Tips for College Move-Ins, Without the Pain
(NewsUSA) - Moving your belongings - the Xbox and its accessories, television and DVDs, shoe collection and clothes - to your college dorm can be a pain in the back, neck and arms.
Lifting and carrying boxes, furniture and other heavy items can strain your muscles, leaving you in too much pain to enjoy your newfound freedom.
The maker of Absorbine Jr. products, W.F. Young Inc., gives the following advice to new college students about to make the big move:
- Pack for dorm-living. Many words can describe dorms, but "large" isn't usually one of them. So, storing heavy suitcases can become a problem. Pack your clothes in laundry bags - you'll need them anyway - or trash bags.
- Use a cart or dolly. Many universities provide carts to help students move their belongings, but unless you're a real early bird, you'll have to wait to get one. Use your college smarts, and buy a cheap dolly from a home-improvement store instead.
- Lift with care. Before you lift something heavy, stand with your feet apart and planted on the ground. Use your legs, not your back, to lift the object, unless you want to spend your first night away from home in the university's health clinic.
- Take breaks. If constant trips up your new dorm's narrow stairs make you tired, stop and rest with a bottle of water. Small breaks through the day will keep you awake and alert for you first dorm party.
- Don't move alone. Ask your roommate or neighbor if you need help moving something heavy. Now's the time to make new friends!
- Plan for pain relief. Pack over-the-counter products like aspirin or Absorbine Jr., a liquid whose botanical extracts can help relieve minor moving-related aches and strains.
College students should keep Absorbine Jr. around, anyway. Extreme frisbee games can cause scrapes, bruises and muscle aches. Absorbine Jr. also helps stop the itch of athlete's foot - an infection you risk getting every time you step in the dorm's shared shower.
You can find Absorbine Jr. products at drugstores, supermarkets and mass retailers.
For more information, visit www.absorbine.com.