Going Abroad? How to pack for 5 weeks?

Ever since I was accepted in March to study abroad in Italy this summer I’ve been trying to figure out how to pack for 5 weeks.

How do you fit enough clothes into your suitcase for 5 whole weeks? How do you pack enough shampoo, conditioner, lotion, etc? How do you remember everything.

Well, for the past week and a half this has been my quest. How do you pack for 5 weeks abroad?

This is a list of what I’ve been able to understand about packing for studying abroad:

1. Pack light. This may seem obvious but it’s the truth. As an American, I often (as other Americans do) take public transportation (buses, taxis, etc.) or any transportation (cars) for granted. We drive everywhere and because of that we don’t understand that in places like Europe they don’t travel by car or things like that. Instead, they walk everywhere or take the subway or things like that. So when you step off that plane in Europe you might be taking a train to another train then walking (all of this time with all of your luggage) to your hotel. So pack light. You can do laundry there. This isn’t the stone age. Countries in Europe are up on modern technology!

2. Be warned of pick pocketers.  Here in America we feel safe. We don’t guard our backpacks and we’re more “careless” with ourselves. However, in countries like Italy, there are expert thieves. They get you and you’ll never even notice it. So, when packing to go abroad….think about where you pack things. Bury the valuable things, keep them close to you (under your clothes), or just leave them at home (you don’t need that expensive jewelry…save it for at home). Trust me, this is what you need to do. It’s the best way to stay safe.

3. Pack so that everything matches. Pick out your clothing so that you can create multiple outfits out of everything that you have. This shirt can go with these pants, this skirt, those jeans, or those capris (now that’s successful packing). That way you’ll have an entire wardrobe out of practically nothing. So often when people pack they are going on short term business trips or vacations and they can pick out each outfit ahead of time. Here you can mix and match. You’ll have 10 outfits in no time and never wear the same things more than once! Successful packing.

4. Pack one or two of each. Don’t pack 10 pairs of jeans or 10 dresses. Instead, pack 2 skirts, 2 dresses, 2 pairs of shorts, 2 pairs of jeans, 2 pairs of capris, and so on. Then pack a bunch of shirts that you can mix and match with the various “bottoms” that you have packed. You’ll be set for all types of weather.

5. Lastly, be smart and pack what you really need. If you’re not going to use it, if you can only wear it with one pair of pants, or whatever else…you DON’T need it. It’ll just use up space in your suitcase that you could have used for something else (or more room for your on trip purchases!!!…I know you LOVE to shop )

6. Finally, have a great trip! Have fun and don’t stress about packing. If you stress too much about packing you’ll be stressed on your trip and won’t enjoy it as much.

Well, hope these help….I’m sure I’ll come up with more….like “how to neatly pack a suitcase…”

Good luck college students! Have fun studying abroad! Ciao!

Gotta go clean!

-Liz

Unpacking…

Moving home for the summer is always a challenge as a college student. Packing up everyone you own is hard enough let alone leaving behind your friends (from all over the country) for three and half months. It’s hard. As much as you want exams to be done, summer weather to arrive (I’m in Milwaukee…it’s rather cold here!), and that home cooked meal… it’s still hard to say goodbye to that life that you’ve grown so used to.

Today I moved home from school. Yesterday I packed everything up into boxes and today after a grueling time waiting for elevators and loading up the car…then unloading all of the boxes…I sat in my room and was terrified of starting to unpack. The boxes seemed endless. I wondered how long it would take me to find the floor of my room again.

Trying to find new “homes” for all of that stuff that fit so nicely at school can be tiring. I’m exhausted now nearly five hours later and I’m finally done.

Unpacking isn’t fun. It always means the end of something- a vacation, a time living somewhere, the end of a school year. However, it also means the beginning of something- a new life in a new location, a new adventure at home, or the beginning of what may be the best summer ever.

Unpacking stinks but when it’s done you can finally sit back and say “wow, I can see my floor again!” You’ll be happy when it’s done so just don’t put it off for too long!

Gotta go clean! (actually go to bed)

-Liz

Cleaning Up: Packing Life Away Into BINS and BOXES…

It’s that time of year again. Time for the college students to pack up and move out!

I, as I’m sure most college students, both love and hate this time of the year. The weather is getting warmer, the flowers are blooming again, the trees and grass are getting green, the sun is coming out, and so on! However, this time of the year also brings final exams with the end of the semester and a time to say goodbye to friends and roommates that you won’t see again for at least three months.

With that saying goodbye is moving out.

