Unpacking the packing list

If you haven't seen that BYU Housing provides a list of things to bring, here it is! If you're wondering 
about things on the list, hopefully this helps. Below you will find some snippets in bold taken directly from On-Campus Housing website (found here) that goes over suggestions for things to bring. This is a great place to start!

"Residents of Heritage Halls, Wyview Park, and FLSR are provided with an ironing board, refrigerator and freezer, oven/stove, microwave, kitchen table with 4-6 chairs, large couch or love seat, desk and chair, garbage can, shelf space, drawer space, personal closet, access to a vacuum cleaner, and limited cleaning supplies (please wait to purchase additional cleaning supplies until you have received cleaning instructions at check-ins)."

Ok, cool. So, this means all the basic furniture is provided. But you were probably expecting that. To this section, I would add this: 
You'll end up needing cleaning supplies for the once monthly cleaning check.  The essentials we ended up using were spray cleaners like 409 and Windex, Clorox/Lysol wipes (those are SO helpful), toilet bowl cleaner with a brush, and some rags (unless you want to go through paper towels like crazy. which is what we did.) The instructions tell you to wait because there are a lot of banned cleaning supplies that they don't want you using - ammonia, drain cleaners, abrasives, lime away, oven cleaner, green scotch brite pads. I think that's it for banned things. Now, I'm not telling you to buy all this stuff before.... but, this is what we ended up using. :)

Next up:

"Your suitcase sits open and empty on your bed. What will you need to live comfortably on your own? Here are some suggestions to start filling your bag:"

So, the next section has a lot of stuff to go through. Lets take it a few at a time.

