Showing posts with label back to school. Show all posts
Back To School: Packing For College Part 1
As some may know, I am going to be starting college soon. I actually don't start for about a month, but I know a lot of other people are starting earlier, so I'm sorry if you have already started school and this didn't help you but hopefully this will help someone. For me, the hardest part of going to college is the packing, because I have a lot of stuff, and at first, I didn't really know what to take, or what I could take. So I decided to share what I have learned about packing for college and hopefully it will help you guys out. I am in a triple dorm room, with a communal bathroom, so I am basing this list off of that, so if you are in a different type of room (apartment, suite, private bathroom, etc.) this list might be a little different. I decided to put this with my back to school series, because it is back to school related, but I will probably be making multiple packing for college posts (maybe a video or two, because it might be easier) because I feel there are multiple areas that I should cover. And I don't want this post to me unimaginably long.- Bedding: I would recommend buying 2-3 sets of sheets. Make sure they are XL Twin because that is what most dorm beds are. So this way you always have one to put on your bed. You can just take the dirty ones off and put on a clean pair right then. Then just wash your sheets and do the same thing the next time you want to change them. I also recommend this with pillow cases. For pillows, I like to sleep with a lot of pillows, but it's a personal preference, I would say to bring two, that way you can stack them up and lean against the wall if you're sitting on your bed. I also say to bring a body pillow, just to put between the wall and the bed for some extra comfort. Another thing, which is going to be a good investment, is a mattress topper, which is like an extra foam layer to go on top of your mattress. A lot of dorm beds are super hard and uncomfortable, so this just makes it feel a little better. Finally one of my favorite parts, blankets. I love using a ton of blankets, even though I live in California and it doesn't get too cold. I would recommend bringing at least two or three depending on the weather where you live. I would also recommend one of those be one of those fuzzy throw blankets, that way if you are just sitting at your desk or on your bed you can wrap up in a soft blanket, and it won't be too big.
- Desk/Electronics: I'm not going to go into school supplies, and such right now, but I just wanted to mention a few things I think you should have on your desk beside school supplies. Firstly, a desk organizer. I think it is so important to keep your desk organized, and organizers just help make that a lot easier. They give you a place to put your pens, pencils, paper clips, and other supplies you might have. You also need a lamp, for all that late night studying. My school didn't provide one, but I would check with yours to see if you need to buy one. This next one isn't necessary, but I think it adds a nice touch to the room, and that is a plant. I feel having a succulent on your desk just makes you feel better and adds some life to your room. A printer also isn't necessary, but depending on how much you see yourself printing, you may find it easier just to find a cheap printer to keep on your desk, rather than always going to the library and paying for it. And the big necessity of college would probably be a laptop. There's going to be so much work you have to do requiring a computer, you are going to hate having to go the library every time you need to use one. Another thing you will quickly realize you need is a surge protector. With 3 people in a room, you will soon figure out there are not enough outlets for 3 phones, 3 laptops, 3 lamps, 3 printers, etc.
- Bath: Of course you are going to need towels. I would recommend getting 3-4. This is just so you don't have to keep constantly having to wash them, and you can have a few extras on handy. If you are in a communal bathroom like me, you will definitely need shower shoes. I recommend getting the flip flops with the holes in them because they seem to be the most convenient. I also would recommend figuring out if you are going to put on clothes after your shower, or if you are going to walk to your room to change. If you choose the later, I would recommend a robe or a towel wrap, just so your towel doesn't fall down while you walk to your room, but that is up to your personal preference. Of course, one of the must haves is a shower caddy, or it will basically be impossible to get everything to the bathroom, without making multiple trips. They have ones with removable portions, but it's up to you if you think you will need that or not.
Back To School: Dorm Room Decoration Ideas
Hello everyone! Today I am doing another addition to my Back to School Series. If you want to see the other posts in the series you can click here. This post is about decorating for your dorm room, or if you don't live in a dorm, your bedroom or house in general. These are some of the most popular ideas are found. Of course there a tons of other ways to decorate a room, and I might do a second post on some of the other ideas I find. Or I might do one on how I decorate my dorm, since I am going to be a freshman this year, and this is my first experience with decorating a dorm. So look out for future posts like that in the future and I hope you enjoy these decorating ideas.