As a neat freak I go a little crazy. My roommates have been packing for the last week and there are boxes everywhere. Stuff is falling on the ground, the bathroom is dirty (nobody feels like cleaning it for the one week that we have left of school), the floor is gross and has not been vacuumed in forever, and so on. I’m watching what has been my home for the last nine months or so fall apart. The posters are coming down, the furniture is leaving, thing are getting boxed up.

It’s stressful watching your world get packed into boxes. It’s also stressful dealing with the mess. I guess that it’s just part of college and being a neat freak.

So far…I’ve been dealing pretty well. I hope that finals and packing are going well for all of you other college students out there!

Good luck!

Gotta go clean!

-Liz

Empty DORM Room....

Summer is CALLING!!!

So it’s that time of year again. “That time of year” referring to the time of year that college students both hate and dread but also love.

We hate and dread this time of the year because we’re forced to study for finals. Our brains feel like it’s all that we can take anymore. I’m sure you’re all familiar with the feeling that you can’t possibly fit one more little piece of information in your head or else it’ll burst! Have you ever felt that? If you haven’t please let me know! haha.

Also, the group projects and presentations are piled on. We feel like we’re drowning. We run from meeting to meeting and every single second that we’re not running around we’re trying to crank out those last homework assignments or papers. And those presentations! Dressing up, staying up late fixing powerpoint presentations and working through speeches….it’s college and you’ve got to love it! Then, just when you think that you’re done…it starts all over with the next big thing for the next class.

All the while summer is calling to us. The weather teases us with 80 degree days with not a single cloud in the sky, sun shining down like it’s the middle of July! You walk down the block and see the green grass and the trees with new leaves and the tulips blooming. Everything is so gorgeous it’s difficult to go back inside and hit the books. Summer is calling and the books are standing in the way.

Gotta go clean!

-Liz

A little piece of SPRING

What’s NEXT?

I’ve been a neat freak most of my life. As far back as I can think of I’ve always had a problem with messes. I think back to as a child when I would always clean up after myself and then as I grew older I found that I couldn’t sleep at night if I hadn’t cleaned up everything that I had left out from the day. I’m just another super organized, perfectionist, anally clean, neat freak.

Anyhow—as I mentioned in my first post this blog has been an experiment for my advertising class. The assignment has both been tricky and fun at the same time. I give regular bloggers a lot of credit—sometimes it’s hard to come up with things to write about. Other times, it’s just fun to let the creativity flow and just go out on a whim and say some crazy things on the subject.

For me, this blog, Confessions of a Neat Freak: A look into the mind of the unusually clean, has been about learning about myself as I dissect myself as a neat freak and offer advice to other college students out there who are also neat freaks and find themselves in a similar situation. After all, college is a time of our lives where we’re all thrown into rooms that are hardly larger than a jail cell and we’re expected to sleep, eat, study, entertain, and so everything in these tiny rooms. Oh, and by the way, this small room (that contains everything you own) is most often shared with 1-3 other people! Insanity. I’ll also admit to ranting about my roommates at some points of this blog (however, to my own defense…the blog IS called CONFESSIONS OF A NEAT FREAK…which should imply that it’s a look into my mind).

Over the course of this assignment I’ve learned many things:

1. Blogging can be taxing and annoying. Sometimes it’s difficult to get inspired. I’m sure all writers experience this at some point though.
2. I’m truly a neat freak. I’ve been able to understand myself a little more and give more thought to what makes me a neat freak and also how I can better get along with messy people who don’t share my philosophy on absolute cleanliness.
3. I’ve been able to offer what I think is advice to other college students who may be in my same situation. So often the university just throws students into rooms and we’re expected to try to figure out how to survive living together. Maybe some of the things that I’ve picked up over the past 2 years can help somebody else?
4. Finally, I love writing. I’ve found it kind of fun to let loose and just write about what I want. In college, so often everything that we write is academic—research papers, literary analysis stuff, etc. I’ve enjoyed writing about what I want to write about.

To close, it’s been interesting to see who follows my blog. I’ve had multiple people tell me to check out their blogs (other neat freaks). Some of these people are students like me blogging about their college lives. Others are adults dealing with messy spouses and children. Many people have visited my blog—increasing throughout the course of the semester. Thank you to all of you who have visited! I plan to continue this blog. I wonder what direction the wind will blow me in next? Any suggestions? I’ve covered some tips and my roommates, a little history, and a little fun.

For now though…the mess is calling…and I’ve…

Gotta go clean!

-Liz

Tips for CLEANING dorm rooms.

