Logistics of moving kids' stuff across the country to college

Parents Forum
21

Nah, u nailed it kiddo.

We only took few personal items with us when we gone from TX to VA.

Most of the stuffs - drawers for cloths, desk lamp, snacks, some cloths, hangers, beddings etc, were purchased and delivered to his campus mail office via Target, Walmart or Amazon.

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22

Not quite across the country (CO → ME), but: we did a combination of everything for the initial move out to college for D23. My husband and I both teach, but his semester starts later than mine, so he road-tripped with my daughter with a full SUV, and I flew out to meet them for moving day. We rented the SUV so he wouldn’t have to drive both ways, and we flew back together. We bought most things before we left, just because we knew we’d have the room in the car, but we left some shopping for the day we had in her college town before move-in. When I flew out, I checked an extra bag with some of her clothes (I will now take a moment and mourn the loss of free checked bags on Southwest…).

A few things:

  1. There are versions of those IKEA bags available on Amazon. Those have been great for under-the-bed storage and summer storage, because they are stackable and collapsible.
  2. She definitely packed more than she needed initially, so she’s been gradually bringing some stuff home to stay when she comes back on break. During move-out after freshman year, we shipped a large box home (we were flying and didn’t have enough luggage space for everything). We shipped some stuff home after sophomore year, too, but that’s mainly because she’s going abroad in the fall and needed to take some things would otherwise have stayed in summer storage. We used USPS for shipping.
  3. Her college mail service will hold packages for students’ arrival, so you should see if that’s an option for you.
  4. See if your kid’s college contracts with a fridge rental service. They’ll often drop off and pick up in the dorm room. It’s more expensive to rent than to buy over the course of four years, but simplifies things greatly if you don’t have to worry about storing or moving a fridge (and the expense can be split with roommates).
  5. That first move-in was the only time we’ve needed a road trip. She is able to store most things over the summer, so we have been able to get by with flying back and forth, and shipping as needed (but we almost never need it) ever since. It would be a different story, of course, if she had a car on campus, but she doesn’t.

Minimalism is good! (We’ve learned the hard way.) You can always get what you need later, and you can send things from home (i.e., cold-weather clothes) later in the semester.

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23

Storage at the college location. Share with friends and make sure it’s climate controlled.

Or some kids have friends who live local to the college and their families offered to store stuff.

My son’s advice. Put everything you think you need to have in one room (like your living room). Then remove half of that stuff. And even with that, much of what you take, you won’t use.

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24

What do they really need? Two flew to school and one was an 8 hour drive away. They only brought their clothes. We bought everything else they would need once we got to the school.

I may have bought bedding once through the school sponsored program (xl twin sheets probably need to be ordered).

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25

They’re fine, my daughter used blue Amazon bags as checked luggage on our flight (had the original ikea bags for my older kids).

26

This qualifies (about 2,100 miles & over 30 hours driving time) !

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27

We have flown with large bags and place a Target order picked up upon arrival (you can order the week before and extend a few times), then go shopping for any additional needs after you’ve moved in. I like to order sheets and towels ahead of time so I can wash them before arrival. Some schools also offer a pre move in ship to room service.

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28

We did a combination of many of the things already mentioned. D19’s freshman year was ended early by Covid, which cemented the need to find a storage unit near her college just because of the time pressure and unknowns. We kept the storage unit until she graduated. We didn’t share a storage unit and my tip would be to get one on the first floor. Waiting for the elevator at busy move in/out times can be excruciatingly long.

Sharing I will always remember two of my HS softball coaches and their packing ‘strategy’. Twin guys who went to the same college. Each year they spent 15 minutes loading up their shared VW beetle for the 3 hour drive to their college…obviously they traveled light :rofl:

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29

The first year, we rented a U Haul to take D’s stuff to college. We paid for a storage unit the summer between her freshman and sophomore year. After that, we told her she’d have to bring stuff home and then take only what could fit in her Ford Fiesta. She managed fine.