Pillow Sheets - Heritage mattresses are extra-long twin. Get cheap extra-long twin sheets from target to fit your mattress, and if you cant find a quilt or comforter that you like that's "extra-long", just know that I ended up buying a regular length quilt and it works fine. If your mom tells you this, she's right. Don't fight it. Blankets Towels and washcloths - get an oversized plush towel. You'll thank me later. I brought one bath towel and one beach towel. Beach towel is good if you ever need to lay it out for picnics or floor parties, or if you have a guest that needs a towel. I dont think two bath towels is necessary. Decorating hooks - Not sure why the list says you can use Command Hooks - It's outdated. Heritage decided this year that Command Hooks are a no-go, so, take white poster putty if you want to hang pictures and things An apartment can only have 6 nail holes per room (including nails already present when residents move in). Residents will be charged a repair fee for each additional hole when they move out. - This means thumbtacks are usually good to go as well. Clothes for all weather - true. Pro tip - rain boots can double as snow boots. I wish I would have brought a rain jacket like the one below - one that will keep you dry on your walk to class or that you can wear when you go hiking but that isn't a snow coat. Snow coats are good for the winter, but one of these would have been nice during summer term/fall.    Alarm clock - eh, you have your cell phone for this. BUT, sometimes it is nice to have a separate one you can set up away from your bed to force you to get out of bed and turn it off. Can't do that with a cell phone if you charge it by your bed. Telephone  Sewing kit - ? This could have been helpful... maybe? Not really. This was always on my girls camp packing list too. If you know you're not going to use it, don't bother. Laundry bag Alright, I tried using a canvas laundry bag and after the very first time doing laundry, I was done. Fine, okay, try to stuff your dirty clothes in the bag day by day - not the biggest issue. But then, after you do your laundry, you have to stuff your big pile of fresh clean clothes into this bag just to get all wrinkly. Some people use pop up hampers, which works better than a bag, but there's not a lot of stability in the pop up or canvas kind of hamper- which makes carrying your heavy load of clothes to and from the basement laundry facility kind of a pain. I think your best bet is a small laundry basket like so. One this size is perfect. It's easy to carry all your stuff to and from the laundry room with this, it fits nicely sitting in between your desk and your closet space, and you can just toss your dirty clothes into it instead of stuffing them into a bag. Laundry detergent Study supplies - Alright, tangent. I'm a nerd, so here's my take on school supplies. There are lots of good Pinterest posts out there for this, reference those as well. The bookstore has those nice FIVE STAR sectioned notebooks for not very cheap, though, so if you know you'll want them but you won't be able to hit up a walmart when you get to provo, buy them at home. The best advice I have is to wait until you know you're not switching in and out of classes AND whether or not you'll need/want a notebook for your various classes. Some of your easier classes you'll probably be okay taking notes off your laptop with. I don't think this is usually the smartest way to take notes, but for some classes it works. Others, you won't end up needed a lot of notebook space for. Point is: Just go to a few days of classes with a notebook that you can write things down on, see what you need for the class, and copy your notes into another notebook later if you need. Toilet paper***Best advice: Don't doubt how much toilet paper your dorm will go through. Maybe you and your mom make a costco run once you get to Provo and you say, I dont know, that 48 roll pack seems like a lot. You will use all of it. I dont know where it all goes, to be honest, but many a times have I gotten home after a long day on campus and said "Seriously? I just changed this yesterday." Start the semester off right by figuring out a system of buying things with your roommates so that you dont end up playing the whoever-caves-and-decides-to-be-nice-first-gets-to-buy-it game. With stuff like TP, paper towels, dish soap and detergent- you'll go through a lot of it. Router**** Click here for more information. You only need one router. Again, if you have to, get all your roomates to chip in on it, or just have one person buy it and then get to keep it when they're done. You can get weak byu wifi signal from the first floor, I think, to get you through the first few days - but I would buy one as soon as possible, cause you're gonna need it. Umbrella - had to buy one from the bookstore. Its cheap and it broke pretty quickly. I'm on my second cheap one now. If you have a decent one laying around at home, bring it. Coat Snow gear - thin gloves for the walk to your 8am come November are pretty nice. Beanies too. Flashlight - ehh you've got your phone for this. Camera - and this Room decorations - DO IT. Your room and living room will be sad without it. I just barely put up a ton of pictures second semester and I'm sad I didn't do it earlier. It only takes a little time but once it's done you'll be so glad. Christmas lights with cheap ping pong balls on them from amazon looked AMAZING up all semester over our big windows - we left them plugged in from November until when they went out in April - It made the living room really home-y. Computer (or rent one from IT services) - I didn't realize BYU did rentals until I had gotten here. Definitely a good idea for those who know they will be leaving on missions and would rather wait to buy a new laptop when they get home. Iron (Ironing boards are provided) - Didn't think I'd need this, but I'm glad my roommate brought one, because I used it a lot. Dishes, cookware & utensils Different apartments have different systems. I think it's good to email your roommates before moving in, break the ice a little, and talk about things that people are bringing. Summer term, we had a million cutting boards but only one tiny frying pan. In our apt, we each have our own dishes and silverware, so each person is responsible for rotating running the dishwasher because eventually you will run out of your own dishes and silverware. But, we all share pots and pans and the toaster and blender and things like that. Sharing dishes and silverware might have made things easier, but not-sharing wasn't a problem. Makes people accountable for leaving dishes in the sink and stuff. Also, there is enough cabinets for each person to have a designated space and a few community drawers and cupboards for shared things, so that's a plus. Favorite recipes (if living in an apartment) - Or, you can bug your mom for them. Or Pinterest for new ones. Or, eat pizza quesadillas twice a week (life changing, people. so good). Entertainment equipment***** - Our apt was good with just watching movies on a laptop instead of having a TV. A TV would have been good for watching movies - just know you'll need something to put it on. First-aid kit - dont neglect the things sitting in your bathroom closet at home, like bandaids. Or safety pins for that one time that your slip just will not cooperate with the skirt/tights combo you're wearing. Financial and health insurance information - YES. When you end up having to go to urgent care for some stupid health thing, you'll need it. When you apply for a job or you need a background check for a place at Y-Serve, you might need your social security card. So, that's it for the items that the website suggests. Everything else you'll need in addition to this can be found on the posts below. :)