Several people have asked about our college move in ( this week is our 7 th). Now This isn’t for everyone (some people like a quick in and out) but it’s right for our family and some may find it helpful:
We cordon off an area of my home office and empty out the closet in there the summer before move in. As things are accumulated for college they go in there and clothes are hung up. There is a folder in there where we put all forms and papers needed for move in. Pens are clipped to the folder.
We attend the local Bed Bath and Beyond college night ( sign up online in advance) for the 20 percent off everything coupon. This can be reused multiple times. We do a bed bath and beyond trip for pack and hold about 3 weeks before move in
we mAke hotel reservations for move in early in the summer. For us move in time is a mini family vacation. We spend 3 days typically in the college town. We have several meals together ( we get open table reservations in advance) and enjoy the area and time with our kid.
we have a “first out” duffle that has cleaning supplies, drawnr liners, water bottles, bedding and tools,scissors, hooks, door stop, trash bags , measuring tape and the folder I mentioned above. Fan is also accessible for first out status
hanging clothes on hangers are tied together in bunches with hair ties ( much stronger than rubber bands) and put in sturdiest garbage bags one can buy. The bags should be the kind you tie at top. This becomes the bottom. The bottom of the bag is the top of the " garment bag" a hole is cut in the middle of the very " bottom now top" and the hangers put through that hole. The bags go directly in the car. Once there things are hung directly in the closet and the bags and bands cut off.
once in town we make trips to Bed Bath for our pack and hold and target for toiletries. And when they are in apartment to the grocery.
Well, @maya54 , I sure wish you’d posted this earlier in the summer! My son flew back to college today, and he was literally throwing stuff in suitcases at 11 last night! His lack of organization makes me crazy.
But my daughter is moving from our house to an apartment in a few weeks, so I’m going to bookmark your post for her.
Thanks for the description of your system. The one thing I’ve done for all moves is to give a green light for use of the living room as a staging area. It’s the biggest, most-used room in the house and I’m happy to have it filled with piles of stuff when the trade-off is getting to spend more time with the child who’s preparing to move.
I have no idea how baby kid handled moving her stuff in and out of dorms because the only time I helped her with move in was when she was a freshman. We did help her pack after graduation.
We use cascading hangars so there is a little work to be done after you take them out of the garbage bags, but agree, it is a time saver to bring clothes on hangars. If you are using underbed storage drawers, pack those bins exactly as you will use them in the dorm room. That way, when you arrive, you take the bin out of the trunk and it goes directly under the bed - no unpacking/repacking of the bins necessary
The hangers in the garbage bags was the best tip I ever got and we have used it several times - moving my daughter in and out of dorms and also into her current apartment. She recently counted that she has lived in 8 different places in the past 5 years (dorms and a couple of apartments) - so she has moved her stuff a lot. We also used this method for season changes and winter break (bringing in the winter stuff and home the summer stuff at parents weekend). She saved the bags after move in (stuffed them all together into one bag) so they can be used again at move out (or on the move into the next location).
LOL- -I actually do have 7 kids, that’s why I asked.
Let me add this up. That’s 4×4=16, plus 1 (kid #5 is a freshman), plus 3 years of grad school for kid #2 who returned every summer, moved to a different apartment each year. That makes 20 since 2006, often two at a time. I just went to my first actual move-in last week. H helped with 2 of them, I think. I have been involved with packing for most of them. My best advice is: travel light.
My daughter is moving back to school on Monday. She was on a study abroad program last spring so hasn’t been at school for 9 months. She has not packed one thing. I found out she’s taking a car to school (my brother’s) and it’s a '74 VW beetle, so it won’t hold much.
The first year, she took everything and the kitchen sink. This year she will take a duffel of clothes, a mattress pad and sheets and a towel, and not much else.
We arent “travel light” people and probably never will be. You can’t give your kids all your values/ quirks but I’m the one who responds affirmatively at work to " does anyone have … a bandaid… Contact lens solution… a nail file…a safety pin…nail polish remover…stain remover… etc, etc…" My kids are the same way.
An update…my daughter who is heading to college tomorrow has completed her last day of work, is taking a shower, and is planning to start packing any minute now. Right after she eats and plays with the dogs.
Remember, things that aren’t brought can be purchased at or near campus, via Amazon or similar or mailed in a nice care package. The usps flat rate packages an be a great bargain. Our kids loved receiving them!
When I was in college eons ago, I had a clothes bar that hung on the hooks in the backseat of my car - do they still make those? I just put all my clothes on hangers, hung everything on the bar in the backseat and then along with a couple of boxes, I was ready to go. BTW, I went to college 2.5 hours from home and my parents never once helped me move in.