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30

FWIW, we bought those ikea style bags because everyone here raved about them, and D19 hated them, partly because they were awkward on the baggage carousel and moving around the airports. She much preferred suitcases so they only got one use before being brought back home and dumped lol. Luckily storage space for them wasn’t a problem at her dorms.

31

This is great advice! Also, rent your summer storage unit EARLY- in some college towns, you may need to snag a unit by December or January for the summer. I called in March, thinking I was ahead of the game and got the last unit in the rental place by my kid’s campus!

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32

Thats very true. The storage units near S24’s school were all booked and everywhere had a long wait list, and that was months before summer vacation.

S24 was lucky to be able to snatch one last storage unit a little over an hour away from his school.

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33

S25 is attending a school that doesn’t allow anything to be shipped ahead of time (packages can’t arrive until a week after move in), and since it would be a two day drive we are flying in with him.

We are flying on an airline that hubby and I have the credit card for, so we can get a couple of free checked bags each. But S25 will mostly bring clothes from home and a few dorm items he was given as gifts. Everything else we will do with Target pick up order or ship to an Amazon locker near campus. He is generally a minimalist anyway so it will be basic stuff!

We’ve heard that students at his school often get storage together for the summer, so we are hoping he can do that, and then just fly back and forth with clothes. We’ll have to weigh the cost between us flying in to help him move out vs paying for extra checked bags for just him to fly home at the end of the year.

34

We never helped our kid move out at the end of a college year. She was on her own to rent a storage unit, and pack things up to leave there. She also just packed what she needed for the summer in her carry on bag.

It’s hard to believe buying a round trip plane ticket for a parent is less costly than either packing light or paying for one checked bag.

Even at the end of four years, the only thing we did was bring empty suitcases (6 because three of us flew round trip) for DD to pack to bring home. We watched while she packed and got carry out food. I’m not kidding. And we were clear that anything that didn’t fit into the six large checked bags needed to be donated or tossed. She did ship her books home book rate. And her college had a BIG charity tag sale with things either left behind or donated, so a lot went to that.

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35

I’ve never helped any of my 5 kids move out at the end of the year, 45 minutes away, 1 1/2 hours away. 2 hours away, 12 hours away. Those that needed storage brought their stuff to the place they rented (usually with friends sharing). The one 12 hours away has caught a ride with friends, drove alone or with friends in her car. She never flew home for summer breaks, always a road trip.

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36

We’ve always helped D22 move out, so it’s a new idea for us not to help this kid move out! We’ve seen some stellar plane tickets deals between our nearest airport and his school, so if it is not too much more, one of might fly down to help out. I think we would be talking multiple checked bags to fit clothes, not just one! We also often have companion tickets, frequent flier miles, etc (husband travels a lot for work).

ETA - I’m partly basing this on my daughter, so maybe S25 will have less stuff. She took 4 ikea bags plus two smaller bags just for a summer internship this summer, leaving two more ikea bags of clothes at home (winter clothes). At least S25 is going somewhere warmer, and I think has fewer clothes than she does overall.

37

Subsequent moves have not been the production that the first move-in was, but one of us has always needed to fly out to help (moving in and out), because our D doesn’t have a car on campus. She does summer storage off campus. She shares storage units with friends, and they handle the arrangements themselves, but she needs someone who can rent an SUV and haul everything between the storage unit and the dorm room (which, thus far, have been on the 2nd or 3rd floor, no elevator).

So we head out there to help. However, other than the first year, one parent has been enough to help with moving, so my husband and I alternate.

38

Just check around asap. Many college towns have storage arrangements where the boxes are provided, the storage place picks up, and then delivers to the next place of residence for the following year. No SUV rental needed at all. Well worth checking.

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39

I’ve checked on that, and those services are quite expensive (they’re not offered by the storage places themselves in D’s college town, but by outside companies). More than a round trip flight/car rental? Not sure about that, but we can usually pay for the flight with frequent flier points, so it might be a wash.

40

Those are numbers each family needs to crunch themselves.

We also wanted our kid to take ownership of this process.

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