How to Survive Your First College Dorm
If you’re moving to Fort Collions to attend college, or anywhere else, there are a few things you need to know about dorm life! Meeting your roommate for the first time, using a communal shower and bathroom, and understanding how to survive while sharing a very small room are all essential to a positive first semester experience. Whether you’re moving to Boulder or anywhere else to live in your first dorm room, take a look at these tips first.
1. Try to reach out to your new roommate before you arrive on campus. Some schools will provide you with the full name of your roomie, and with the Internet you can pretty much find anyone. Reach out, connect, and get to know your new roommate from a distance if you can.
2. Figure out what will make your life easier. For the most part, this includes storage bins and other storage options; cooking utensils and equipment that you will need; and lots of clean linens and towels – -and don’t forget to buy a shower tote.
3. Figure out what you really don’t need (or what will seem silly once you arrive on campus). You may think that you need your entire stuffed animal collection, but you probably don’t. Pick one or two things, and leave the rest of those things that you think you can’t live without at home (you can always pick up stuff you left behind at a later time).
4. Pack only the clothes that you will need. Most first-year’s bring their entire wardrobe to school during the fall semester – this isn’t necessary. Only bring that stuff that you will need during the fall season. You can ask your parents to ship the rest of your things to you, or you can bring your winter clothes to school when you go home for a visit.
5. Realize that you can purchase items near your school. Really, you don’t need to worry if you didn’t pack everything – chances are that there’s a big store right around the corner.
6. Have a few things ready to wear – just in case you don’t unpack all of your stuff in time for class, it never hurts to have a few outfits ready to go.
7. Go with disposable. You should be eating most of your meals with friends in dining halls and at restaurants, but it’s never a bad idea to bring a few disposable plates and some silverware. There’s a good chance that washing dishes will be hard to do, and you don’t want to be “that person” that leaves a stack of plates in a kitchen sink!
8. Ask friends for help. If you’re moving to Boulder, ask your friends in that area to help you move if you don’t want to hire a moving company (which will make life easier if you don’t have a friend with a truck!).
Some Quick Storage Tips
You won’t have space to store everything that you have at home, so take some advice and storage tips from us!
• Leave some stuff behind. Seriously, you won’t use half of it.
• Switch clothes according to the season.
• Store stuff under your bed with storage bins.
• Consider a footlocker (or trunk)
• Buy organizational bins for your desk.
These storage tips should help, but we can help you even more – Exodus Moving and Storage offers large storage facilities in both Denver and Fort Collins in case you need to store anything that you can’t fit in your dorm room. Of course, Exodus Moving and Storage also provides full- service moving services should you need some help moving into your new room.
Above all – have fun with your new dorm room experience, and call Exodus Moving and Storage if you need any help with moving!
