Dorm Survival: Sleeping

5. Dorm Survival

Sleep and the Bed:

You may never give where or how you sleep a thought until you don’t get enough sleep.

Bedding: Give a little thought to what you need to be comfortable sleeping away from home. Sheets? Comforter? What about a pillow or pillows. Do you study resting in bed?

Don’t take more than you need.  Bedding takes a lot of travel space. It must be kept clean to control odor and stains. But do take what you need to be comfortable.  

Comfort: Give and extra thought to your comfort. You are going to be away from the comforts of home. You are going to have lonely moments. Your bed will be your source of private solitude. Think about what you need to bring yourself comfort.

Washing: As you select your bedding  think ahead to how often and how much time it will take to clean it. What of it do you need to wash frequently? Pillow cases? The sheet or sheets? Think fast drying so you have less time to watch a dryer tumble and more time to just hang out. You will meet people who change the sheets by passing them down to the next dorm occupant. Imagine!

Basic: Sleep. Shower. Eat. Think. Relax. Exercise? Weather gear. Oops. Almost forgot: Class. Study. Computers can be used for more than gaming, Books.

Basic college needs: Sleep. Shower. Eat. Think. Relax. Exercise? Weather. Gear.

Oops. Almost forgot: Class. Studying, Books, Computer.

Dorm Survival: Laundry

4. Oh the dreaded Laundry:

(Don’t take anything of real value. Thieves can attend college too.)

You may be coming from a family where your laundry may be done for you.

What about when the gear you take gets dirty?  When walking your dorm floor is the stench dirty laundry?

Oh the dreaded laundry!

Despise the thought of wasting your valuable on campus relax time watching a dryer turn? I sure did.

IF you leave your laundry in the machine, at worst it is stolen, or dumped into a damp, dirty corner.  

Can you manage 20 minutes to wash?

What about rinsing out a few things in the shower. Would you be caught dead doing that?

Don’t let them drip on carpet or you will grow a science experiment of black mold and die of pneumonia before you graduate.

Would you be nauseated trying to study sitting on a spinning washer?

As you shop for college think about how you will wash. What can be washed together?

How will you wash?

How often? How do you pay?

What products do you need on hand? Soap? Fabric softener?

Consider items that are durable, comfortable and will dry quickly.

Items can be hung up to dry on a hanger if they dry in a few hours. This saves dryer time and effort on your part.

Keep your clothes clean!

Basic: Sleep. Shower. Eat. Think. Relax. Exercise? Weather gear. Oops. Almost forgot: Class. Study. Computers can be used for more than gaming, Books.

Dorm Survival:Electronics

3. Travel Light & Right for College

How Do U Study?

Would it be easier to have a computer to help study?

What electronic equipment do you really need at college?

Can you carry items that perform more than one function?

Ultra light: What Could a computer do?

1.       Study. Ultra lite would unplug for class and plug back in to your in room set up.

2.       Music.

3.       Game.

4.       Movie.

5.       Social media.

Smart Phone: Multi device phone.

1.       Phone. (Duh.) Contacts.

2.       Camera.

3.       Music.

4.       Video.

5.       Social media.

6.       Some computer functions. Email class notes to your computer.

What do you think?

Stay with us as we discuss planning and packing for college.

Basic college needs: Sleep. Shower. Eat. Think. Relax. Exercise? Weather. Gear.

Oops. Almost forgot: Class. Studying, Books, Computer.

Dorm Survival: What to Wear

2. Travel Light & Right for College

Outfitting for Campus Life

In your mind’s eye do you picture yourself the best dressed most comfortable student on campus?

What do you need to prepare for a sharp, easy to keep image?

(ie.:Don’t take what you won’t use. Don’t take so much stuff you trip over it.)

(Don’t take gear so nice you lose it. Thieves attend college too.)

What do you pack to wear? Look at what students wear when you visit campus.

What is the climate like where you will be? If it is warm you may not need a parka. That saves a lot of space.

Prepare for long walks in the rain between campus buildings. Do you use an umbrella?

Do have a jacket to shield rain and chilly evenings.  

Plastic hangers are great to hang damp clothes and avoid rust. If you plan clothing that will wash and dry on a plastic hanger you will have less dreaded laundry time. (Leave lots of space to allow things to dry.) Can you pack on hangers? Cover and transfer closet to closet. Avoid unhanging, folding, packing and rehanging. Think about it.

As you outfit, select gear that washes easily, dries fast and looks sharp. Select quality.  Limit the amount you take and have a plan to keep it clean.

Let your family know what you need for college as birthdays and graduation dates pass.

Bedding:  Take one set of bedding. Eliminate storing dirty, extra linen. Get the bed size before you shop. Regular sheets will not fit an extra -long bed.

Have a plan to clean your bed linens. (Dirty little secret:  In a few months you will know students that never wash sheets.)

Consider how you sleep. Is a pillow, case, bottom sheet and comforter adequate? Need more? Be sure to consider washing and drying.

What do you sleep in? Remember college is a public place.

What do you think?

Stay with us as we discuss planning and packing for college.

Basic college needs: Sleep. Shower. Eat. Think. Relax. Exercise? Weather. Gear.

Oops. Almost forgot: Class. Studying, Books, Computer.

Dorm Survival

Finally! Getting away from parents prying eyes.

College!

Free at last!

But Now?  How do you survive a Dormitory? (3000 other stinking rude kids) and actually have fun?

Travel Light & Right for College

i.e.: Don’t take anything with you that you can’t grab and get out with in case of fire! (Or pantie raid.) Don’t take anything of real value. Thieves can attend college too.

Only Retailers gain $$ from useless, fragile college items. Think about what you really need in a tight space. Keep you from tripping over broken useless stuff in tiny space.

Tour housing. Virtual. At campus. Pay attention to how the room is organized. Bed. Desk. Drawers? Closet space. Measure.

What do you really need to do anyway?

Basic: Sleep. Shower. Eat. Think. Relax. Exercise? Weather. Oops. Almost forgot: Class. Studying.

1: How will you be getting to & home from campus? Your car? Catching a ride? Flying?

Think about selecting see through containers that will fit in your transport to school and slide into your room to organize and store your stuff: In closet. Under bed. In desk. Door back. Allowed to post on the wall? Is there a hook?

Using the transport containers in your room limits sucking up valuable storage space with empty items. Or worse having to find new packing and pack them again as needed.

You could pack and move 4 or more times a year. That gets old. Pack once.

If it does not fit in your car or packing system do you really need it?

Stay Tuned! We will be discussing more Dormitory Survival!

Let me know what you think. Leave a comment.