<p>How that things are getting closer we are beginning to talk about what to bring. We will travel with her by plane.
A few questions- Are duffles better for her then suitcases. Seems like they would be easier to store.
Also since my D has not grown much since age 11 she owns a lot of clothes. I am having a hard time convincing her she can’t bring every piece of clothing she owns. And also that she should not buy anything new since she can’t even take all she already owns. How do the girls do it? And the funny thing about it is that her style hasn’t really changed much and runs to jeans, t-shirts and sweatshirts and yoga clothes most of it all looks pretty much alike.</p>
<p>Heres what I would do…have her take what she really wants- but she doesn’t need 6 blue tshirts, if you get my drift.</p>
<p>Sort her clothes and put them in piles on her bed. After she gets there and sees what everyone else is wearing, how much (or little) room she has, you can ship out extra clothes. Its not that expensive, takes about 4-10 days, and she will discover she doesn’t miss alot of it.</p>
<p>I think when she actually sees the dorm rooms, and the little dresser and the little closet she will realize she can’t bring everything.</p>
<p>The offer of shipping stuff out right away if necessary, may appease her.</p>
<p>Tell her to remember the freshman 15; that closet space is scarce (my S literally had no space to put his extra pair of shoes in his closet one year).
We found duffles easier and lighter.</p>
<p>Wait a minute Marite, thought your son was going to the Big H this Fall?</p>
<p>And a trunk is good too.
And kids throw clothes away big time at college. Stories abound of kids leaving their college apartments and dumping everything right out on the curb. And I know it happens because my daughter did it. I was appalled.</p>
<p>BHG:</p>
<p>Yes, S2 is going there. I was talking about S1, whose room senior year was the size of a broom closet. And he did not have that many clothes, either!</p>
<p>Hummm…
Is #2 excited? Bet he is.</p>
<p>freshman year my d didn’t have a closet- shehad drawers under her bed and a small armoire- luckily she isn’t a clothes horse- we brought a trunk that was useful as storage and additional seating- she kept her ( framed) backpack in it and blankets for guests.
They don’t need much right away- the weather will stay the same for a while, then they can decide what they can’t live without.
I laughed when my niece ran around trying to find a down coat and snow boots in august for upstate new york. so many great clothing web sites and until you are there you really don’t know what you will need.</p>
<p>kids also share, especially girls and my d was thrilled to have several friends who were her size, but ( different coloring) different taste to mix it up.</p>
<p>He is happy to be going, but right now, he is at math camp and enjoying himself very much. I expect that when he is home in another few weeks, he’ll say he wished it had lasted longer.
Talking of trunks, my H came to college with a huge trunk in which his mother had socked away 4 years’ worth of every conceivable clothes (which he wore for the next 10-15 years). I think the trunk went into storage, it was far too big for his room. Again, my S1 would not have had space for a trunk. When he got up from his desk, his chair scraped the side of his bed.</p>
<p>Marite- I don’t dare mention the freshman 15. Her college has all you can eat meal plan. She does plan on making use of the gym. Though her shape has changed over the last few years her weight has remained the same.
Citygirlsmom- your idea of sorting the clothes on the bed is great. She can then see how many tie-dyed shirts she owns. I will suggest bringing the favorites and then always having the option of sending a few more.
Backhandgrip- this is a kid who never threw a thing away in her life. Whether it a piece of clothing or a piece of schoolwork. I am forcing her to at least get rid of some of it before she leaves.</p>
<p>Ah Marite, Son already in hot pursuit of that Nobel Prize!!! Good kid. He will save the world, thank Goodness, someone needs to save us. And I bet Hus still has some of those clothes packed for him! Same here. When something sticks around 10, 20 yrs, I have to put it in the cedar chest for posterity. (ie. sell it on ebay as antique clothing)
Emerald ; Did your daughter go back to college? I remember she was taking some time off. How did that go for her?</p>
<p>Mom60; Maybe you can talk her into selling some of her treasured clothing on ebay. You would really be surprised at what sells. And I KNOW what’s hot is HOT. Once my daughter had her jeans stolen while she was in ballet class.And another kid, the time it took her to fold up the pants, the jacket had been stolen. Not because these things were valuable but because they were hot, like kids know the look they want, what someone else wears, and looks good in.</p>
<p>Well, H still has some suits dating back from 30 years ago in the closet; he hasn’t worn one since. Now, I see from various posts I will have to get a suit for S2. Alas, I don’t think I can recycle Dad’s suits. Retro is not even the word for them.</p>
<p>backhandgrip- I wish I could get her to part with them any which way. Ebay or even the thrift store. She is a packrat- and of the idea that you never know when you will want to wear something. She even has a drawer full of her brothers old quicksilver shirts that she wears. She gets it from her grandmother. My Mom in law never gets rid of anything. So the grandchildren have been lucky to pick up some great old now considered vintage t shirts that had belonged to their Dad and aunts that grandma had saved. I certainly hope my D isn’t planning on saving all of this for her children one day.</p>
<p>When my D was packing for a three week trip to Georgetown, we did the clothes on the bed. WHen she saw she wanted to take 5 light blue shirts, she realized she needed to make some choices. </p>
<p>And if the clothes are on the bed, it will be easy for you to find what she needs.</p>
<p>And to box up in clear plastic bins stacked in the corner when you turn her room into the media center or sewing room!!!</p>
<p>My D is sorting what to take, what to leave for visits home, and the rest is going into a garage sale - she gets the $. Great incentive for cleaning out that closet and kid stuff in the room!</p>
<p>D has informed me that she needs several formal outfits for Harvard. When she was there for Admitted Students weekend, the suite of girls she stayed with outfitted her for the evenings and clued her in as to her needs :)</p>
<p>I am getting my daughter rolling duffle bags. L.L. Bean has nice ones in various sizes, as does The North Face. (My daughter will need the rolling duffle, because she is not very strong.)</p>
<p>My d also has not grown much over the years and has recently been purging things, giving them away or selling them at consignment shops. </p>
<p>I just bought her a nice black dress that can be dressed up/dressed down. </p>
<p>I have told her that she needs to take things that can be worn many ways.</p>
<p>Girls are hopeless. S tells a story about a friend who showed up with a full wardrobe of clothes which were packed up and replaced in
October-fall break take home summer bring back fall
November-Thanksgiving take home fall bring back early winter
December-Christmas …you get the idea and this is at quirky Grinnell, can’t imagine what happens at schools where fashion actually matters.</p>
<p>I’ll agree that ON AVERAGE girls bring more stuff to dorms, but what applies to the group doesn’t apply to the individual. When we moved my brother into his freshman dorm 4 years ago, one of his roommates unpacked 10 pairs of sneakers, along with other shoes, a ton of clothes, etc. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry too much about kids wanting to bring a ton of stuff freshman year. When you’re leaving home for the first time you want to make sure your room at college is going to feel like home, and it ususally takes living at college for a little while to want an uncluttered dorm room rather than a room full of stuff to remind you of home.</p>
<p>
beck86nj - So true. Mom60 - You could try this: Let your D take whatever she thinks she needs. Have her plan all the packing in whatever suitcases and boxes will hold it all, with her purchasing what she needs beyond what you reasonably already have for her. Have her haul whatever won’t fit on the plane to the UPS store or post office where she’ll pay for the shipping. Have her handle her own baggage/boxes at the airport since she’ll be doing this shortly on her own anyway. At semester break, or the end of the year, she’ll do all of this in reverse. I’ll bet that this hassle combined with the logistics of dorm living will convince her you were right (but not that she’d admit it!).</p>