacking. How many pairs of shoes do you need? Have you even watched that movie in the past six years? Why would you bring three different gaming consoles? You have limited space, prioritize and make sacrifices      

           

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