We just took our daughter to school for her freshman year and stayed in a hotel the night before and did some last minute shopping for some misc items we’d forgotten. I kind of started helping her plan what she needed to take a couple of weeks ahead of time and we went shopping for the things I thought she needed like jeans and shorts. But she was still totally unorganized two nights before she left, and I had to take charge. Good thing I got involved - she went to a private HS and had to wear a uniform for four years and apparently has no clue what kind and how many clothes she’ll need in the “real world”. I guess that experience ruined her - when she was little, when we went on vacation, all I had to tell my kids was how many days we were going to be gone and they would sort their clothes into ziploc storage bags - one for 6 shirts, one for six bottoms, one for socks and undies, etc.
Anyway, two nights before she left, when I started helping her get organized, I asked her what socks she was going to pack and she pointed to 5 pairs of mismatched and stretched out low cut athletic socks. I asked her, “Are these the socks you’re going to be wearing all semester including this winter?” She said “Yeah, what’s the problem?”. She also was only bringing two pairs of ratty sneakers and a pair of flip flops that she’s had since she was twelve I think. I also looked through the clothes she was bringing and I think she picked the most worn out ugly clothes she owns to take to school. I actually took several items and threw them in the trash (mostly holey underwear). I would have been mortified if anyone would have seen them.
So off we went the next day to buy socks and underwear and three pairs of shoes. She sent me a message the day after we dropped her off and said her flip flops broke (the toe piece broke in half). Then three days later, she sends me a pic and she’s wearing those broken flip flops! I asked her how she was keeping them on, and she said she’s clinching her toes on the stub. This was NOT what I thought I would be worrying about when she went to college.
Luckily, we’re going back in two days to celebrate her first birthday away from home with her and bring her winter things that wouldn’t fit in the care the first trip (and a new pair of flip flops). She’s only 4 hours away, so we plan to visit a few times in the fall when she’s playing her sport. Hopefully someone on campus will tell me if she’s been going to class dressed like a hobo during our visits. The only upside I can see to this new Bohemian phase of hers is that maybe the school will come to the conclusion that we are a family who REALLY can’t pay the EFC they calculated for us.
@twoinanddone Well, they gave her training gear - shorts and t-shirts, but that’s it so far (DIII). They were supposed to also provide the socks for her uniform, but she told us to bring her some as they hadn’t come in yet. Her teammates tease her about her flip flops and offered to fix them with a glue gun. She has a perfectly decent pair of new runners that she apparently won’t wear. She injured her knee two days ago and I have no idea what she’s wearing while she’s limping all over campus. We’ll find out tomorrow.
Probably too late to help others this year but to add to what others wrote…all of mine went across the country which meant flying rather than driving and two attended schools in small towns.
Making hotel reservations as soon as they knew which school they were attending and confirming the dates of move in was critical for the small towns that don't have adequate hotel capacity for big events like move in.
Ditto on making hotel reservations for family weekend. The sooner the better.
The dorm room doors in all my kids' rooms automatically closed. We brought inexpensive door stops (amazon) which helped when arms were full during move in. We then left the door stop with the kids which enabled them to leave their doors open, increasing the chance that their new floormates would stop by and say hi.
I echo having a readily accessible bag with scissors and trash bags. We actually had two scissors since more people could work at one time and it was so easy to temporarily misplace it or place something else on top of it. It always amazes my how much packaging and trash is associated with new purchases.
3M hooks are your friend. Great for additional hanging in the closet, putting things on the wall, on the back of the door, etc.
My D's had over the "door" panels with several hooks that hung on the back of their dorm beds. Provided lots of extra hanging space.
Agree that having all the things you need to make the bed (top layer/comforter not as important) readily accessible is great. We made move in a family event as well. One person could be responsible for making the bed while others work on other tasks. In two cases, we shipped boxes ahead to the hotel we were staying at. We would bring one set of sheets (already washed) in the suitcase just in case there was any problem or we ended up having access to the room before picking up the boxes (happened in one case).
Make a list of what your kid needs to do within the first day and/or what she or he wants you to be in attendance/your help. This might include something with her phone, setting up a new bank account, transferring a prescription, etc. Best to reach out in advance and see what's involved/can be done ahead of arrival but sometimes that doesn't happen.
Oh my, @LeastComplicated, you had me cracking up at the idea she was walking around in broken flip flops with her toes clenched.
We leave with D on Thursday, flying. She has barely packed. While most of our stuff is waiting for us at BBB near her college, and we have a few things to purchase at Target and IKEA when we get there, I still can’t help but look at her room and think, “is she even taking anything?” She’s packed clothes basically, that’s it. But when you look at her room, it doesn’t look like anything is missing. It always looks like a bomb went off and still does. I’m guessing when I return home from our trip, her room isn’t going to look any different than when she left. I do know, however, that she does have athletic socks that aren’t mismatched as I just gave her a pack that I bought for myself that I decided I didn’t want.
@collage1, I especially agree with #1 and 2 on your list. If your kid is going to school in a small town, hotels are few and far between. Airbnb has filled the gap somewhat, but we ended up 40 minutes away from our son’s school during his first year move-in. As soon as I can, I am going to book a hotel for his graduation in 2019.
Folks with kids in small Midwestern LACs, pay attention!
