Thanks @zipstermom
We did our shopping trip yesterday. Her roommate went on Friday and got a shower curtain and bath mat (they have a bathroom in their room). She hoped DD didnāt think she was ātaking overā. DD was just happy that she was taking initiative. So DD picked out curtains for the room, a full length mirror to hang over the bathroom door, and a wastebasket for either the room or bathroom. Iām sad though that I presented a 20% off entire purchase coupon at BB&B and the cashier did pick it up, but looking at my receipt I see it wasnāt applied.
Seems like roommateās aesthetic is colorful floral, and DDās is travel/adventure but I think they can go together. The world map tapestry DD is bringing has the same colors as the shower curtain.
Thinking logistics for move-in day. Our hotel will accept some packages in advance of arrival so we may do some of that - less to schlep from/more choice than BBB/Target. The latter 2 are also open late (9:30pm and 11pm respectively) the night we arrive so I may go do the pickup that night of whatever has been ordered from there, and then itās just one trip in a big uber from hotel to dorm on move-in day. Iām expecting D19 will end up choosing bedding from some quirkier place and the rest of the stuff from one of the big stores.
By the way on the top sheet discussion - no-one uses top sheets where I come from unless they are using old-style blankets. Itās fitted sheet + duvet coverā¦ no decorative comforters there either, only duvet inners.
D19 moves in at Parsons on Aug. 17. Weāre planning to drive down from Boston the previous day. We just got an electric car, so weāll probably plan a charging stop for lunch on the way down. Itās surprisingly hard to find high-speed chargers in NYC, but we should be able to find a garage with a Level 2 charger (the kind we have at home, about nine hours for a full charge). Not planning to do a lot of driving once weāre there, so that should be fine.
Hoping to have dinner the night of move-in day with D19ās roommate and family, who, like us, just moved back to the States after years as expats. I actually know the dad a bit already, coincidentally, and D19 met her roommate briefly before high-school graduation, but other than that weāll all be newly met. Except for our S22 ā weāre either going to drop him off with the family of an old friend of his who lives near the city, or with my wifeās parents in Rhode Island.
D19 and DW went to Bed Bath & Beyond on Saturday while I caught up with a college friend of mine, who was in town with his S20 as part of a college tour for lacrosse prospects. Iāll be interested to see how we manage to fit everything into the car for the move, because it was pretty much full and of course we didnāt have any of her clothes in there yet. My wife assured me that some of the BB&B stuff was for home and not the dorm, but itāll still be a challenge. Might end up shipping something.
D19 has continued her relaxing summer. Sheās gone to some yoga classes and done a few chores, but otherwise, sheās just chilling. Glad sheās getting to decompress after the stress of the IB. Iām feeling fine emotionally about her pending departure, but I think DW is going to be pretty weepy. Lucky thing there wonāt be an ocean between us, just train tracks or an interstate.
Hereās where I can talk about shopping! None of my Dās friends are going out of state. My D has always wanted to go out of state, not sure how that makes me feel about my parenting. Everyone else can load up their cars and drive. One of Dās friends is going to a school 20 minutes from home, and the farthest her other friends are going are about three hours away. Must be nice!
I have been āpre-shoppingā since we have to fly to get her to her college (Arizona State U). We have bought some small things that we can take with us, but a lot of things I want to buy once we get to AZ. They have all the same stores as us here in TX, so thatās great, but I like to see what items to buy where.
Luckily I have a friend who lives 20 mins. from ASU. I bought a mattress topper last week and she already received it, which actually got there a bit earlier than it should have, I was worried because she was out of town until the night before it landed on her porch. It was on sale at Kohlās and I didnāt want to miss out on a great price! I learned we can send items to her dorm address as early as August 1, but their mail is in a UPS store on campus and we have to pick it up there. For early move in pickup shouldnāt be a problem, but I have read many horror stories about waiting in line for a few hours to pick up packages after the first weekend of move-in that goes on for a few weeks. I will have to call my hotel to find out if they will accept packages for me. Iāll be staying there for five nights so hopefully they will be accommodating.
My D22 starts her sophomore year the day after I get back from AZ, so I have to get her gear in order now too. Kinda rough when you just want to enjoy summer!
I reminded my husband that we have to get Dās medical consent docs in order, so weāre on that this week. I also am going to pay for dorm insurance, and need to push the button on that.