- Photo Wall: I’m sure we all have tons of photos on our phones, with tons of memories of our friends and families and good times. But since they’re just sitting on our phone, we never look at them. The solution, print a ton off and put them on your wall. You can go about this a ton of different ways. You can arrange the photos on your wall in shapes, words, or just by sticking them to your wall. When you put them on the wall, be sure to attach them in a way that won’t damage the wall, especially since colleges tend to fine for room damage. I recommend using taping. Maybe if you don’t want to do each one to the wall individually, find a frame, piece of cardboard, a corkboard, or giant piece of paper, attach all the photos to that, and put that on your wall. This would make it a lot easier to take down at the end of the year, and you can easily put it back up next year.
- Quote Wall: A spin on the photo wall would be to make a quote wall. Instead of using photos of you and your friends, use photos of inspiring quotes, movie quotes, quotes you like, or even song lyrics. You can find pictures of these on sites like tumblr, or weheartit. If you can’t find one you really want, you can always create your own on an app on your phone. All you need is a background picture and whatever text you would like. To put these on your wall, just do the same as you would for the photo wall.
- Fairy Lights: Or Christmas lights, whatever you call them (I like fairy lights because that sounds more magical.) You can hang these up around your room. They can go on your wall, around your desk, above your bed. You can also put some above your bed, on the ceiling, and put a sheet or curtain over them to make a cool glowing effect. Another idea, if you can find some small battery operated ones, would be to put them in a jar and create a fairy jar. Or if you can't find any Christmas lights, you can use the decorative ones that come in star shapes, or paper balls, whatever you prefer.
- Wall Flowers: If you want to add more to your walls, you can put some paper flowers on them. Just use a stencil from the internet, and cut out some flowers. Then you can fold the flower and tape one side of the flower to the wall. This will create a 3D effect and having the flowers sticking out from the wall. You can also do this in different shapes, like butterflies, paper cranes, hearts. And you can customize it to fit the color scheme in your room, and make the flowers in specific colors.
- Plants: A way to add some life to your room are plants. You make think it might be a little hard to take care of soemthing, when you can barely take care of yourself, but there are many plants that are low maintence. As long as you have a desk or table by a window, you can most likely get a plant. There are succulents and air plants, which require little watering, and add some liveliness to a room. You can also decorate the pot or container they are in to add more decoration to your space.
- Tapestry: I have seen a lot of people doing this, so I'm guessing its a pretty popular thing. That is to hang a tapestry on your wall. Most people do it by their bed, and it adds some design and color to the room. It is a pretty easy decorating technique because all you are doing is hanging up a piece of decorate fabric. If you don't want to put a lot of effort into decorating your walls, or if you have a wall that is just plain that you don't know what to do with, then I would suggest going this route.
- Pops of Color: I don't know if any of you have a color scheme for your room, or if you care about the color scheme, but I suggest using color. It will make your room a lot more lively. If you want to keep your room on the more neutral side, then just use pops of color, whether thats a few colorful pillows, or some colorful desk supplies. Or if you are already going for a color scheme, add a few pops of metallic. Like a few gold pieces on your desk, or maybe silver or copper, whichever goes best with your room. This gives it more variety, and makes your room more interesting.
Back To School Series!: Supplies for School
Since I have just recently graduated high school, I have decided to share my words of wisdom to all the new freshman who haven't figured out high school yet, and to all the other classmen who would like some advice from someone who has survived the prison known as school. So today I'm going to be sharing my advice on some of the supplies you will most likely need in your classes. Keep in mind that these are just suggestions. I don't go to your school. I don't know what your teacher wants or requires. If your teacher requires something, then you should probably get it, or make sure they are ok with an alternative. Now that I've said that, here is the list of supplies I recommend.
