A dorm is a good primer for life outside your parent’s house. But the real pinnacle of adulting comes when you move into your first place off-campus.
Furniture that isn’t made of metal! Real walls! No more communal bathroom!
It’s a clean slate, and you definitely don’t need to take everything you collected in your student housing days. Here’s a breakdown of what to keep and what to give away to all the incoming freshman.
Things to toss
Your collection of makeshift cooking tools.
Making meals in a dorm room is an art form. There’s nothing like perfecting your coffee pot ramen and microwave eggs in between study sessions, but that doesn’t mean you should fill the cabinets at your new place with your old appliances.
Get rid of anything that only served one purpose in your dorm room, like that old sandwich maker and microwave pasta container. Since your new rental probably has a real stove, a couple of pans will get the job done without taking up tons of storage space.
Any XL twin bedding.
Why are dorm beds twin XL size?
As the story goes, campus beds were made extra long to support college athletes. They eventually became the standard because it was just easier to make every bed the same dimensions. The thing is, though, dorms are literally the only place you’ll find this size bed.
Moving out is your chance to throw away your twin XL sheet sets and upgrade to a larger bed and investment sheets.
The posters you hung up with sticky tack.
You have two options for all those posters that you used to cover your cinder block walls: Frame them or toss them. If you’re not allowed to put holes in the walls of your new rental, you can use removable photo hooks to hang things.
Your shower supplies.
Time to throw away your old shower caddy and shoes, you won’t need them where you’re going. Although they’re great for avoiding fungal and viral infections, bacteria can collect on your dorm shower essentials after using them for a year. That means now is the perfect time to retire them.
That old mini fridge.
You’re not even sure where it came from. Someone who was moving out gave it to your friend who decided she would rather use the space for extra shoe storage.
Your new place has a big, adult-size fridge so say goodbye to the mini fridge that dutifully held your caffeinated beverages.
Things to keep
Not everything has to go when you move out. There are a few things that will last you your entire young adult life if you treat them right. When you move, be sure to pack up:
- Throw pillows and blankets
- Coffeemaker
- Lamps
- Cleaning supplies