Iām also trying to edit my zillions of pictures from Italy, and that is definitely on the back burner even though I really want to do it. Iām thinking in September Iāll have some free time!
@jellybean5 we live in Arizona and my S is headed to college in Texas! Itās my daughter, who just moved to Dallas herself, who is getting all our Amazon packages for sonās dorm.
This is our third kid to head out of state to college. Just donāt overpack. Less is more when you have to fly, and also moving in!
Thereās a Target (Kohlās, and everything else) very near ASU, but thereās another at McClintock and Elliot in Tempe that should be less crowded during move-in for anything you still need.
Ah, we discovered late last night that Urban Outfitters (D19ās favorite store, but not one whose bedding prices thrill me) had a flash one-day 50% off online only bedding sale yesterday. So we have duvet covers/shams ordered for the dorm, two for the price of one! (It seems they still have a sale on, just not quite as good, if anyone else is interested.) Also discovered that we can ship directly to the dorm, so that will save some headaches too.
Oh man, that is so annoying b/c I just bought a duvet and shams for D23 from UO less than a week ago. Only 20% off then. But lucky you! I bought the same duvet and shams in a different color for D17 for her dorm room two years ago and she loves them. We are redoing D23ās room at home and she unknowingly picked out the same stuff. What did your D19 pick out?
@4kids4us oh, itās annoying when that happens! She picked the washed cotton with tassels in two different colors, and a throw that will complement both colors.
@Parentof2014grad that is funny! I have been scouting out the Target and Kohlās stores in the Phoenix area. I want to go to the stores that are not necessarily the closest to Tempe as you said. We are in San Antonio, if you need any info on Texas, DM me, I might be able to help you. And I mean might, as Iām not from here, just lived here for the last 13 years.
Yeah I figure my D and I have to plan out our baggage situation. I am renting a car, and in Phoenix all of the car rental companies are in one big place, like a car rental mall. So everybody gets on the buses to get over there, and it can be kind of a mad rush. Then you find your car rental company, and get your car there. I think Iāll leave D at the airport with all of our Ikea bags, luggage, etc. and hop the bus myself, and drive back to pick her up instead of trying to load all that onto the bus. Fun times ahead!
My son is going to a college in another coast. He is currently in an intensive summer camp and away from home until mid-Ausgut. He will have only 4 days before he leaves for college. I have been doing some shopping, packing and pre-shopping in Amazon at the same time. My husband and I will fly with him with huge suitcases and carry-on for parent orientation. I will order some bulky items (like bedding) online about 10-14 days before move-in day and ship to our hotel which is located within 2 blocks to campus. We wonāt do rent a car from / to airport. We can walk to Marshall / stores from our hotel to buy a waste can, pillows and other college starter items. My sonās dorm has common shower / bathroom on hallway. Should he have a bathrobe (mostly to/from shower) to walk hallway? A college dorm list includes it but we are trying to minimize things since he is required to live in dorm for first two years. It means that he will need to pack his dorm items in next May, then move back in next August.
Weāre only moving S19 2 hours away, but itās challenging because we have to move a double bass along with his mountain of dorm stuff. If it doesnāt all fit, I think weāll just have to come back on the weekend (he moves in on the 20th and classes start 8/26). Iāve invested way too much time and effort (and of course, money) into shopping for this kid who would probably be happy with a towel, a pillow, a throw blanket, a laptop, his phone, a skateboard, a guitar and 12 pairs of sneakers. I was a lot less into the shopping with D16 because she had to fly and there was no temptation to buy too much.
So far, the only thing I really splurged on was a Casper mattress topper because I figure if I get him a cheap one that needs to air out and expand before he makes the bed, he will just be sleeping on a mattress topper with no sheets for all of freshman year. I need to see him put a sheet on the bed before we leave.
@JeJeJe Iāve also been wondering if boys tend to wear robes when going to the shower? I canāt remember from my days in a co-ed dorm in 1991. I would ask S19 , but I barely see him. Heāll probably say no since I think the only robe he ever had was a Buzz Lightyear one. Heās in a dorm with a communal shower this week so at least heāll have a better idea what to expect.
@eh1234 we have the same child. Iām getting him a robe. Of course he says he does not need one. What is he going to walk to the shower in? And is he going to bring his change of clothes rolled up in a ball? He also doesnāt care about his bedding. But I went to town.