Picture this: 3 girls living in a room the size of a shoe box with 3 beds, 3 dressers, 3 bookcases, 3 closet boxes, 3 chairs, and a bunch of other stuff. Been here before? Do you recognize this situation.

After spending 2 years living in a small cramped dorm room, I’ve picked up some tips about keeping it clean.

1. Pick up after yourself. This may seem like something your mother tells you and you’re probably sick of hearing it from her. The truth of the matter is, however, pick up after yourself. Set aside a time every day when you just clean everything up (dirty clothing, dirty dishes, shoes, paper, books, and so on). If every day is too much for you, try every other day. And well, if you’re really lazy (or busy…or have more important things to do) try one day per week. Trust me, if you do this even once a week your roommates will thank you (even if they are just as messy or worse). A little cleaning up prevents so many nasty things (mold, etc.). So…keep it clean!

2. Pick a day once a week to vacuum and clean the bathroom. These things don’t usually take very long and they’ll both keep you healthier (germs do build up…you know?) and keep you more sane! It takes 20 minutes tops to clean the bathroom and maybe 10 to vacuum the floor. If you split this up between 2 or more roommates it won’t take up very much of your time at all (and you won’t have to deal with that nasty mold that’s growing all over your shower curtain)!

3. Organize everything. I probably sound insane by now with all of this organizing. However, it is important. Even if you just organize things once a month or even every few months it will help to avoid too much clutter and will help you find things that you’ve been searching for for months.

4. Pick up the trash off the floor. This gets disgusting after some time.I know you don’t want to move it after you ate it…we’re all lazy college students, but just move it next time you get up (you’re going to have to move eventually!)

5. Finally, take the trash out! Take the trash out when it’s full. Don’t try to pile it all up on top of the trash can. If you do this it’s only going to get higher and higher and then it won’t fit in the bag and you’re going to need to sort through all of your nasty trash with your bare hands. If you just take the trash out when you’re on your way to class or to meet friends for dinner, it’ll make your life easier in the long run.

Well, those are a few random tips for cleaning dorm rooms. Hopefully they’ll help. Almost every college student I know has these same problems.

Good luck!

Gotta go clean!

-Liz

Organizing your college life…TIPS!

So I guess since I’ve been in college for 2 years now I’ve gathered a little bit of knowledge about how to stay organized.

Here’s a list of a few tips:

1. Before the first day of the semester gather different colored notebooks and different colored folders for all of your classes. (Color coordinate if possible, it makes for easier grabbing of things as you run out the door in the morning without your coffee after hitting the sleep button on your alarm one too many times…hey we’ve all been there, right?).

2. Organize all of your books with your notebooks and folders. This way you’ll always have everything together in one place. Trust me, it’s easy to just grab it all at once and throw in it the bag/backpack to run to class.

3. Keep all of your folders as well as your planner in your backpack. I do this and it makes my life a lot easier. I can always look at what things I have to get done that night if I need to schedule a meeting with someone, etc. Also, having all of the folders handy makes it hard to forget the correct folder…confuse folders, etc.

4. The first day of classes, after you get all of the syllabus stuff, write down all of your assignments for the entire semester in your planner. Then, when everything is in there, highlight the major projects/quizzes/papers/tests with a specific color highlighter for each class. Even though this task may take a long time to complete it’s definitely worth it. You can always be on top of looking ahead at what is due next week and unless you mess up in forgetting to write some assignment down…you’ll always have one place to look for what’s due tomorrow when it’s one in the morning and you’re finally starting your homework.

5. Finally, last tip for today, use post-it notes. Make post-it notes and fill them with “to-do” lists. Things that you have to remember to get done the next day. Maybe they’ll even help you to set goals for yourself (got to get this done because you keep getting reminded of the assignment because it’s pasted right in front of your face), or they’ll help you just remember to buy stamps, go mail that letter, pick up milk, etc.

Well…that’s all I have for now. Hopefully these tips will help you organize your life a little bit. They’ve worked wonders for me (a perfectionist). I remember back to my first semester of college when I didn’t have this all figured out…and well things didn’t go so well!

Best of luck!

Gotta go clean!

-Liz

How to make a bed. The real “how to.”

Ok. Last time I teased you. I told you that I was going to explain how to make a bed, but I didn’t ever tell you.

Here it is.

HOW TO MAKE A BED:

1. Take the “bottom sheet” and unfold it. The “bottom sheet” is the one that has stretchy/elastic corners. From here, find the short sides (2) and the long sides (2). Hook the 2 corners of one of the short sides around the top of the bed. After this, hook the other two corners on the other side of the bed. After all of the corners of the sheet are on, just tuck any excess sheet under the mattress.

