<p>First off, naive freshman starting in two weeks' time so bear with me.</p>
<p>I'm going to Stony Brook, so it's four-season weather (I currently live in NYC so I'm not a stranger to the bipolarity in temperature). I already started packing and holy hell is it a lot of crap. I'm a girl so I guess I'm just adding to the stereotype, haha. </p>
<p>And none of it is 'organized', per say; it's more like cram-whatever-can-fit-wherever-into-whichever-container-zip-up-and-pray-for-the-best. So far I have:</p>
<ul>
<li>a pretty large suitcase half full of bedding / sheets and towels, and half full of jeans and shorts</li>
<li>a smaller suitcase full of coats / jackets and shirts</li>
<li>a duffel full of undergarments, bras, some purses, a few hand / face towels</li>
<li>another duffel full of sweats, tanks, pajamas, basically loungewear (what i'll prob be wearing 24/7)</li>
<li>a small gym bag with toiletries</li>
<li>a smaller tote with makeup, nail stuff, all the lotions and potions etc</li>
<li>and a random tote with shoes including boots, sneakers, flats, flip flops etc</li>
</ul>
<p>I still have to go shopping for school supplies (how badly would you judge me if I said they completely slipped my mind), which I'll probably stuff in my bookbag, a laptop, laptop bag, lamp, shower caddy etc but I'll probably shove the little extras in the bags I already packed.</p>
<p>So what's it looking like? Too much or too little or <em>crosses fingers</em> just right?</p>
<p>How many sets of sheets? You can really just take them off the bed, go wash them and put them back on the bed. This saves having to fold them. About four towels should be enough. Most dorm closets are only about 40" wide. I’d probably try to take only that much hanging. If you fold lots of clothes, stuff them and cram them in a drawer they will be disgustingly wrinkled when you go to wear them. If you will be returning home periodically you can change out clothing. I hate clutter more than anything and cannot stand stuff crammed under the bed. Seriously you only need about 14 days worth of clothes, a dress up outfit and four or five sets of sweats or jammies. If you take a whole lot of clothing you will be tempted to wear it all before doing laundry. I had a roommate in college whose only fault was she kept a huge mound of dirty clothes and it was embarrassing. Another thing to consider is that your style may change after a couple of months. You will probably end up replacing your high school clothes. I remember clothes shopping a couple of nights before leaving for college. A couple of months later the clothes seemed bourgoise. If you think you packed too much you probably did.</p>
<p>Will you be going home at Thanksgiving? You can bring more winter stuff back then.
Also think about how many coats do you need? Jackets? You have to balance storeage vs. choice of jackets. You can also keep stuff like coats in your suitcase under your bed until you need them.</p>
<p>I think having two sheet sets is a good idea. I only take two bath towels with me. How many heavy jackets do you have? I took two last year with me and I didn’t even use one of them. So I’m only gonna take one with me this year since I feel like they take a lot of space in my closet since they’re bulky. I guess for you it depends how cold it will be during the year. </p>
<p>What about cleaning supplies? Laundry basket? Laundry detergent? Small organizers to sit on your desk? Any storage bins? Extra toiletries for later in the year for when you run out? </p>
<p>I like to stock up on toiletries before I leave home so I don’t have to shop for them when I’m at my school. I also suggest buying smaller shampoo bottles for your caddy. (if you have a mesh caddy. Not those hard plastic ones.)my bottles were too big and heavy so it ripped my caddy eventually.</p>
<p>My first thought reading this is, just trying to be a bit realistic, but if you think you’ll be in your “lounge wear” practically 24/7, why are you bringing so much other clothes? I think it’s best if you only bring what you actually think you’ll wear at least 5 times in the semester (4 months/~16 weeks)…</p>
<p>I would DEFINITELY bring more than one winter jacket. In my experience in Boston, three was a good number. One for when it’s mildly cold, one for when it’s incredibly cold, and one for when it’s cold but you need to look nice (interview, going out, whatever). If the “mildly cold” one has a hood, it can double as a rain jacket! My suitemates and I kept our coats in a common closet so we wouldn’t have to worry about them taking up space. You could try that.</p>
<p>The main thing, I think, is to pack things you wear now. If you don’t wear it now, it’s doubtful you’ll start to wear it in college. </p>
<p>Beyond that, I like most of moonlightpath’s suggestions. Desk organizers are a must and extra drawers/storage may be needed depending on your room set up. I have, however, never really seen people stocking up on toiletries. If your campus is far from a drugstore, though, it might be a good idea.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot again, especially to the new commentors (sp?)! </p>
<p>(OP here btw lol)</p>
<p>My new situation has been graciously reduced to:
big suitcase: bedding (three sets including pillowcases), jeans and shorts, jackets and a couple coats
small suitcase: shirts, dresses, skirts, sweats, camis, pjs, some scarves
small-ish duffel: all my undies and such, some purses squeezed in there
sack of shoes</p>
<p>So I’ve completely eliminated the need for the second massive duffel I was planning on draging / lugging / carrying on a pack mule! I think it’s a good start. Yay, me!</p>
<p>As for desk organizers, those completely slipped my mind, so thanks so very much to everyone who suggested. I plan on getting a shower caddy to shrink my toiletry stash (and maybe remove it from the face of the earth completely, but let me not get ahead of myself). Gonna get a lamp or two, hopefully a laptop bag I can use for the school supplies I have yet to buy, and hangers.</p>
<p>Quick question time! Have you ever brought something along to campus with you that you never even ended up using? or didn’t bring something that you wish you did?</p>