I am not sure if my sonās dorm floors are divided by gender. I guess, it is probably not. He would say āDonāt need itā but I just canāt imagine he is walking to / from common bathroom with āalmostā naked with a thin towel around. He isnāt shy but it may make a few people āuncomfortableā. Perhaps, I should order the cheapest robe (very thin so easy to pack).
eh1234ā- Double bass is always the hardest to transport. Good luck!
S19 only has to be in college on September 22nd (theyāre on the quarter system), so weāre still in denial. Anyway, Iāve always wanted to drive to California from here (Denver) because itās just so beautiful, but he hates long drives, so we decided DS and DH will fly and I will drive with all the stuff. In fact, there shouldnāt be that much stuff, but I really needed an excuse to take this drive 
DH is driving back with me. Planning this trip is much more fun than buying sheets!
@yucca10 that sounds like fun! Is this your first to go to college? Sorry. I forget!
@JeJeJe , I got my son a lightweight robe. Heās pretty modest and would not want to walk down the hall in just a towel. We donāt know yet if heās in a mixed gender dorm/floor or not, but it doesnāt matter.
@OrangeBlossom , we flew D17 out to CA for move in two years ago. One painful lesson was how expensive shipping coast to coast really is. We shipped a blanket and some pillows, that was dumbā¦it would have been cheaper just to buy locally. I now try to only mail things there that can fit in the USPS flat rate priority mail boxes! Other things, just buy online and ship to her. We thought the BBB Pack and Hold was the best option, as the walk from the campus postal office to her dorm was far, and lines were long. So getting it all from BBB and into the rental car, which we could pull up pretty close to the dorm, was better for whatever we could get from there. Also, regarding summer storage, she split a āpodā with several girls for whatever needed stored over the summer, it was coordinated by the college (the pods were in the parking lot for a few days for loading, then were taken off somewhere, then were brought back to campus for fall move in), worked out well and wasnāt very expensive.
Iāve decided to let D16 handle S19ās dorm list. Sheās in college and they are similar. They both are extreme minimalists. D16 had to move rooms 3x last year (nothing bad just coordinating roommates coming/going from oversees), and she really hates lugging extra stuff around. Like S19, she has to store stuff during the summers so also doesnāt like having a bunch of stuff to deal with. I donāt think that she ever had a refrigerator or microwave in her room; the dorms have always had a kitchen. She has a hot water heater in her room and loves that. Thatās her main comfort appliance.
However I am trying to get S19 to forward me his packing list for his first year trip (hiking). Left to himself, he will present me the list the night before his departure and it is sure to have 3-4 things that require a visit to the local outdoor shop.
Wish my sonās college were on the quarter system. Most of his high school friends will attend college on the quarter system so they are having a longer and relaxed summer. My son who is now out of town for intensive summer program, rushed enjoying with his friends in first half of summer (his high school ended in mid June) then took off. I usually enjoy shopping within our budget but am a little bit overwhelmed by his very tight schedule.
Now, we are dealing with his health insurance to be waived. It is another thing to deal when sending a child to a far away college. None of these got into our mind deep enough until 3 months agoā¦We are learning many new things and making it through.
OK, I am ordering a light-weight bathrobe now. It can be a nice padding in one of our suitcase. Hope, my sonās college has those āsummer pod storageā options.
Darn it @sj2727 I had to look at Urban Outfitters out of curiosity. My D knows about it but I was like, āis that the store at the mall we look at but donāt anything at?ā Yes. The bedding is so on trend! For anybody who is also curious, today the bedding on that site is 40% off. If you shop through rebatesme.com they are offering 8% cashback today. Plus if you can pay through PayPal and have Discover card linked w/ the quarterly bonus, you get the 5% cash back reward also. Hey Iām a good online shopper!
Girls typically want a lot of cute stuff, and guys donāt seem to care or want anything extra. @jejeje you might want to look at a dorm shower caddy to put your sonās toiletries in to take to the shower. Shaving supplies, shampoo, soap, etc. it would get really old to have to carry all that in his hands each time. And shower shoes. My D will share a bath w/ one other roommate inside their four person suite, so thereās no walking out in the hallway in a robe for her. Although she has talked about getting a robe. Weāll see, since sheās a ābig tee shirtā kinda girl.
I know we are going to have to rent a storage space somewhere nearby to put her stuff up over the summer next year. Hopefully she can share w/ another girl or two, but she might have enough stuff to fill her own! For my Dās school, Iāll have to find a storage locker that is climate controlled since itās Phoenix. Ugh.