How to Avoid Closet Catastrophe

I have a clothes problem. And accessory problem. And a shoe problem. Ok I might have a problem in general, but is it really an issue if you can fit it all in your closet? I have convinced myself it’s not, so in this blog post I will share a list of techniques to optimizing dorm room closet so that you can fit all those necessary shirts and accessories and etc.

Question your Closet:

So start off, when you are packing for Penn State go through your current closet and try to be honest with yourself: will you really ever wear this? This method could help cut down on the amount of clothes you bring. (I know it’s hard, but it’s worth a shot anyways)

The Seasonal Wardrobe:

Next comes the actual packing. So a technique I always used was to only bring a few fall/winter outfits with me on move-in day. This is because winter clothing is bulky and will take up a lot of space, and you won’t need it until the later in semester. The key to this technique though is knowing your parents will come visit you parent weekend or sometime in October to bring up the rest of your winter wardrobe and take home summer clothing. (winter will be coming at that point, you will need to brace yourself). Sidenote: make sure you pack the winter clothes you want in a bin or suitcase so your parents don’t have to go through your closet at home. (at least for me that would be a disaster).

Bling the Walls:

So out of all my clothing problems, my jewelry problem is definitely the worst. I have more earrings than I want to count. So the thought of how to transfer and store all this jewelry I have seemed very daunting. Luckily I came across this cute necklace and earring holder that goes directly onto a wall! (Of course you can’t use nails in a dorm room so I use command hooks instead). Now I have a place to store all my jewelry, which barely takes up any space and also works as a decoration! Anything that serves multiple purposes is an automatic win.

The Shoe Sorter:

For some reason, I had the need to bring every type of shoe I could ever need to college, which meant I had a nice shoe mountain at the bottom of my closet. After the first week or so, I decided I needed to stop this madness: I bought a shoe organizer. Now of course this shoe organizer could not fit all my shoes, but it was a good way to make the shoes I wouldn’t wear on a daily basis disappear to the deep depths of the closet. This way I could keep the shoes I needed to quickly grab all neatly lined up on the closet floor, while keeping those heels out of my way.

Don’t be the T-Shirt Hoarder:

You do not need all those T-shirts. I repeat, you do not need them. Your freshman year you will get so many free t-shirts it is unreal. Please do yourself a favor and only bring a select few with you. You will save yourself a lot of drawer space.

The Scarf Master:

I have way too many scarves. In the fall it’s a great thing because I can wear a different one everyday for a couple weeks. However, storing them could have been an issue if I did not have a handy dandy scarf hanger. Now my messy pile of scarves turned into a messy hanger of scarves, which is much better. (like the shoe organizer you can also hide this in the deep dark depths of the closet).

The Designated Drawer

In your dorm room you will have a dresser with probably around 5 drawers. Make sure you unpack and designate each drawer to have a certain type of clothing so you can quickly find whatever you need. For me the top drawer was always underwear and socks, the second was for shorts, third was for t-shirts, fourth was for jeans/pants, and bottom was for misc junk that I accumulated from career fairs and info sessions. I kept this system for the past two years, and it has been extremely helpful for putting away clothes and then finding them in a hurry when I’m almost late for class.

Well that’s all folks. Hopefully this was helpful in planning on how to store all the clothing you bring to State College. Welcome to the Penn State Family! :)

Elena Gowdy is a junior majoring in Architectural Engineering and is a Mentor for WEPO'16!

To Over pack or not to Over pack?

Are you an overpacker?  Do you have little car space?  Are you stressing about what you actually need for college?  If you answered yes to any of these, then this is the blog post for you!

Knowing what you’ll actually need for college is hard, and walking into Target without an idea of what you want can be extremely overwhelming.  If you are an overpacker like I am, then making decisions on what not to buy or bring can be nearly impossible.  So to help relive all these stresses, here are some tips and lists on what I think is important to have and what isn’t worth taking up  precious cargo space in your car.

Make the space for:

1 or 2 Mugs (tea, coffee and hot chocolate is basically all I drank my freshman year)

Two or three sets of silverware (any more than this is unnecessary)

Stapler, three whole punch, scissors (these help keep binders and papers organized)

One or two bowls and plates (Your really don’t use plates ever, and I only really used one bowl the entire year so don’t bring too many)

Paper towels (You will make a mess at some point so these are handy)

Dish soap and sponge (To clean your bowl or mug)

Storage containers for under your bed (you WILL need extra storage)

Power strip (We are in the age of technology so you will have lots of plugs)

Desk lamp (useful for if your roommate goes to bed but you’re still working)

More than one pillow (all the fluffiness)

Decorations (Better to over decorate then have your room look like a prison cell)

Sweatpants (You will wear sweatpants… a lot)

Small hand broom+dust pan (for all those pesky crumbs that end up on the floor)

Duct Tape (There is not a problem it can’t fix)

LOTS of command strips (sometimes they refuse to stick to the walls so have backup ones)

You can do without:

Printer (you get 100 free prints per semester in the computer labs, and honestly most teachers do everything online so there’s usually no need to print anything out)

Can opener (what can of soup doesn’t already have a pull tab?)

Iron (you most likely will never have to use an iron, believe me you don’t need it!)

Other kitchen accessories (you’ll be in a dorm room, you will not have the space or capability to make anything super fancy foodwise)

Elena and her organized car!

Lots of tshirts (you will get so many free tshirts so take some out of your suitcase right now! Please save yourself from ending up with 5 million tshirts in your drawers)

Draw string bags (I ended up with a whole drawer full of free drawstring bags, believe me you will not have to bring any)

Lots of Dresses and High heels (you may think you’ll need it, but really you most likely never will. I brought so many dresses with me to college and I think I ended up wearing only one of them once.)

Vaccum or Swiffer (the commons has a vacuum you can check out and use if you actually need it)

Easy on the shoes (I know we’re girls, but trust me you do not need all those shoes)

If you have room then sure:

Fan (it can get hot the first and last couple weeks of the school year, but otherwise you won’t use it)

Carpet (it makes the room a little homier but again, not necessary)

Full length Mirror (but not an over the door mirror!! It doesn’t fit on the door… my roommate and I ran into this problem, but nothing that duct tape couldn’t fix)

Coffee maker/Keurig (I love my Keurig, but they do sell coffee in the commons for really cheap with your meal plan so I guess it’s not a necessity)

Winter gear (you can always bring it after thanksgiving break because before that it doesn’t get terribly cold)

Tips and Tricks

-Make a list of things you cannot live without before heading to the store.  This way you have a good idea of what you need to buy so you are not overwhelmed by all the things.

- Ask yourself, do I really need this?

-If you are having trouble making a list of things you need then during the day, every time you use something write it down.

 -Bring versatile clothes (can be dressed up or down, worn in the hot or cold, etc) this way it will minimize the amount to clothing you will have to pack

-Remember, you can always bring lots more stuff to school after thanksgiving break if needed (I brought a huge suitcase back with lots of sweaters and boots to prepare for the winter)

-Pack some stuff in a suitcase so you have something to visit home with

-Try to pack in containers that are stackable, this way you will have more packing space in your car

-Worried if you bring a carpet you’ll need a vacuum? Well if you bring a small enough carpet you can stick it in the dryer periodically to get the debris off of it (the dryers are free, and this way it comes out warm and fluffy)

-Try to be flexible.  You will never be able pack every single thing you will need, so take a deep breath, make a list, go shopping, and get excited for your first year as a Nittany Lion! 

Elena Gowdy is a sophomore majoring in Architectural Engineering, and is a Rover for WEPO'15!