Blossom- lolololol literally!!!
Best advice I was given is to pack an “open first” box and take that to the dorm room before anything else. Inside that box are Clorox Wipes and a door stop. Plus your broom or mop for the floor. Apparently, dorm rooms are incredibly dusty, and you will want to clean furniture and floor before you move in.
- prior to moving one thing in: Take photos of every wall, every piece of furniture, so that you have evidence of prior damage. Then of course your student needs to document that with the RA.
- rug comes in next, and then the stuff.
I agree with the above poster. The best tip I can give is to use those vacuum storage bags. I used them for my son’s clothes, comforter, all towels and sheets, pillows, mattress pad, etc. you would not believe how small it all shrunk down. You don’t realize how much space in the car those bulky items take up. When he came home at the end of the semester it all got washed and back into the vacuum storage bags ready for the August move in. Such an inexpensive and space saving tool. I highly recommend.
The U-hauls are probably mostly used by students moving into unfurnished apartments. I don’t know how it is now, but decades ago, they were a common sight in late August on every expressway leading to the Boston area.
They were also a common sight on Boston’s narrow streets–causing traffic jams as they were double-parked for unloading. I get nostalgic just thinking of all the Datsuns & AMC Gremlins & Le Cars & VW Things stuck in traffic, honking as they burned 30-cent/gallon gas…
We have an odd situation. Son will have a temporary room for 2 weeks (1 week of orientation, 1 week of classes) and then move to his permanent room in a yet-to-be-determined House. Eventual room size may be a single/double/triple (but all are very small), may or may not have AC or fan, may or may not have beds already lofted, may or may not have a fridge leftover from previous occupants. He won’t choose his roommate until the end of first week of classes.
Part of the orientation week is at an off-campus hotel. So, he needs to pack a small bag for 2 days. Then, he needs whatever for his temporary 2 week room. We won’t even know that room, roommate, or AC situation until move-in day. And his things need to be portable to the new room. Then, he may need a fan & fridge & cooking equipment for the hall kitchen depending on what his eventual location is like.
Luckily, he’s not an over-packer and the college isn’t in a location where he will need clothes for winter or rain.
We live only 2 hours drive away, so we may come by at the 2 week mark to bring more things or help shop. Parents Day is 6 weeks into the 10-week quarter.
D has several clear plastic bins that open from the top but she just puts less-used stuff in them and slides them out as needed. Bed isn’t raised so no room for the ones with drawers really. The IKEA FRAKTA bags, the ones that are rectangular with a zipper, are terrific for moving in and out. They can be squished into odd spaces in the car filled with clothes,shoes, etc.
The only “furniture” items she has are a folding chair and a fridge.
We have a smaller hatchback, 2 people in the car, and everything fit. We’d have used a roof rack if we had to have one more person.
@moooop WOW! I know exactly what you mean! And we had a purple Le Car back then. I kid you not.
It’s understandable how space becomes tight in cars on the way to dorms. Mattress pads, a topper to go on that, pillows, duvets, minifridges, clothes. It all takes up a lot of space and can fill a trunk fast!
rather than rent a UHaul…order and have delivered some of those bulky things. Or if your kid is near a Bed Bath and Beyond at college…order…and pick up,when you get there.
In addition to the recommendation to use zippered IKEA bags mentioned in an earlier post, we have found the regular, large blue IKEA bags to be great for toting stuff into the dorms. They hold a lot, are super strong, have nice long handles so they can be carried on your shoulder, they are great to leave behind to use for toting laundry, and take little space to store.
We also use sturdy, reusable, grocery style tote bags, again very strong and easy to carry. Large boxes and plastic totes can get heavy and be awkward to carry.
Elevators, if there are any, get busy and full, and we find the bags with handles much more convenient to transport stuff up stairs.
Ynotgo, we flew across country with 3 suitcases. In one bag we put linens and enough clothes for a week. We were met by students who carried up bags to temporary quarters. Other than making his bed, there was nothing else to do. His toiletries and clothes were in his carry on.
