Monday, August 6, 2012

Backpack Essentials for Every College Girl

Carly at The College Prepster recently posted about all the essentials she carried around in her tote bag for college. Instead of using a tote bag at college, I use a backpack. The problem is that my backpack is basically my life--I'm never in my dorm room. I'm either at class, the library, volunteering, downtown, or in a research lab. Since I'm always on the go, I have to bring everything with me. I wish I could use totes...there are some adorable ones out there! But alas, I wouldn't have enough room in them for everything.

If you're a backpack girl, here's all the essentials you've got to bring with you as you pave the way through your hectic, busy days!

Backpack Essentials


Starting with the backpack and going counter clockwise:

I bought a Northface backpack for college two years ago and it's still in perfect condition. It might be a little pricier than some of the more fashionable backpacks out there, but you're paying for quality. I also made sure to get a black backpack because it would match with anything and people wouldn't notice if it got dirty.

A wristlet is a must for any college girl. You can fit your school ID, keys, cell phone, money and debit cards all into one little pouch, therefore never losing anything! 

I'm lucky enough to own a Nook Color, so I always have that with me wherever I go. It has my teachers' PDFs on it, my textbooks, books for my English class, "just for fun" novels and a few magazines as well. It definitely has freed up some space in my backpack (and saved my back). Don't forget a cute cover for it so it doesn't get scratched.

Here my obsessive-compulsive side comes out: I use a cheap travel electronics bag to hold my cell phone charger, computer charger, Nook charger and extra headphones. You never know when these devices will run out of battery!

ALWAYS carry extra index cards with you. You never know when you might need them. Trying to make notecards out of looseleaf scrap paper doesn't work...trust me, I've tried.

I have a little makeup pouch that carries all of my Emergency Backpack Items. I'm saving that list for a different post!

Every college student always has a water bottle with them. Backpacks are perfect for water bottles, as they usually have those mesh holders for them at their sides. Plus, refillable water bottles are so much cheaper than continuously buying plastic ones.

I think a lot of people do this so it's not very innovative, but I have a binder for my Monday/Wednesday/Friday classes and Tuesday/Thursday classes, so I only have to carry one binder around with me each day. 

A flexible pencil pouch is essential. It's a pain to rifle through the bottom of your backpack, trying to find some stray pencils when you have your test starting in a minute. I'm a fan of these cute, colorful pencil pouches here

Finally, last but not least we have your computer! Even though most backpacks have a special padded section for your laptop, I still put a slip-on cover around it just in case. Hint of caution: don't buy your case at the Apple Store or right from Dell. They're so much cheaper on Amazon! 

I will be going into detail about some of these items in upcoming posts. What do you consider essential to carry in your backpack?

19 comments:

  1. I am a backpack girl to my core haha. I always had note cards on me. Flash cards were my life. I love Northface. Their stuff always last a long time.

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    1. If anything I always make sure to have notecards on me too. I think for almost every test I've written a batch of them up and used them to study. Glad I'm not the only person who's notecard-obsessed!

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  2. haha I use backpack too. :). Lovely post.




    http://lavidadenicol.blogspot.com

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    1. Thank you! I love my backpack, it's literally my life!

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  3. I carry practically everything in this post in my bag I take to uni too :P Great post :)

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    1. Thanks! I'm glad I listed all of the essentials. I never know when I'm going to need something, so I usually just end up taking everything with me to school!

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  4. Nice summary! In my last year of undergrad, I switched over to one of those roller backpacks just because the sheer amount of stuff I was carrying around was taking a toll on my back. And oh, I just made a button = button swap maybe? =D

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    1. I actually know a few people who switched to roller backpacks in order to carry all their MCAT books. It's great idea, and I'm sure it saved your back in the end! I'll definitely swap buttons with you...I'll get your button up after class today :)

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  5. I use a backpack and a tote! The tote is for days when I only have one or two classes or a test where I don't need to bring a lot of stuff! I love the space my backpack provides! Great list of stuff!

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    1. Thanks! I have a knockoff Longchamp that I use for days when I have final exams or if I only have one class. It's nice once in a while to give my back a break :)

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  6. Love using my backpack and totes! I love having my kindle with me for between classes.

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    1. My Nook is my lifesaver. I always used to read between classes in middle school, and now with my Nook I've been doing the same thing! I can get 10-12 pages of a fun book done before class starts.

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  7. I had a black NorthFace backpack all through college, and it's still in great condition! It's DEFINITELY worth the money! I lived in a college town that got a lot of rain & snow, and my NF backpack always kept my stuff dry :)

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    1. We get TONS of rain and snow too! I was a little hesitant about buying the NorthFace at first, but I'm so happy I purchased it. It's definitely held up through all of our crazy weather and it still looks almost brand new. Me and my trusty backpack have been through a lot, haha =)

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  8. Those are definitely the same essentials I carried around when I was in college. Love it!

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    1. Glad I'm not the only one who carries around this much stuff while in college! Thanks for commenting :)

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  9. Thanks for checking out my blog and for the follow! I'm now following you back.

    Oh man, I missed the linkup! I'll definitely be part of it if you're running it again next week. I'm a coffee addict alright!

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  10. Love it! I usually carry my long champ tote because it's easy for me to swing by my apartment between classes but on heavy load days or long days I carry a backpack with all the essentials. I'm neurotic about little pouches for everything too.

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    1. Glad I'm not the only one who has to use little pouches for everything! I always have my tote bag handy too, jut in case I don't have to carry around a lot that day and can save my back for once!

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