What to Bring to Rehab and What to Leave at Home
Here’s the truth before the checklist. You can arrive at NorthStar Regional with nothing at all and be just fine. Clients have come in with only the clothes they were wearing. They were given everything, down to socks.
Your driver will even help you pack if packing feels like too much today. But maybe getting a bag ready helps make the choice feel real. If so, here is the practical list, from the team that welcomes people each day.
Licensed Treatment Programs
Founded 2015
Addiction and mental health care in one system
Multiple Campuses
Across the Twin Cities metro
MN Department of Health: Licensed
MN Department of Human Services: Licensed
The short answer
Bring Yourself and We'll Handle the Rest
Worry about packing stops real admissions. People delay the call because they can’t face the closet, don’t own the “right” things, or are ashamed of what they would be arriving with. So hear this clearly: there is no packing list you can fail at NorthStar Regional. From day one, our team sets clients up with clothing, toiletries, and every practical need, because a bag should never stand between a person and treatment.
If you’re taking our ride in, the help starts before the front door. Your driver can help you gather your things, and the car is stocked with water, electrolytes, and a meal for the trip. If a family member is packing for someone else, the same list below works. Our guide for parents and our guide for spouses and partners cover everything beyond the bag.
“Come with nothing or with everything, and we’ll help you find what you need.”
The NorthStar Regional promise
The practical list
What to Pack and What to Leave Home
About two weeks of comfy clothes covers it, and there is laundry on campus. Everything here is just a suggestion, except the medications. Those matter.
Bring if you can
What to Pack
- Your medications, in their original labeled bottles. If your safety depends on one, like insulin or seizure medication, bring enough to stay safe until we arrange more.
- ID and insurance card if you have them. They speed things up; missing them never stops an admission.
- Comfy clothes that fit the weather. About two weeks’ worth. Plus something for the gym and the outdoors, and clothes for whatever season it is in Minnesota.
- Glasses, contacts, and the personal care basics you like. We give you the basics either way.
- A journal, a book, a few photos: small reminders of home are worth the space.
- Your phone and charger. Phones are allowed, with use during set times each day so the clinical hours stay focused. Your counselor will walk you through the schedule when you arrive.
- Key phone numbers, written down as a backup. Family, employer, probation officer, and anyone your counselor may need to reach.
Leave at home
What to Skip
- Alcohol, drugs, and paraphernalia. We do not allow drugs on campus at all. There is zero tolerance for them. Prescribed medications, including controlled ones, come in their original labeled bottles and are reviewed by nursing at intake
- Anything with alcohol in it: mouthwash, some sprays and colognes. Intake will check labels with you. No lecture attached.
- Weapons of any kind.
- Valuables and jewelry, beyond one or two sentimental items. Treatment is no place to worry about a watch.
- Large amounts of cash. A small amount is plenty.
- Clothing that promotes drugs, alcohol, or violence.
Why the short list of rules
Why We Have Packing Rules
The don’t-bring list isn’t about control. Every client deserves a safe place to recover, and the few hard rules exist for exactly that reason.
Safety
A Campus You Can Trust
No drugs, no weapons, no exceptions. You’re walking away from chaos; the campus can’t invite it back in.
Medical care
Nursing Reviews Everything
Your medications get checked at intake and managed safely from there. Medical needs are handled right away on admission. Original bottles make that faster and safer.
Forgot something?
We Fix It, Not You
Forgotten chargers, missing basics, the coat you left on the chair: the team handles it. Families can also bring approved items after admission.
Already waiting for you
What NorthStar Regional Provides
Bedding and a made bed, campus dining with three meals a day, toiletries and hygiene basics, and laundry access. Basic clothing is provided if you arrive without it. The structure is provided too. You get a full daily schedule, a counselor, and a mental health professional on campus. There are also gyms and outdoor space, and evenings with real activities.
You will complete your comprehensive assessment, and from there you will have your plan, your team, and your daily routine. What you packed will not matter. Here is how the rest of admissions works, and one call starts all of it.
Questions we hear every day
Common Packing Questions
Can I bring my phone to rehab?
Yes. You can use your phone at set times during the day. Admissions will go over the schedule with you before you arrive, and your family can reach the campus if they need to.
What should I do about my medications?
Bring each current medication in its original, labeled bottle. This matters most for medications your safety depends on, like insulin or seizure medication. Bring enough of those to last until our team can arrange more. Our nursing staff reviews all your medications at intake and starts on any medical needs from the day you’re admitted.
What if I have nothing to bring?
You can still come. Some clients have arrived with only the clothes they were wearing, and we gave them what they needed, down to socks and underwear. We help with clothing, toiletries, and other practical needs from your first day. You don’t need to have anything packed to start treatment.
Can my family bring me things after I’ve been admitted?
Yes. Families can bring approved items after admission, and the campus team will explain drop-off logistics and what’s allowed.
Should I bring cash or my wallet?
Bring your ID and insurance card if you have them; they help, though their absence never stops an admission. Keep cash minimal and leave valuables and jewelry at home.
What about my car?
If you don’t have one, transportation is part of admissions: we pick you up. If you do have one and need to bring it, tell us on the first call and we’ll work with you on where it can stay.
Admissions
Make the First Call and We'll Take It from There
Confidential, no obligation, and answered by someone who knows what you’re facing and cares to listen.