How to Avoid Over-Packing for College

This is coming from the Queen of over-packing herself. It took two car trips to get my stuff two and from school. I’m a junior now and I think I know better. Basically this post has risen from my mistakes with over-packing that has led to me having too much stuff, not being able to close my dresser drawers, having to throw away things because they wouldn’t fit in my car and so on.

Anyway, I’m making a change this year and in order to avoid over-packing for college I’m going to make a post about it and then follow it so I won’t be a hypocrite xoxo.

1. Try on all of your clothes before you pack them.

I’m not f’in around, folks. If there’s something not quite right about it, DO NOT PACK IT. Pack only the clothes you really love and know for a fact you’ll wear. Don’t lie to yourself. Don’t kid yourself. We all have a few outfits that we basically wear in rotation because we love them. Once you get to college you’re not going to magically craft a new outfit every single day for class. Stick to your favorite pieces and some additional ones. If you don’t wear it while you’re home, you probably won’t wear it while you’re away.

2. The only thing you need to pack a lot of is underwear.

Underwear is something you should pack a lot of but for most other things, you most likely don’t need a lot. You also don’t need a lot of jeans.I packed seVEN PAIRS OF JEANS. I WEAR LEGGINGS MOST OF THE TIME AND I PACKED SEVEN PAIRS OF JEANS. You’ll probably do laundry once a week or once every week and a half if you’re not that confident in your abilities. As I was writing this I kept thinking of other things you’d need to pack a lot of and I still got nothing.

3. Lay everything out and then purge.

This helps you really see how much shit you’re packing. For example, if I lay out all of the pajama shorts I want to pack and then realize I’ve packed SEVEN pairs, I can do some calculations to how many I actually need and then purge the pile and narrow it down. Sometimes you need to see how much of a hoarding monster you are to really minimize your packing.

4. Remember you’re not being shipped away into isolation. There will be stores around you to buy things. 

I’m also the queen of ignoring this fact. I’m the queen of a lot of things today, just call me “Your Grace” (I’ve been watching Game of Thrones, can you tell?). Anyway, unless you’re going to some isolated desert college, there’s most likely a drugstore and grocery store in your vicinity. You don’t need to pack three extra tubes of toothpaste or back up shampoo and conditioner. It takes up precious space and these are things you can always buy as you need them or when you’re close to running out.

5. If you can’t find a valid reason to pack it, don’t.

I’m so awesome at convincing myself I need to pack things when I really don’t. I love the “What if…” strategy but this year it’s going to STOP. I’m not packing Halloween face paint this year and I’m not packing the clip on lamp I didn’t use and I’m not packing a swimsuit because why am I packing a swimsuit? For two years I packed it “just in case” but all it did was take up space.

Example of the valid reasoning strategy:

Item: This leather zip up shirt I had from my catwoman costume last year.

Reason for packing: Maybe I’ll be catwoman again for Halloween?

Conclusion: Don’t pack it. Don’t pack this on the slim chance you might wear it for one night.

6. Please see Things not to buy for college. 

Read that post. Obey that post. Don’t pack those things because you won’t need them, I promise. This will save you from even buying the things let-alone packing them, so really, you’re thinking ahead here. Sadly I probably bought a lot of the things on the list before realizing I didn’t need them. Learn from my mistakes, please, because I usually don’t.

7. Don’t think you’ll magically change once you get to college.

College isn’t some Harry Potter transmogrification spell or whatever, you’re still you but with less parental supervision and more chances to make bad decisions. Don’t pack your flat iron because you think you’ll suddenly straighten your hair every night, don’t pack an outfit you’ve never worn thinking you’ll finally wear it and so on. If you’re not doing it now, the chance of you doing it later isn’t much greater.

8. Coordinate with your roommate/housemates.

You don’t both need a rug or a vacuum or mini fridge. Avoid getting doubles by seeing what she’s bringing. Some items you only need one of for the room might be: mini fridge, microwave, rug, vacuum, TV. This will also help you save money, so win-win.

9. Go through your daily routine for a week and pack accordingly.

This is useful for toiletries. Going through your routine for a week and taking note of which products and tools you use on a weekly and daily basis will help you figure out what exactly you need to pack.

10. Narrow down your cosmetics and beauty products.

You don’t need to pack 100+ bottles of nail polish. I’ve done this for two years and both times it wasn’t worth it because the truth is I only wear the same 20 or so colors in rotation. You also don’t need ten fragrance options (also did this), just pack a few favorites.

11. Map out how much space you’ll actually have.

Call your college or check the site to see how much closet/drawer space you’ll have. Add this to any drawers or bins you’ll be bringing. That’s all of the space you have plus under your bed. Consider this as you pack and decide what you’ll dedicate your drawers to. Looking at the reality of how little space you have will help you minimize how much stuff you pack.

What are some ways you avoid over-packing for college?