We have the topper @SouthernHope posted on our guest room bed, and it is a winner.
Sheets for our kids came from Target, but were bought years before college for some summer program that also had xl twin beds.
Kids went shopping for towels in our linen closet. I figured if anyone deserved new towels, it was us parents. Plus…the somewhat older ones are soft and dry quickly.
Kids took comforters from their beds at home to college. They liked them and wanted them.
You can get everything you need for sheets at Target, BBB, and look at LLBean too. They have xl sheets as well, and when they go on sale they are inexpensive. Try homegoods and TJMaxx too.
Don’t spend a fortune…because frankly, these linens will be well used.
We actually got the egg crate topper and an expensive and thick mattress pad for our kids. The egg crate thing went into the trash every year at the end of the school year (it was $12 at the time). The thick mattress topper came home and got a very good washing and went back with a new egg crate.
If the mattress is vinyl, then you don’t need to enclose the mattress. If it is cloth, do by a good, zip off enclose. Why? Bedbugs. Yep, even colleges have had issues with bedbugs in the past. Bedbugs don’t discriminate, they like state schools as well as ivy league schools.
We got two sets of XL twin sheet sets at Target in November of their HS junior or senior year, when they were on clearance for 70% off. Same with the egg crate toppers. So we had to store them for a year or two - it was totally worth it to save that much. The headache for D was sending them across the country to Stanford. But she didn’t need a heavy comforter out in Palo Alto.
After 3 years of use, for S, we found a set of XL Twin Flannel sheets from LL Bean, at their outlet store marked down 50% Off. Presumably some folks order Twin XL instead of twin for home use, only to find they aren’t right. So he got a better set for his senior year, even though he would have been fine using his original set.
Target will open it’s back to college in June. I see that they have taken a tip from Bed Bath and Beyond and now you can order online and pick up at the Target near your school.
FYI, don’t assume a twin mattress topper (and bedding) will work all 4 years - at my D’s school, the on-campus sophomore apartments all have full size beds. She also had/has a full bed in her off-campus apts for Jr/Sr year. So we only got one year out of the twin bedding and topper. She is, however, still using her freshman twin comforter, which she loves. It fits fine, it just doesn’t hang down over both sides of the bed, which doesn’t bother her.
Thanks for your input guys! For around $100 I got 2 sets of cotton sheets (high thread count like I’m used to, just with pretty patterns), a nice pillow (better than the one I normally have) and 3-inch memory foam - not from Target, but I really like all of them (I dislike gel memory foam). I still need some type of mattress protector and am looking around - bed bugs aren’t common in the area and I’m not sure just what to get. My parents suggested getting a full one essentially in plastic and just folding it to fit.
@CharlotteLetter Glad you found some bedding you like and sounds like you got some good deals, too!
Keep in mind if you will have a twin xl bed next year, that is longer than a full size, so not sure those sizes would match up for the mattress protector. Also, plastic could be crinkly (loud) and hot, so maybe look for something a little softer.