<p>I have definitely brought things to campus with me that I never ended up using. My mom is a shop-aholic, so she likes to buy me things even if I don’t ask for them, freshman year she bought me a pair of shoes and some clothes, all of which I never wore but brought with me to make her happy >.< I’m a senior now and still have the shoes sitting around my house, but now my style has changed and they’re more something I think I’ll wear this year, the clothes, however, I think I gave away to friends or secretly put in my local church’s collection bin…
I have also left home things I would want, but they were usually cheap enough things that I just bought new while I was at school (my DS charger for example >.>)
In summary, it’s not the end of the world if you either bring too much or forget something, friends often are quite willing to take “hand-me downs” of clothes you don’t like that you brought thinking you might grow to like them or things you liked once that you just can’t bring yourself to wear anymore, and most universities are pretty close to a super market/retail store/mall so you can buy anything you might have accidentally forgotten, so don’t stress too much!</p>
<p>I don’t think you need more than one winter jacket. I’ve lived in cold weather all my life (and survived multiple polar vortexes this year) and you survive just fine with only one winter jacket. </p>
<p>@lang92 - We must have the same mother, haha. I do plan on doing some shopping while I’m in the dorms so I’m sure I could stand to give up a few garments. </p>
<p>My son is going into his last year at SBU. He was temporarily tripled as a freshman, which meant two desks, two closets, two dressers had to be shared. It was about as tight as you can imagine. </p>
<p>Based on his experiences, I can tell you that:
all desks come with a light, so you probably won’t need the lamp
you can get away with a light jacket, rain jacket and heavier jacket, but not necessarily winter jacket, until Thanksgiving break, and just layer your clothes. Don’t forget a pair of really good sneakers. You’ll be doing a lot of walking. And SBU is notorious for being a wind tunnel
two sets of linen is really all you need…one on bed and one just in case
same goes for bath towel
you can store stuff under your bed
dresser drawers aren’t very deep. They can hold maybe 3 pairs of jeans max
depending on dorm, your closet might have one shelf or two</p>
<p>SBU has a marketplace on campus, but it’s not cheap. They do have shuttle buses that will take you to the mall or shopping center, where there’s a Waldbaums and movie theatre. There’s also buses that go to Target. Or you might make friends with an upperclassman who has a car. We’re in NYC also, and I’d occasionally drive up to see him and bring him things at the same time. So it’s ok if you don’t bring everything now. </p>
<p>@KatCh614 - Oh, wow, that’s ridiculously helpful. Every time my dad and I drive to campus we see a bunch of outlets and stores but - in my opinion, anyway - they looked super far from the campus. I never knew the shuttle brought you there, though, so thanks for that info! I’ll try to get one of those under-the-bed storage thingies later on in case I don’t decide to raise my bed, or maybe I’ll do just that and put the desk underneath for space.</p>
<p>(time for another repetitive) Thanks (for the third time) to everyone who replied, I really appreciate it all. :)</p>
<p>You will definitely want a small umbrella and a surge protector or two with multiple plugs, and an extra phone charger (leave one in your room, and take one in your back pack). </p>
<p>Pack a small first aid/medicine kit–you don’t want to be looking for cold medicine or peptobismol in the middle of the night when it’s pouring rain, which is of course when you will get sick. So pack some cold/cough medicine, tummy medicine, advil, bandaids, etc.</p>
<p>@boysx3 - Thank you kindly! I have a pretty big beach-sized umbrella I bought solely for the cute pattern so hopefully it can sustain that Long Island rain. And THAT’S WHAT THEY’RE CALLED ! I’ve been referring to surge protectors as ‘those extension cord things that aren’t extension cords but have extra outlets’ since summer started, lol.</p>
<p>I live about 10 minutes away from SBU (the main reason I’m not going there…) and within a 5-10 minute bus ride from campus is the Smith Haven Mall, Bed Bath and Beyond, Staples, Waldbaums, Lowes, Whole Foods, and nearly any store or restaurant you might need. You could probably buy anything you might need within the first week of class if you’d prefer to travel light.</p>
<p>BTW, I doubt you would need more than one jacket; it usually hovers around the mid 30’s in the winter and rarely gets below the double digits. I usually just wear a sweatshirt. </p>
<p>@boysx3 the two charger idea is really ingenious and so is the first aid. I can’t wait to use all this knowledge when I’m in college!</p>
<p>OP: I’m not in college yet (senior ) but from what I’ve heard, make sure you have shower footwear. That’s what I’ve heard stressed a lot. Also, I had to go to UT austin for this one summer invitation thingy and we stayed in Jester. (The worst dorms but that’s another story.) The wifi was for some reason not working or something, but THERE WAS A JACK RIGHT BY MY DESK!!! I think bringing an ethernet cable would be a good just in case thing.</p>
<p>@luthier - That’s such a relief to hear, thank you! I have no classes on Fridays so weekly shopping spree it is. :)</p>
<p>@emenya - You’re totally right about people being obsessed with the shower footwear, haha, I made sure it was the first thing I packed. Forget clothes - cheap flip flops can save lives. I’ll definitely keep the ethernet thing in mind.</p>
<p>Do college buildings mind if you bring ‘guests’? My best friend is a workout hog and is up for visiting me on campus, but I feel like I’d wanna take him to the gym there. Do they ID randoms at the gym?</p>
I plan on getting a shower caddy to shrink my toiletry stash (and maybe remove it from the face of the earth completely, but let me not get ahead of myself). Gonna get a lamp or two, hopefully a laptop bag I can use for the school supplies I have yet to buy, and hangers.</p>