Suppose you’re about to make a pizza. You open the fridge and take out what you think you’ll need—pizza dough, a pound of pepperoni, a large bowl of mushrooms, and 8 cups of cheese.

Taking it all in, you suddenly realize that all of these ingredients will never fit on your 7-inch crust. You now are forced to make some difficult decisions: What will you use? What will you skip? And how will you arrange your ingredients so they won’t fall off into the oven and make a gooey mess?

Much like fitting a ton of ingredients onto a tiny pizza crust, packing clothes for college requires you to make some pretty difficult decisions. In both cases, some basic principles apply that will help you make the right decisions. You can learn more about these principles in The Mystical Pizza E-Kit available of download at www.themysticalpizza.com.

Whether you share a room or have your own room in college, your space is probably smaller than what you have been used to. Not only that: this tiny room has to function as a bedroom, a study area, a living room, and a storage closet.

Living in these small rooms can affect your body, mind and spirit, leaving you feeling boxed in, restless and unfocused. When your small room is overcrowded with too much clothing, your physical movement is restricted and you may start to feel blocked from achieving your personal goals. However, with a little planning, and a little know-how, you can transform your college room into a comfortable place to sleep, study and hang out.

The amount of clothing you bring to your small room, where you put it and how you store it can create either a feeling of spaciousness or confinement. To feel more relaxed and comfortable in your college room, follow these two steps:

• Step 1: Bring only what you need, use, love and will fit

• Step 2: Have a place for everything

Step 1: Bring Only What You Need, Use, Love and Will Fit

Determine Your Storage Space

To ensure you bring clothing that fits in your new room, learn about the storage and floor space available to you before moving in. Get a floor plan, ask upper class students for advice, and/or take an online virtual tour of rooms or apartments in your building.

Note how many storage pieces there are for each student and measure or estimate the dimensions of the closet, bureau, shelves and desk. How many drawers are in each, and how big are they?

If you have no way to estimate the amount of storage space, plan on taking whatever will fit into a small bureau and narrow closet. After all, you can always bring in more items later if you discover you have enough room.

Determine What Clothing to Bring

As you plan what to bring, ask five questions about each item:

• Do I love it?

• Will I need it?

• Will I use it?

• Does it express who I am now, or who I want to become?

• Will it fit?

Be sure you can answer "yes" to the last question and to at least one of the other questions; otherwise, leave the clothes at home.

Next, separate what you know you will wear from what you think you might wear.

Place the clothing you’re unsure of into a box in your home bedroom and ask your parents to send it if you find you need them later.

There are various ways to ensure you’re bringing a balanced group of clothing with you to your new room. For instance, make decisions based on need and how often you want to do laundry: If you want or need more of one item, bring less of another.

The goal is to have a place for everything. If your storage space overflows, energy gets stuck there. Then energy in your brain gets stuck, creating confusion and slowing your thought processes.

Many students bring not just all their socks, but almost every item of clothing they own. In order to hold them all, they buy large plastic storage bins which are often crammed under a bed or stacked against the wall. Not only does the excess clothing take up valuable space, but the synthetic containers outgas toxins, also called volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which affect respiration. The more plastic in your building, the bigger the problem for everyone!

So what’s a viable alternative, you ask?

To avoid taking up precious space with storage containers, limit the clothing you bring with you. Make sure your clothing is appropriate for the climate, your planned activities, and your college culture.

Then observe the 100% Clothing Rule: only bring the clothing you are sure you’ll actually wear. Here’s a bonus: when you’re wearing clothes you feel comfortable in, you are more likely to feel authentically you! Again, if it’s something you might need but you’re not sure of, leave it in a convenient place at home, and have it shipped if you need it. There’s no point in having more pizza than you can eat, or more stuff than you can store!

If you do require extra storage, use containers made of fabric, cardboard or some other natural material.

Another reason to bring a small-size wardrobe to college is that once you get there, meet new people and have new experiences, you and your clothing style could change.

Set aside a clothing budget to purchase some signature items that are part of your college culture. At Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, Jack Rogers sandals are popular foot wear, while at the University of Vermont, students wear Pategonia or Northface down vests!

Step 2: Have a Place for Everything

Store Small Items in Natural Storage Containers and Ottomans

When many small objects are scattered throughout your room, there is no place for the eye to rest, and that can make it hard to relax and focus. To remedy this, be sure you have a place for everything.

Bring baskets or natural storage containers (made from cardboard, rubber or bamboo) to store small items like belts and scarves. Know the dimensions of the shelves and horizontal surfaces in your room and think about what you’ll be storing before buying the containers.

Creative Closets

Although closets often have only a rod for hanging clothes, with a little bit of ingenuity, it’s possible to create more space for effective storage in almost any closet.

Closet Storage Tips

• Use the closet wall to hang flat items like jewelry and accessories.

• Hang shoe bags and sweater bags from the closet rod.

• Organize with storage containers, shoe racks and shelves.

Following these guidelines will assist you in selecting the right clothes to bring with you to college.