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Fall dorm move-in vs. Spring move-out
crepes
561 replies32 threads Member
Our daughter's semester will be over at the end of this week and we are driving to her campus this weekend to get her moved out. She's our first to go away and I know now that we overpacked last Spetember and have already brought home a few things that she didn't need (a microwave, extra comforter) I have to say, though, that we found move-in to be relatively straghtforward and easy.
We've mentioned our upcoming move-out to a few people and the responses seem uniformly negative: not fun, a lot of hard work, stressful, bring lots of garbage bags, just rushing to throw out stuff at the end of the day.
For those of you who have been through this, what has your experience been? Any good survival tips?
Thanks in advance!
69 replies We've mentioned our upcoming move-out to a few people and the responses seem uniformly negative: not fun, a lot of hard work, stressful, bring lots of garbage bags, just rushing to throw out stuff at the end of the day.
For those of you who have been through this, what has your experience been? Any good survival tips?
Thanks in advance!
This discussion has been closed.
Replies to: Fall dorm move-in vs. Spring move-out
The excitement of moving in and starting something new is not there, just the vacuuming, the wiping down, the lugging stuff to the car.
To be honest, I wish we had done the same with the kid who went to college 2 hours from home.
The main difference between move in and move out...at our kids' schools during move in, there were a ton of upperclassmen to help schlep the stuff, and those big rolling laundry bins to move things in. At move out...you are on your own...period.
We took black trash bags for anything soft...clothes, linens, etc. and some boxes for the other stuff...like books and decor. We schlepped a fridge back and forth too...ridiculous.
We told out kid that anything that didn't fit into our van needed to be tossed.
I will tell you, by the time he was a senior, he moved in and out in a sedan.
And we always show up with a few boxes, black trash bags, and a swiffer (with many refills).
I'm not too worried about her cleaning out her room. She and her roommate can handle that on their own. I can't believe her first year is already coming to an end.
I have to say that the reviews are great. We live 20 minutes from an Ikea and have to head in that direction on Wednesday. The website says that they have 207 of them in stock so we will get a batch of them. We've been using the zipper-less shopping bags for years and like them but these look even better for moving stuff.
My daughter says that she's packed a suitcase full of clothes already which is a surprise, she has been moving more slowly since having mono in February. So I'm cutting her some slack and trying to be patient. @happy1 I'll try to remember to keep smiling!
And as I have mentioned many times in moving tip threads (and sorry if you heard before) use yard trash bags upside down with hole poked in bottom for a garment bag for stuff hung in closet. Hangers through the hole (can rubberband together to secure if you want), tie together at bottom, fold, and smoosh into any crevice available in car.
post edit: paper towels and pray for a good parking spot.
After my son's freshman year, because my husband was sick that day, I ended up driving the 4 hours to pick up my son, planning on being able to quickly pack the car, turn around, and make the return trip.
First, my son wasn't ready and still doing some packing.
Second, many of the kids on his floor had early flights (my son had a later final project deadline), ditched stuff, and flew out. Signs had been posted that all refuse needed to be brought to the dumpsters, but the majority of his floor just dropped the garbage off by the elevators. If it was left there, residents of the floor would be billed for the personnel cost of moving it to the dumpsters. My son, his one remaining floormate, and I probably made two dozen trips with other people's garbage/recycling in order to avoid the fees.
It was 85 degrees and humid; there was no AC in the dorm.
It was miserable.
A planned-on 9-hour day took 12.
Move out: Kid has been studying for finals. Last final is the day of move out. Everyone is trying to get out at the same time. Very rudimentary packing so we have to pack things up before we can load. We can't find the RA and D wants to meet with some friends before we leave and some friends are unavailable so she is a little surly. When we get home the house explodes with all of the stuff brought home from the dorm.
It's still great to get them home:)
All of that said, I helped my daughter move in, but she has always moved herself out, so while move-out was much more difficult and time consuming for her, it was easier for me. When she lived in the dorms, she rented a storage unit for summer for things she wouldn't need until she returned to school. That helped with things fitting in the car, but involved an extra step on each end of the process. Once she moved off-campus, she stayed in the same off-campus apartment for two years, so no move-out/storage was required after the first year. There's a lot to be said for choosing your off-campus apartment wisely and staying there for the duration.