College Tips: Things You Need--Did you forget it?

Hey guys,
Going through my freshman year, I definitely found quite a few things that were useful to me that I didn't realize at first. I planned and over-planned (as I seem to do with everything) and luckily had most of these things with me. This list could be different for you, but considering my major, living circumstances, and location, these are what worked for me:

1. Rain Boots & Umbrella

 

Picture from here

 

Rain boots were one of the last things I picked up before leaving for school. I paid about $15 for them at Target (though I'd love a pair of these Hunter boots! I really like the lighter blue ones in the picture.) and they worked just fine. These saved me on days where I had to walk across campus in the rain. I'm not going to say I didn't ruin a pair of shoes in the rain--but if you can avoid getting shoes ruined, you might as well!

 

Same thing goes for an umbrella. Bring more than one---they break (They're also FIFTEEN DOLLARS at the bookstore. No thanks.)

 

 

 

2. Glue Gun

Picture from here

 

 OKAY, not all of you are going to need a glue gun. For me, it came in handy. I brought it only because I thought I could use it for craft projects, but I ended up using it while making bows for my cheer team, as well as in one of my classes (a basic design class).
 

 

3. Fan

Picture from here


 

 A fan is definitely one of the most important things you can bring to college, whether your dorm will have air conditioning or not. My dorm had excellent air conditioning and I used mine all the time, even in the winter. The vertical fans take up a lot less space. (BONUS: You can also use it to block out the sounds from your noisy neighbors, I know I did.)

 

 

4. Extra lamp

Picture from here

 

 A fan is another great addition to your dorm room. You may not always want the ugly fluorescent light shining on you. I also had Christmas lights hung on my wall.

 

5. Garbage bags, dish soap, small vacuum

Picture from here

 

Cleaning supplies are great for your dorm. A small vacuum like this one is great so that you don't have to use the community one (ours was stolen by the end of the year haha).


 

6. Pod laundry detergent

Picture from here

 

 These are awesome and keep you from lugging a big bottle of laundry soap to the laundry room.
Sidenote---my dorm laundry room had a sign saying we couldn't use these. We made someone else in our dorm try it first and nothing bad happened, so we ended up doing it all year.


And that's all I can think of! Any other suggestions? Feel free to leave them in the comments!

Sam



College Tips: Move in!

Hi guys!
In a little over a month, I will be starting my sophomore year in college. I wanted to reflect on my freshmen year and give you all some tips on move-in day to help it go smoothly.

BEFORE MOVE IN:

Tip 1: Sign up for orientation!
At my school, at least, if you are signed up for Freshmen Orientation, student volunteers will move you in to your dorm, meaning you don't have to carry all your stuff up to your room by yourself. Good stuff.

Tip 2: Don't bring your whole life.
Seriously one of the biggest mistakes I made. I lived in a single dorm my freshman year, so it wasn't as big of a deal, however, I had a lot of stuff around that I just didn't need (sweaters in August, 2 different pairs of essentially the same boots etc.). Think about what you actually need and coordinate that with how often you will go home during the year.

DURING MOVE IN:

Tip 3: Stay calm.
On my move in day, EVERYONE got on my nerves. This is most likely your last day with your family for a while, so make the most of it while moving in.

Tip 4: Be prepared.
Make sure your belongings are organized enough to set up things when you get there and so that you can find what you need.

Tip 5: Dress appropriately.
I think it was around 95 degrees on my freshman move-in day. Wear something cool and comfortable, you'll be moving a lot of stuff.

Tip 6: Buy things near your campus.
Don't bring things you can get at any nearby store all the way from home. After you settle into your room, you can stop by a nearby grocery store/Target/Walmart and pick up food (especially cold things), shampoo, and other necessities.

Tip 7: Explore campus!
After you're done moving in, meet up with a friend, your roommate, go with your family, or even by yourself and figure out the campus--fun things to do, classes, important offices, etc.


Things in your room may not be perfect on the first day. You might decide to move things in the coming weeks, so just make sure that you can get to what you need on your first day and that it's at least somewhat organized--it's fine to move things around as you progress through the year!

Good luck!
Sam

OLD NAVY: $1 Flip Flop Day (Saturday, 6/29/13)

Source: Picture from HERE!

Well, well, well...another One Day Wonder (ODW) is here at Old Navy.

 

This Saturday, Old Navy will be hosting a ONE DAY EVENT in which all basic (solid colored) flip flops are marked down to $1 (instead of the normal $3.94/each or 2/$5). All solid flip flops will be $1 (Women's/Men's/Kid's).

 

As an employee of Old Navy, I thought I may share a few tips/tricks/words of advice about this sale.

 

 

• These days are absolutely nuts. We open earlier than usual (7:00 seems to be the time this year, but call ahead to check), people LINE UP to get flip flops, there's a big crowd, and the store's a mess.
• Get in early: Sorry, but by 3:00, most likely the flip flops in your size/color you want will probably be gone.
• There is usually a limit on how many pairs you can buy. I believe it is FIVE PAIRS per person this year, but a sign should be displayed at your store. This means that you will be able to get 5 pairs total, encompassing all sections of the store. If you bring more pairs up to the register, there's a big chance you won't be allowed to buy them. TIP: Bring extra people if you need extra pairs!
• Old Navy employees will most likely be wearing flip flops and Staff shirts. Feel free to ask questions, however, it is likely that all of our flip flops will be out, we will not have any more in the back, and we doubt another store will hold them for you.
• BIG TIP: So we don't have the flip flops in a certain size or color?  Pick up ANY flip flops in the section you will need them (for example, Women's). You can exchange them once we get more in.
• IT WILL BE CROWDED.
• Be nice to the employees. I promise, this is the day we dread the most out of any other day at ON.

 

 

Honestly, I don't really believe that the craziness that goes on in store is worth paying $1 just for flip flops. Honestly, they're 2/$5 everyday, so to me, it's just easier to pay the extra $1.50 on each pair, but we know many people love this deal!

 

 

Happy flip flop shopping!

 

Sam

June favorites!

Here are some things I've been loving this month:

Benefit's 'They're Real!' mascara
Getting out in the sun
Getting a paycheck!
Relaxing....when I get a chance
Jean shorts
Waterparks

Things I haven't loved so much this month:

Working
Old Navy
Sunburn
Being away from school
Not having time to spend with friends
Late responses on e-mails

Door Decorations for College Dorms!

Hi readers!

I am about to enter my sophomore year at my university and am involved in a program which requires me to make door decorations for incoming freshmen (much like an RA--resident assistant--would). I chose to use pictures of cartoons from my childhood and it was really easy! Here's how I did it:

Materials you need:
Pictures of whatever you want to use as your decoration
Construction paper or cardstock
Glue (I used rubber cement, Elmer's glue or a glue stick would work just fine)
Scissors
Stickers (optional)
Sharpie or other marker

Step 1: Find pictures you want to use and print them out.
(Bonus points if you know who these are!)



Step 2: Cut out around the outlines as cleanly as possible.



Step 3: Glue your picture to your cardstock or construction paper (I used colorful cardstock).



Step 4: Cut around the picture again, leaving a thicker border around to show the color. I left a large portion at the bottom to add names and other details.



Step 5: Add any details (Stickers/names/room numbers etc.)



And that's it! Enjoy and good luck!