It can seem difficult when looking at your bedroom and trying to think what you will need at university. Especially if it is your first year, or your first time renting, packing can seem like a daunting task. Here are our top tips to make it as easy as possible.
Don’t leave things to the last minute
Whether it’s organising how you’re going to get there, be it a professional moving company or your parents’ car, or getting enough boxes and tape together for all your things, don’t leave it until the day before, or even on the day. Professional moving companies can get booked up early if it is a popular move in date, and it’s not worth the panic and stress involved if the person you expected to take you has other plans on that day because you didn’t ask soon enough.
Make a list
Decide what you need, and stick to it. Having a checklist will help you to remember all the essentials when you have sealed up half your boxes and can’t remember if you put something in.
It is worth checking in advance if any items are prohibited, such as mini fridges or candles so you won’t be disappointed when you get there. You can also check if an item you were planning to bring is already provided such as pots and pans for the kitchen. This can leave valuable space for packing other things and will also prevent your new place from becoming too cluttered.
Packing
Use the right supplies for the job. Things like clothes can simply be thrown into plastic bags if you have limited space and don’t mind things getting a little creased, while plates and glasses if you need to bring them may need bubble wrap. If you are using a moving service rather than taking it yourself, you may want to pack things into sturdier boxes to avoid any damage from rougher handling.
Reusing old cardboard boxes is very thrifty, just make sure the bottoms are secure or put some extra tape on to avoid disasters later on.
It may be efficient space wise to pack all of your new textbooks into one large box, after all they are flat and rectangular and they fit so nicely, but if the box is too heavy to pick up it is a wasted effort.
Labels
Label your boxes. If you have just arrived and are dying for a cup of tea after carrying all those heavy boxes you won’t want to be searching through each one until you find the cups or the tea bags!
We hope that your packing is as smooth and stress-free as possible, to get your university experience off to a great start!
Photo by Erol Ahmed on Unsplash