2. Next, take the “middle sheet” and unfold it. The “middle sheet” is the one that is just a giant rectangle with 2 long sides and 2 short. Take the unfolded sheet and lay it out evenly over the bed. After there is an even amount of material on each side, pull the bottom until the top part lines up with the end of the mattress (material will come off the bed on both sides and the bottom. From here, tuck the bottom corners of the “middle sheet” under the bed (leaving the top untucked in).

3. Next, do the same thing as step 2 with a blanket of some sort (if you desire extra warmth at night- like me- in cold climates).

4. Finally, place your comforter over the entire bed. The two sides should have the same amount of material hanging off on each side. The bottom should also have material hanging off. The top, however, should line up with the top of the bed (headboard).

5. Place your pillows at the top of the bed (near the headboard) and you’re finished. You’ve made your bed!

I hope you knew how to make a bed already and just needed a refresher course. If not, well…maybe you’ll get inspired!

Gotta go clean!

-Liz

A made bed!

Image from: http://www.ssargentstore.com/zoom/251058k.jpg

How to make a bed…a HISTORY. no joke.

So…many of my posts have been about my experiences living with messy people or cleaning tips that I’ve come up with. However, I’ve never really touched on the history of certain things.

As a result of that, I “Googled” some things. The first thing that I searched for was “how to make a bed.”

Everyone knows how to make a bed. However, some people choose to make their beds every day. I am one of those, must-make-the-bed types. I don’t know…I just can’t sleep in a bed that’s been unmade all day long. There’s just something about getting into a “made” bed.

Anyways, I found this website: http://hubpages.com/hub/How-To-Make-a-Bed.

Eventually I”ll explain how to make a bed. Here, though, I’m going to talk a little about the “history of the bed.”

The Mattress:

The Mattress was first found to exist in Egyptian culture. The first beds were developed around 1300 BCE when two makers got the idea to stuff a sack full with sand to use to sleep more comfortably on. They called it a “cuffer” or “bag filled with sand.” Then, Napoleon got the idea to fill his mattress with women slaves. (What?) From there, the English started using skins to pad the mattresses. Then in the 1500′s the French decided to fill their mattresses with human hair. However, that proved to be too difficult due to a lack of human hair…and well eventually, in 1850, a plantation owner in Mississippi, came up with the idea to use chicken feathers!

Buying into any of this nonsense? I hope not!

The fact of the matter is that the modern bed has evolved over time.

Hope this little story about the mattress caught your attention and amused some of you fellow neat freaks.

Gotta go clean!

-Liz

A bed?

Image from: http://www.monstersandcritics.com/people/bizarre/features/article_1419042.php/In_photos_Sand_hotel_on_Weymorth_beach_Dorset_Britain

Why are some people so messy?

Some people are just so messy. I don’t understand why. I’m obviously a neat freak- I can’t understand how it’s so easy to deal with trash and dirty clothes all over the floor.

My goal in this post is to try to understand a little bit more of why messy people are…well…..MESSY!

I’ve been talking to my roommate about why she’s so messy today. When I asked her she looked at me as if I were crazy. I mean I guess the question is a little funny to ask someone but it is genuine.

Why are some people so messy?

My roommate said that she’s messy because messes don’t bother her. She doesn’t mind searching for things in piles of junk, she doesn’t mind the dirt and grime of an uncleaned bathroom (shudder…gross). She told that what it comes down to is that she has better things to do with her time than clean. Those better things include: reading, writing, watching tv, eating, or sleeping. She claimed that cleaning takes up too much time! (Does it really take 3 hours to pick your socks up off of the floor?) I don’t think so!

Then, when I asked my other roommate and some other friends, once again they all said that they, too, had better things to do (or things that they would rather do…as so I interpreted the statements) than clean.

So it sounds like it comes down to laziness a little bit. I classify all of these things as laziness. Even though they may claim that they aren’t bothered by the mess, or that they have better things to do….the real reason is that they are lazy. They just don’t want to clean. The mess doesn’t bother them so they don’t clean. Therefore, if they were to clean- that would require extra effort that they neither feel the need to exert or desire to exert.

Laziness. That’s the key. That’s the reason why people are so messy (college students anyways…)

Well,

Gotta go clean!

-Liz

PS. Maybe I’ll spend some time looking into what others have to say…maybe there’s some scientific/psychological research other there for me to find???