News Taffy

Contrary to popular belief, there are very few things that a student starting college needs. Of course towels and bedding and clothes hangers (unless you plan on throwing your clothes on the floor which is COMPLETELY understandable), but really that’s about all there is to it. However, there is one item that you, as a new freshman will need. You will probably need a few of them, actually.

I’ve spent the better part of this week packing up my apartment to head home for a few short weeks before returning to Jonesboro. Leases have a funny way of sneaking up on you when you live off campus, but that’s for another time. If there’s anything at all that a college kid will need to make their life a squillion (it’s real—look it up) times better, it would have to be plastic tubs. No cardboard boxes, no suitcases, (though you probably do need at least one of those with you) just tubs. Here’s why:

1. Plastic tubs are great for organizing what goes where in your new place. You can get a few different colors for different areas of your space that way when you are packing up everything, you can put bathroom stuff in one tub, bedroom stuff in another and so on and so forth. They are easy to carry and you don’t have to worry about the bottom falling out while taking them up ten flights of stairs. They’ve got nifty lids as well to keep all your stuff stowed away safely on the drive to campus.

2. Don’t spend money on a sorting hamper because, chances are you will never sort your clothes and it’s really just an unnecessary expense. These nifty plastic tubs that you brought all of your cool new stuff in make great hampers and laundry baskets. Keep them stored in your closet or under your bed and throw all your dirty clothes in it. Now you can easily carry the tub back down those ten flights of stairs to the laundry room and you’re still able to easily fit your detergent and softener in the tub too. *Have you ever tried washing dishes in a bathroom sink? Have you ever washed dishes at all? No? Well, if you practice some before leaving for school, that would probably be very beneficial and the next use for a tub will make a lot more sense.

3. In your first dorm room, you will eventually have to wash something. It doesn’t matter if you buy paper plates and plastic forks, you’ve got to be able to cook your Ramen and that takes some form of bowl. That bowl will eventually get dried on, crusty Ramen remnants stuck to it and you will need to wash it. You might actually have to wash several dishes at one time considering you will put this chore off as long as possible. Most dorm rooms only have a bathroom sink and it’s usually too small to fit many things in. So, with that said, it is a very wise decision to find a smaller tub that can easily fit on the counter and can easily be filled by the faucet. It might be difficult to fit the rim of said tub in the sink enough to fill it, but college is hard. You know this. Regardless, this tub gives plenty of space for anything to soak and for you to effectively wash your dishes. (This is also great for any clothes you might need to hand wash.)

4. Finally, let’s say you’re having yourself a fancy dinner with your new found boyfriend or girlfriend at your dorm. You just found a great microwave tortellini recipe that is sure to please (Trust me, it’s a winner. It will be posted eventually), but you need a good setting. Well, that plastic tub sitting under your bed can easily be dusted off, turned over and a clean sheet thrown over it to make for a cute little table in the middle of your room. Use pillows to sit on. It’s cute—go with it.

So, now you have a few different ways to use those plastic tubs that you’ve carried everything to college in (including the kitchen sink given that it is one). One thing you learn from your first year of college is creativity. You won’t survive it if you can’t be creative with your limited resources so come up with some other uses for those tubs. They’ll be around for a while, so get some use of them.

See ya around campus!
- Beth