<p>Does my son need 2 sets of sheets for his dorm? My friends who have girls in college insist 2 sets are necessary, but I wonder. Our car is going to be really full as it is.</p>
<p>Well, my son certainly didn’t. LOL ;)</p>
<p>I have seen threads that suggest that you put two bottom sheets on a son’s bed and tell him to take the first one off at semester break.</p>
<p>I am providing 2 sets for S because of my eternal optimism and there’s room in the Tahoe.</p>
<p>I sent my son with 2 last year, but when he came home this summer he said he really only needed one, because he would put the same ones back on after washing. What he did want was two pillows, so he could prop himself up on the bed to read.</p>
<p>bethievt,
I gave my S two sets, and he just told me that he needed the 2 sets. When I asked him why, he said that he wouldn’t necessarily have time to wash the set he knew it was time to remove! So, he used the second set!</p>
<p>Sort of.
I live in VA where the weather is 90 + 100% humidity in the summer, and goes to the 20s routinely in the winter with not much in between (falls tend to be mild, but often go from 80 to 50 to 70 to 40 to 70 then winter in a matter of a few weeks…spring is cold/rain to warm/rain to hot/drought). Last year I had a set of jersey sheets and used them year round with a comforter, but I wished I had a set of normal cotton sheets. I think it had to do with having no A/C last year and the heat during the winter in the dorm was always on ‘high’ it seemed like. I have A/C this year in an on-grounds apartment, so things may be different, but I bought a set of 100% cotton sheets from BB&B for ~$40 and intend on using those aug-october, then late march/april-may and into the summer if I stay in on-grounds housing over the summer.</p>
<p>Is it necessary for two sets? Not if the college is in a climate that has a steady climate (not cold/warm/hot/freezing, repeat) or your son only likes one style of sheets. If, however, he likes different sheets for different seasons, by all means go for it. If he/you want the second set for convenience of not washing the sheets in one day every two weeks (they really only need that much washing…get a comforter for him to lay on top of to get dirty), don’t do it. It’s just wasted hamper space, wasted storage space, and I doubt he’ll ever open the second pack.</p>
<p>Do college kids really wash their sheets? I’d think some don’t (ewww)</p>
<p>Two sets definitely, even though even relatively fastidious college kids don’t seem to wash their sheets very often. But it’s good to have a clean set should the need arise (spillage, getting sick…) or if they decide to put them in the laundry and then want to make their beds again before retrieving them. A set of sheets and a pillow case will take up very little room but you can always order from BBB or elsewhere and have delivered to your S if space is really that tight in the car.</p>
<p>Most do. I washed mine every two weeks or so, give or take a week depending on when the next break was. Thursday was usually sheets-night, because I was always bogged down with the 2-3 loads on the weekends. Plus, that way I could wash a few other things with the sheets (towels, pair or two of jeans or socks or whatever) without consuming the washer with clothes and having a smaller load to do on the weekend. Some boys washed them only when their mothers brought them home. It just depends on whether the person likes clean sheets or not. Frankly, it’s the easiest washing load you could do (just rip em off, throw them in not worrying about colors, dry them without worrying about shrinking them, then ball them back up and put them back on your bed)</p>
<p>The main reason kids don’t need two sets of sheets (unless of want two sets for seasons’ changes) is simple: most buy a second set because of the convenience in that if they stick the sheets in laundry, then don’t get around to it, they have a clean set. However, they will soon learn that leaving stuff in the washer/dryer is bad news. Kids will want to do their own laundry and thus will move the other person’s stuff to any open space whether it be a table, counter, floor, whatever. It’s wise to be prompt about the laundry cycles in dorms, especially ones with 10 washers/dryers for 100 kids.
On that note: tues/wed/thursday afternoon and nights are the best to do laundry. Weekend nights come in next, followed by weekday nights. Sat/Sun afternoons are the worst.</p>
<p>Also- wash all sheets prior to leaving. Maybe even “test” them on a twin bed if you can. That way if your child hates them, they won’t just sit in their closet for a year.</p>
<p>S#1 only has one set, couldn’t convince him he needed a spare. I don’t ask and he doesn’t tell if they ever get washed during the school year. He puts his gear in storage for the summer and I always stress the need to store everything clean and dry so hopefully he starts the year with clean sheets. I’m guessing if there are any mishaps and the sheets aren’t ready timely he defaults to his sleeping bag (he has used it a number of times for weekend trips etc…never know when you might be sleeping on someone’s floor on some adventure away from campus).</p>
<p>D is gearing up to start college; she will probably use two sets due to her love for her flannel sheets when the weather gets cold (and it gets really cold where she’s heading). We’re currently debating real comforter (almost, it’s hypoallergenic) with duvet like she has at home vs. the standard dorm easy care wash and wear contained comforter. She wants just like home, I’m thinking more practical since she’s going to be living on top of it much more than at home. Nothing much more stubborn (or all knowing) than an 18 year old daughter about to go far far from home!</p>
<p>Confession-I can’t let my children leave for college for the first time without washing those brand new sheets at home first.</p>
<p>Here’s a trick to be used ONLY for freshmen students, first semester. Make sure that mom or dad makes the bed during move-in. Between the mattress pad (not egg crate) and bottom fitted sheet, securely place a $20 bill or your choice of denomination with a note that says something like, “Call me when you find this.” Then maybe you’ll have some idea of when he or she changed the sheets for the first time.</p>
<p>bluejay, that is TOO FUNNY!! I will have to remember this trick…</p>
<p>I sent 2 sets and the mattress topper. The only thing I know gets used is the soft blanket throw, which I think was less than $20 at BB&B. The topper was inconvenient.</p>
<p>Haha, great idea Bluejay :)</p>
<p>I liked having two sets of sheets not only for switching them out between washings, but for having for friends when they came to stay and needed something to put on the air mattress. I’m also coming back early this year for a summer program, and am glad to have the second set of sheets since the first will still be in storage.</p>
<p>My BF apparently thought that each set should stay on his bed for one semester. I hate to think of the state they would have been in if his roomate from fall semester hadn’t kindly offered to include them in his bag for the laundry service. The set from spring semester was almost unfit for the trashcan.</p>
<p>Boy, one set, bottom sheet only. At spring move out the second set was pristine and untouched.</p>
<p>bluejay</p>
<p>If you left a check instead of cash, then you would know.</p>
<p>^^^^
Hahah then, if they find it after the limit of three months or whatever the time limit is that the bank won’t honor the check after, it’s like punishment for not washing sheets! I guarantee you that if that happened to me, I’d wash them every week =P</p>
<p>I ended up getting two sets of sheets in order to get two pillowcases. Though surely extra pillowcases must have been sold separately.</p>
<p>Yes, they are – but pillowcases are surprisingly expensive in relation to sheets. So overall, it’s more cost effective to buy the set of sheets. </p>
<p>However, there is no particular need to have both sets of sheets from the outset. If space is tight, the second set can be shipped later.</p>
<p>Or you can do what I did with my daughter: I let her fly out to college on her own and figure the sheet thing for herself. She pulled the sheets from her bed at home and packed them – and whether she bought herself a second set, I’ll never know. (Second kids are so much easier than first ones, every step of the way… none of this stuff seems nearly as important the 2nd time around, and you can tell the younger sib to just ask the older one for advice on what is needed).</p>
<p>Bookworm ~ </p>
<p>just curious - why was the mattress topper inconvenient?</p>