The first college move is a major milestone for every family. As the date nears, excitement grows. However, the one thing no one’s celebrating is actually moving them into their dorm or resident apartment. The following move in tips for college students will help you and your child with a last minute move.
Coordinate your college move with Family and your Roommate
If you’re already strapped for time you need to put a quick game plan together:
- Ask if friends/new roommate and family are available to help you unload your items the day you move in.
- Is the resident apartment room located on the second or third floor? If so, you may want to consider bringing a dolly. This will allow you to carry more items at once. Additionally, it will save your back from possible injury with heavier objects.
- Don’t be afraid to use plastic bags! Everyone’s been there before, we’ve all done it. If your local store is out of cardboard moving boxes, heavy duty trash bags are a great alternative.
- Look at cost-effective hotel availability for those helping you move. One bed might be set up, but everyone else that just helped with the move all day doesn’t want to be sleeping on the floor. However, if there’s no hotel availability due to your last minute move, bringing sleeping bags/pads are an option if a couch isn’t available.
- Stock up on snacks and bottled water for moving day. Once your college move is completed, ordering in a pizza is an easy and low-cost solution to feed several exhausted people. If you’ve still got some energy, consider checking out some restaurants around your new campus.
Don’t Overpack for your Last Minute Move
Additional move in tips for college students to consider is only packing essential items. An entire closet full of clothes doesn’t need to be packed. A couple pairs of clothes and shoes should be enough to get by the first semester. Most college students will be going home for winter break. This is a great time for them to exchange or replace some clothing. While we’re on the topic of discussing clothes. A hamper to store dirty clothing in will help substantially in keeping a cleaner room. A shower caddy is also a good addition to keep showering items organized/separated, especially if you’re sharing a shower. Outside of these items some basic toiletries and a trash bin should be enough.
Should you Hire Movers?
If you’re having trouble finding people to help with your last minute move. You may want to consider movers. Since this is only a college move and likely moving into a small resident apartment. The costs to hire movers should be fairly reasonable. UtilityHound has many moving partners that can make your college move a lot easier! A bonus to hiring movers is that it decreases your risk of injury on moving day. They will be the ones moving your items up those flights of stairs or through tricky doorways. Additional move in tips for college students regarding movers can be read on our article https://www.utilityhound.com/movers/4-reasons-hire-movers/.
Keep an Eye on Items Around your Resident Apartment
With limited parking available on most campuses during a last minute move. Finding an area to both unload your items and park can be hard to come across. Often times you’ll be required to park further away from your residential apartment building. Make sure one person always stays with your un-moved items or that you have locked them up while you’re transporting. Unfortunately, theft on moving days is high, as many items are left unattended.
Ordering Textbooks and Finding Your Way Around Campus
Textbooks should be picked up before classes start. With so many students going to the campus bookstores last minute. The checkout lines can get pretty scary! A good alternative is to order your books online. Companies like Campusbooks.com will ship textbooks directly to your address. This will free up your time to familiarize yourself with your class locations and campus bus routes.
Renters Insurance…Do I Need it?
We’ve discussed many move in tips for college students. All of which will help make any last minute college move less stressful. But don’t let signing up for renters insurance slip your mind! This is one of the most important things you should look into. It has saved many college students from damages, theft and other occurrences that often take place in a multi-family resident apartment.
Lastly, don’t forget to take pictures on moving day! As tired as you’ll be, everyone will be happy to have those pictures later.