Pages

Wednesday, 25 September 2013

STUDENT ADVICE: Packing for University

So the time has come again to pack up my life into suitcases yet again and move back to university for the third and final time. Where did the time go, two years ago I was on the same boat I am currently writing this post on about to embark on living alone for the first time. I know everyone says it, but looking back now I can’t believe that first day was two years ago, even writing that now makes me feel weird. Since that first time I have packed my life up and moved on 5 occasions and yet I still forget stuff. I am sure this occasion isn’t going to be any different (update: I am now on the train and have just realised I have forgotten my sleeping bag grrrr!). 

Yesterday morning I laid two suitcases out on my bed and began packing all my clothes into them, well I say clothes, I only have enough clothes, shoes and bags to fill one suitcase, the other is filled with books and a my wash bag, hairdryer extra, but mostly books. I love my books and they always cause trouble when I am trying to pack, look at my giving book human traits. With all this moving round I do I should probably get them all on my Kindle app but I just love the physical books too much. Anyway that is another blog post.


I make it sound like I did it all in one go when in fact I didn’t finish packing until 9pm last night, I get very easily distracted you see. I can’t stay doing the same thing very long before I get bored and do something else for a bit. Like with this blog post, I am currently sat on the boat on my way to Heysham but I probably won’t finish it until I get to my house in Swansea a good 11 hours from now. Although my clothes were packed very quickly, as I said I have very few, I soon got distracted by the many other jobs I had to complete; editing a video, ironing, washing up and of course the things I didn’t have to do like browsing YouTube, Twitter and Facebook (or what I like to call research). I can’t help but think I would have been a lot more productive before such things as YouTube but then I have to remind myself that I would have easily found something else to distract me, probably knitting or something. I mean look at me I started writing a post about packing for university and ended up writing a paragraph on procrastination, is that not the height of irony?

How did you fit all your things into two suitcases you may ask? Well the answer is I didn’t. Being in my third year and living in the same house as last year (different room but same house) means that a lot of my stuff is still there; my pots and pans, bedding and more of my books. I am also lucky in the fact I don’t have many clothes and shoes so that cuts down on space needed a lot. I know some of my friends take 3 suitcases purely of clothes and some of them even have two complete wardrobes.

If you are about to start university I have some packing tips for you:
1.       Don’t buy too much before you go – buy things when your there, especially if you have limited space.
2.       Use space bags! They are amazing, I have used them to protect my bedding over the summer. They suck all the air out to save space and they also stop everything getting damp.
3.       If you haven’t used it for a year you probably won’t use it so don’t take it with you. It will only take up valuable space in your room you could use for lying in when you really can’t face doing that assignment due in tomorrow.

If you are returning to university:
1.       If you have chance, leave your stuff in your next year’s accommodation before you leave for summer. Ok, it’s probably a bit late for that now but a tip to remember for next time.
2.       Remember what you actually used last year and only take that, it will only clog up your room!
3.       Share with housemates, there are some things, particularly kitchen equipment, that you can get away with sharing. As long as you are friends and won’t argue (too much) share stuff, saves space and money.

As I have to travel so far (and over water) I am probably more limited in how much stuff I can transport than you but these tips will still be beneficial to you so that you can fit everything in the car and also in your room when you get there. Remember you have to fit all this stuff in it when you get there!

Right I must go unpack all this stuff now (I told you I would get distracted I am now in my room in Swansea!)

Bye x


No comments:

Post a Comment