There’s no way of getting around the stress of your college move-in day. There’s just so much that you need to do, and no one likes moving anyways, no matter your destination. If you don’t have many people to help you, it can be especially stressful. Luckily, there are a few things you can do to ease the anxiety. Here are 5 ways to make college move-in day easier.
- Pack Light
Let’s face it, when you’re in college, you’re probably not going to have the largest living quarters. If you’re finished with your undergraduate degree and are pursuing something like Case Western’s masters of social work, then you might have an apartment rather than a dorm, but you’re still going to want to keep things simple. So don’t bring a bunch of unnecessary knick-knacks or items of sentimental value unless you want to spend all day making trips up and down the stairs while cramming every nook and cranny in your tiny space. Just keep it to the bare necessities.
- Meet Your Roommate Ahead of Time
If you are in the dorms or if you know ahead of time that you will have a roommate or two, you should try to see if you can get to know one another online before your actual move-in date. You can make friends over your preferred social media platform or over email and get an idea of your likes and dislikes, as well as your ideal living arrangement. This is a good time to talk about any rules that you may want to set up as well.
- Start the Day Early
If you want to get everything done in one day without feeling too stressed, then you’re going to have to get out the door as early as possible. Make sure to get all of your packing done the day before, and if possible, you should pack the car the night before as well. You can get on the road right after breakfast and make sure that you arrive at your apartment or dorm before things get too crazy. If you get there too late, you might have all kinds of people and boxes to navigate as you try to carry your things to your room.
- Keep All Necessities Handy
Every person has a few things that they tend to use on a daily basis. This could be your laptop, basic toiletries, a book, thermos, makeup, etc. When you pack, you want to make sure that all of those necessities are easily accessible and not at the bottom of a box of coats and scarves. You always want to pack with the frequency of each item’s use in mind. If you use it a lot, be sure to pack it at the top.
- Make Plans for the Evening
At the end of a long day of moving in, you want to be able to have something fun and relaxing to look forward to. If you don’t have anything planned for the evening of your move-in, then it can be a lot more difficult to keep a positive attitude. Whether you want to make dinner plans, or if there’s a cool concert going on that night, you want to make sure that you give yourself something to exciting to do at the end of the day.
