The Ultimate Move-In Day Hacks

We asked some of our experienced MSMC Families what they brought (or wish they brought) to make Move In Day smoother. With Opening Day just a few days away, we thought we’d share them with you to make your lives a little easier. Here’s what they recommended!

To Make Packing Easier

1. Bins galore. Plus, you can leave them with your student for extra storage!
2. Even better, suitcases can also be left to remind your students to come home and visit every once in a while!
3. Hang all of your student’s clothes on hangers prior to move in. Wrap them in a garbage bag and simply hang up when you arrive!

To Make Moving Easier

1. Hand Truck
   This was the #1 thing recommended by our MSMC families. While we will have bins to help with transporting goods from your car to the residence hall, a hand truck can come in handy multiple years in a row!
2. Cleaning products
   While we make sure each residence hall is spick and span before our students arrive, mom always has to make sure! (Even better, leave some cleaning supplies with your students so they can clean their bathrooms during the semester. Since bathrooms are in the rooms for the first-year students, facilities cannot clean the bathrooms in the first-year halls.)
3. Garbage bags
   To collect all of the packaging from the new college life gear! (Garbage rooms are located on the end of each floor, so you won’t even need to bring it back home with you!)
4. Snack and water
   While we’ll have some goodies available, it’s always a good idea to bring some snacks and water along to keep everyone hydrated and happy while you unpack. (Consider bringing your student’s favorite childhood snack as a nostalgia-filled surprise!)
5. Step stool
   Great for storing things on high shelves in the closet or armoire!
6. Door stopper
   This is useful for both move in day and beyond! A door stopper will keep you from having to deal with the handle getting in your way as you bring in all those bins and bags.

Things Your Students Will Need

1. Hamper with wheels
   Each first-year hall has a laundry room on the bottom floor, so a hamper with wheels makes bringing laundry down to that floor even easier!
2. A fan
   While students have the ability to control the air conditioning and heat settings in their rooms, bringing a fan for added cooling (and white noise) is certainly beneficial.
3. Medical essentials: Tylenol, Advil, cold medicine, thermometer, etc.
   While we have most of these supplies on hand in our campus store (or can take students on a run to Target with the MSMC Shuttle), it’s always best to have these on hand!
4. Amazon Prime
   The perfect way to get more of the essentials to campus quickly after move in day! Prime Student also offers a discount with an .edu email address.

Want even more? Here are some of the top things that are easy to forget but good to have on hand:

1. Flashlight
2. Umbrella/Raincoat
3. Extra phone chargers
4. Shower shoes
5. Extra blanket
6. Medical insurance and prescription cards
7. Pens/pencils

At the end of the day, if you realize you forgot something, don’t worry! The MSMC Shuttle can take students to a number of places in the local area for free, including grocery stores, Target, and more.