Dorm Move-In: Essentials I Forgot!

With the help of extra-strength garbage bags and Dixie Chicks blasting through my headphones, I moved out of dorm room last semester in just four hours. If only moving back in was so easy! For the past week I’ve been prepping everything I’ll need at U of T this school year. The first items on my packing list? Everything I wish I had last year! One item I’m definitely hauling to residence this September is a drying rack. The laundry machines in residence can best be described as industrial strength. While at home, many of my clothes could go into the dryer and come out unscathed, I learned the hard way that dorm drying machines can easily shrink down your shirts three sizes! Though this is great for heavy blankets and towels, it also resulted in a year of laying clothes on-top of the radiator. To avoid my dorm room looking like a haphazard laundromat, I’ll definitely be bringing a drying rack this year! Another item I’m adding to my back-to-school shopping list is a printer. While I survived last year on library machines alone to print out essays and notes, the bill definitely adds up (I didn’t realize that the UTSU office offered 3 cent printing! Ink may be ludicrously expensive, but if you’re also someone who prints out notes on a regular basis, it's a good investment. Throughout the year I found myself wishing that I didn’t have to visit the library to use the printer before class. Plus, having your own printer can avert disasters! Though it’s a once in a blue moon occurrence, I found myself scrambling before an essay deadline because the entire campus’s printing system was down. While this is far from usual at U of T, and I could easily have averted the situation if I didn’t wait until 1 hour before the deadline to print out my paper, I will definitely be opting to save myself the panic this year by putting money towards a printer. Luckily that wraps up the major items I wish I brought to campus last year. Anything else forgotten can quickly be picked up around campus! After all, it's downtown Toronto. Forgot toiletries? There's always the Shoppers Drug Mart on Bedford and Bloor that gives U of T students 10% off every Thursday. Plus, there’s the U of T bookstore, with all the school supplies you could possibly need, from lab coats to U of T binders. Last but not least, don’t stress about the logistics of moving into dorm! Last year, I pictured making dozens of back-and-forth trips to my dad’s pick-up truck. But instead, Orientation leaders were outside, and helped everybody move-in! In just five minutes, everything was in my room! I’ll be paying it forward this year as an Orientation leader, helping new Victoria College students move-in on September 3rd. Perhaps I will see you then!