<p>How sweet of your dd! I would have cried, too!!</p>
<p>Sounds like your daughter wrote a good letter. I like to treat people assuming they are well-meaning until proved otherwise. I also find that if I think about what reaction of mine is likely to bring out the best in others, that things tend to run more smoothly. So while cptofthehouse has a point, I’d much rather assume that this girl really just has too much time on her hands this summer.</p>
<p>Or she could have a mom like me who needs a list and a plan for absolutely everything.</p>
<p>Looks to me like your DD handled this so well! Southmoon, she sounds very considerate and you should be a very proud mom!</p>
<p>There’s no sharing in the cost…because that implies shared ownership…and they may not be living together after a year.</p>
<p>Each person buys what they want to allow others to use…which entitles them to own the item at the end of the year.</p>
<p>Wow. I am impressed. </p>
<p>Always compliment first, then put the blame on yourself.</p>
<p>I’ll bring a butterfly chair and a microwave (I hope the airline let us check it in) .</p>
<p>If the microwave oven gets checked by itself, you may be paying more to ship it then it would cost to buy a new one at - say - Wal-Mart.</p>
<p>Wow, it sounds like your daughter did a great job! 
Good for her!</p>
<p>53 items, that must have been quite a list!</p>
<p>I’m still reeling from $120 to rent a little refrigerator. Heck, you can buy a nice new midsize one for less than that. Home depot has 1.7 and 2.4 cubic foot ones for less than $100, and the nice sized 4.4 cubic foot ones for $128. Those include a freezer compartment… Microwaves are often less than $40 at target…</p>
<p>^It’s much cheaper to purchase a refridgerator, but not everyone has the room or the means to transport one to and from the college. Our son drives himself to college and moves everything in by himself. He doesn’t have room in his car for a refridgerator. For us, the $129 cost to rent one for the year is worth the convenience. We could have rented a smaller one for about $89 but upgraded to one with a separate freezer section. The refridgerator will be waiting for him in his room. At the end of the year, all he has to do is clean it out and they’ll come to pick it up.</p>
<p>oftentimes, you have to rent what the college dictates you can get. For both my girls (Baylor and UCLA) who have gone/are currently in college, if they wanted a fridge , it had to be the refridge/microwave combo (fridge turned off when the microwave was in use) which RENTED for $400/year. OUCH!!</p>
<p>mom2012and14 has the right idea.
"There’s no sharing in the cost…because that implies shared ownership…and they may not be living together after a year.</p>
<p>Each person buys what they want to allow others to use…which entitles them to own the item at the end of the year. "</p>
<p>Maybe a contract wouldn’t bee a bad idea. And keep the reciepts.
I can see where this would lead to problems at the end of the year, but the stuff will all be trashed anyway. And it will be junk to begin with if they shop at Ikea. They have products that looks cool, but will not hold up to college life.</p>
<p>A peripheral comment from one who was in Tar-jay yesterday afternoon:</p>
<p>The shopping frenzy around Back To School is enough to drive a normal shopper crazy! The hype and hoopla about decorating the dorm room is akin to creating the mounds of presents decorating the floor under the Christmas tree. It is not surprising that incoming freshman, in their first ‘place of their own’ are literally buying into the commercial spectacle that the Back To School season has become. </p>
<p>I was there to purchase things for an event my business is holding this weekend. I feel like I barely escaped with my life … err … my wallet! The place was full of crazed moms with kids from 3-20 all having arguments and control issues … ACK!!!</p>
<p>My dds stuff from Ikea held up great…towels huge and still super soft, hanging closet bag perfect, tall metal shelf to hold clock, glasses, etc in lofted bed, wheeled tv cart held dishes, snacks, etc. Now, when ds goes next year, not sure what he’ll care about, use or trash!</p>
<p>dds roomie a second in the family to college so wasn’t interested in buying extra stuff or matching either and since they went “potluck” on the match, neither was my dd…wanted what she liked and curtains provided by univ as was fridge/micro combo (warning to turn on while on floor to make sure any “goo” falls onto the floor and doesn’t ruin new carpet!).</p>
<p>They did agree to split carpet cost, as friend had advised that it would be trashed and they would want to throw away. We bought, overpriced from housing…they delivered but did not unroll…took forever to get under all the furniture so wished we had bought a smaller size, and we moved in first so did ourselves. End of year, roomie decided she wanted to save rug and clean herself but wanted us to help roll it back up…told my dd she could help cut it up to throw away or roomie could deal with it herself after we left. She was from the area so not like she didn’t have nearby help.</p>