- Binder: I know not everyone likes carrying a binder around school with them, but I think this really is a great way to stay organized if you use it correctly and regularly. I had dividers for each of my classes and an extra one for plain paper. This works well if you get a lot of papers for your classes, it allows you to easily look back for past papers, and it keeps them organized. I think this worked best for me because I carried mine in my hands instead of my bag, so I always had it out. That way, if I need to put a paper in there or take one out, it was right in front of me. If you aren't one of those people that wants to take a binder out of their bag every time they need it in class, this probably won't work very well for you, so I suggest finding a different method to store your papers, so you don't just shove them in your backpack. Pocket Folders could be your alternative for a binder. This way you only take out a small folder for each class instead of a big binder. I would recommend one for each class, and maybe an extra for plain paper, however, keep in mind this won't work well if your class requires you to keep a lot of paper, and it maybe be hard to dig through old papers if you are looking for something.
- Notebooks: For some of my subjects, like history, my teachers required me to get a separate notebook just for that class. If your teacher doesn't require that, I would highly recommend it in classes that go chronologically, like history, and classes that require a lot of notetaking, like history. I find it keeps all of your notes together in one place, so it makes it easier to look back and study.
- Colored Pens: This might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I really enjoy writing in colorful pens. I feel like it makes taking notes more fun, because you could have a page of pink notes instead of just black and white. On top of that, you can also color code, like vocabulary can be red, important facts can be orange, dates can be blue. This will help you easily find information you need to remember and can easily spot it when you look back
- Highlighters: If you aren't too keen on the idea of colored pens, then you should at least get highlighters. They are an essential for everyone. The same concept applies for highlighters as it does for colored pens. It will draw your attention to the import facts you look back on your notes. If you get different colored highlighters, you can also color code like you would with the pens.
- Pencil Pouch: Of course you need a place to carry all of your supplies. Don't just throw them into your bag, because I can guarantee you, that when you need something, you will not be able to find it, and will be searching for it for 20 minutes.
- Poly Expandable Folders: This is another must have because you should not throw away any of your papers. I repeat- DONT THROW AWAY YOUR PAPERS. Even if you think you won't need them. You never know when a teacher might input a wrong grade or if they want you to look back on something from a couple weeks ago. Save all of your papers until the end of the year. I suggest getting one of those expandable folders to keep all of your old papers in so you don't have to take them to class every day. Get a section for each class to separate them, and I would suggest getting one for each semester/quarter, just to keep it more organized. Just go through your binder once a week or so, take out the old papers, put them in the folder, and leave it on your desk.
- Post It Notes: I carry these with me everywhere. They're great for jotting down quick notes, and you can stick them in your notebooks or on your papers, or in your planner, depending on what it is you want to remember.
- Planner: This may be one of the most important items on here. Everyone should have a planner. Even if you are not in school. This is just a way to keep track of what you have to do, what needs to be done, all of your plans, activities, homework, etc. I would recommend keeping your planner always out/with you, so you can immediately write things down and won't forget. This way you'll never forget plans, or homework. I have used both a planner and a bullet journal. I started out using a planner last year then switched to using a bullet journal half way through the school year. One of the reasons was my bullet journal was a thin notebook, while my planner was spiral bound, but it was still small. Another reason, I switched was because I felt, I could only put plans in my planner, while in my bullet journal, I kept to do lists, homework, fitness/health, goals, inspiration, tests. It was a lot more customisable. And I found it easier to see what I had to do, and I could easily check out what I already done. All in all, I find a bullet journal is easier, if you have a lot going on and want to write it. If you just want a place to write down some homework, I would just say buy a planner. The important thing is to find a system that works for you and stick with it. It doesn't matter how you do it, as long as it works and keeps you organized.
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About Author
Hello everyone! I'm Ashley and I've been alive for 19 years. I'm California born and raised and currently attending UCLA. I am the one running this blog. If you want to know anything else about me, check out my Tumblr. It is basically a way into my mind. Or ask me what you want to know, either in the comments or social media.
As for this blog, it is mainly about beauty, fashion, and life things I have learned in my many years of living. I am trying my best to update this blog while trying to juggle college, so I'm sorry there is no set schedule for the most part. I'm trying to post whenever I can! I hope you enjoy the blog!
