How to break your toxic habit of overpacking: 

Step one: Recognize the problem

You have a checked bag, a carry-on, and a personal item for your 2 week break. You’ve overwhelmed the Gambier Coach. You’re hitting every person on the plane as you make your way to your seat. Everyone is upset and your frail body is giving out.

Step two: Stop the problem

You don’t need to pack your parka for spring break. Not even for emergencies. There will be no emergencies. It’s been 80° every day in your warm hometown since February.

I followed these steps back in February and I was determined to keep up my new lifestyle when I returned to campus in March to pack up my room. I thought I was so clever and mature when I only allowed myself to bring home my summertime bare necessities. Now it’s September and I’m starting to get cold. The vermin and pests are catching sweet whiffs from my boxes. I was naive, foolish, overly optimistic; I thought I would be reunited with my precious items in August, but I was so wrong. Here are just a few of the things I left in storage that were a Big Mistake

• An 80% full bottle of sriracha 
  • it has a shelf life of two years but I think I forgot to wipe the layer of crust off the tip
• Every single pair of jeans I own
  • I didn’t wear pants once last summer! The only reason I would possibly need jeans is if by some wild coincidence this whole COVID thing doesn’t go away and we cant go back to school… but that seems unlikely hahahahahahahahahaha wow that would be so funny
• Every single long sleeve shirt I own
  • see above
• All of my makeup 
• A bag of pre-cooked lentils
  • As long as nothing pointy punctures the bag it should be fine. Unfortunately I packed it in the same box as my perfectly pointy utensils. 
• A moldy fridge 
  • We only had three hours to pack and were in the middle of a national cleaning supplies shortage. I’m not gonna apologize for this one.
• The books I forgot to sell back at the end of first semester that I was going to sell back in August
• All of my academic abilities