I flew out for Parents weekend and rented a car. We bought a bike, an a/c for window, a desk chair(nicer than one provided), and a monitor. You are fortunate to live so close.
My wife and I flew with our D to her college when she started her Freshman year. In addition to attending the college’s parents’ orientation, we spent a few extra days there before we returned home.
As other posters have said, most college dorms are very small with limited storage space. We traveled with two checked bags each plus our carry-ons. We rented an SUV at the airport which accommodated all of our bags, although folding down half of the rear seat helped.
We pre-ordered linens, towels, and pillows from Bed, Bath, and Beyond online and picked them up after we arrived at a store near our D’s college and our hotel. While in town, we also purchased a few small storage units (unassembled), a small bedside table, and lamps for her dorm room. Conceivably, had we driven from home to her college, all of these things would have probably fit into a large SUV, but it would have been snug.
I suggest packing the bare necessities such as clothing, bed linens, and whatever fits in a trunk. As for unpacking, you will be competing with other students and families for parking, proximity to and from the dorm. Some things such as a minifridge should be shared and your roommate ma be bringing one. You probably talk with your roommate about what you both want and how expenses will be divided. It it a pricey item then the one who buys should be the keeper. You don’t need winter clothes in the fall. Practically, if you try to cover everything you will make yourself and still forget something, probably even obvious.
Even if you are going to somewhere remote, you will still have mail, UPS, and other options. Even if you are moving to a remote college in the West, please know we haven’t depended on the Pony Express for a long time.
Finally, make sure you have Amazon Prime because most things come fast, often with no shipping charge or even tax and at a good price. Kindles are wonderful and have Amazon already loaded.
@Pheebers , Guess who went to Ikea today to buy those zippered Frakta bags? 
A huge thanks for the tip. I also found the Dimpa bag ($4) - it’s huge, clear, zips and I have packed ALL of the bedding inside, including the huge gel mattress pad, sheets, pillows and bed bug cover).
For those who don’t live near an IKEA, just order from IKEA online. The shipping takes about a week so allow for that. Do NOT search Amazon for IKEA items. The Amazon vendors are charging 5X or more what IKEA charges.
@Materof2 That’s great! And I forgot about the Dimpa – yes, we used that too. I actually overbought the IKEA bags, because I underestimated how much they hold. But no harm done at that price. It’s really great to be able to have one bag with all of the bedding, pillow included. I have twins, and at one school they don’t help the freshmen move in, but it only took two trips from the car for us because we had everything so contained. It was so easy.
Totally right about Amazon, which is my usual go-to for shopping…definitely more expensive. Right now they’ve got a Frakta 4 pack for about $24, and they’re $4 each normally. I’m sure it gets worse as the summer progresses. I recall last summer that IKEA sold out online towards the end of summer, though, so I definitely wouldn’t wait if you’re going that route.
We used strong garbage bags for clothes and bedding. When we finished unpacking we used those garbage bags for trash or just threw them out. I also echo the advice of labeling everything with student’s name, room number and cell phone. Both of our kids went to the same school. The volunteer movers were very efficient. They moved everything from our car to the room in less than 30 min. For D2, we ended up buying a lot of things at local BB&B. We also bought online and had stuff shipped to her dorm.
If you are staying over night some where, just be extra careful of where you park your car.
@oldfort This has definitely been crossing my mind! We are driving down the night before and will have to leave the loaded minivan in the hotel parking lot overnight…
I want to jump in here to say that if you are ordering online from Ikea, check the total with shipping charge vs the Amazon price. Once the shipping charge was added, it was cheaper for us to order from Amazon with Prime and the package will arrive in two days.
We have to sleep over in a hotel as well. So we are planning on packing the laptop, printer and other electronics in a sturdy Rubbermaid Container and will bring inside hotel with us. Hopefully that will be good.