I did something similar for D24. Put it all in a plastic shoebox-sized bin. Planning on doing the same for D26. 
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D26 accepted at Trinity U on Friday with the top merit award! Still waiting for her ED tomorrow, but Trinity is definitely in the top 3, so it sets a strong floor. At the very least, much less work to do in RD if the ED doesnāt go her way.
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Iād love to buy D26 the laptop she will need for art school, but I know from S24 that the school will provide very specific directions about that laptop and itās best to order it from their campus store pre-loaded. But thatās just my sitch. Iād also looooooove to get started on sheets etc, but it is her dorm and she has a very honed aesthetic (as many art students do!). I might do gift certificates to favorite stores.
The fully-stocked medical kit for us was also far and away the most used and appreciated thing we did for our boys. I also included a one-sheet printout of super simple and ābasicā info: how to take Advil & Tylenol safely, what to do for a cold etc. One of my sons is an EMT, but even he appreciated this. His roommate actually used it a bunch.
Congrats on all the wonderful acceptances! My D26ās bestie was deferred and sheās regrouping now. It is a rollercoaster when youāve known and loved a friend group for years. I wish I had a magic wand for all of them.
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Okayā¦ so Dorm Room / Move in Tricks and Tipsā¦
(1) If you are driving, find a way to fit a handcart/dolly with you. And a Tape measure (ahhhh yeah, youāll need to know how much space you really have) Try for as early a time as you can get in - On freshman move in day, the elevators and stairs will have lines that get longer and longer as the day moves on - everybody moving in, but also those moved in will be going up/down checking things out in the dorm, going back and forth to Target etc. Long lines means all the move in carts will be in use and a lot will literally just be standing in line waiting on the elevator for 30-45 minutes at a time. A Handcart is flexible and maneuverable -and- you can walk it down stairs after you unload if needed to avoid long elevator lines going down.
(2) Try to pack their stuff in uniform sized boxes / bins - it makes loading onto carts or handcarts way easier, and once emptied you can either stack empty bins together for the trip home or break down boxes and put them under the bed. Also, many of the dorm rooms have beds you can elevate and put an empty bin or three under the bed. Empty bins are great to store your Costco snack sized assortment of chips, pretzels, ramen noodles, or school supplies you are going out to buy anyway. Plus then they can pack them back up before you travel back for the trip home at the end of the year.
(3) Communicate with roommates about Bigger sized items beforehand - mini fridge, microwave, futons, chairs, TVs, rugs. Donāt end up with two of everything especially if you arenāt allow to.
(4) Check the University Housing website and scrutinize the banned items closely - also look at the specifics on the types of things they will allow (some will specify only ONE fridge - and give a larger Cubic Foot than the smaller standard ones), some are quite specific on the types of extension cords or surge supressors you can use - Ex: UT Austin gave my daughter a $ 50 fine because on first week inspection she had one surge suppressor which didnāt have a āULā sticker on it (or something like that).
(5)The student facebook pages, craigslist, and next door will be loaded with items liked used mini-fridges, microwaves, futons, papasan chairs, even flat screen TVs etc. You donāt have to rent the Fridge or Fridge/Microwave combo from the University āadjacentā rental group (often the rental for a year is about the same cost of a brand new one). One tip though, you have to move fast on those items - itās like a livestock auction, if you ID one you are interested in - contact them and do a pick up as quick as possibleā¦cause they will sell it to the first person who actually shows up.
(6) If you are going to Amazon a bunch of stuff (like bathroom or cleaning supplies) rather than trying to beat the crowds / scarcity buying in the college town - ID the closest Amazon Lockers to their dorm. Yes, a lot of schools will allow amazon delivery to the dorms directly (and some will not). But the first few weeks on campus, the dorms get tons and tons of packages delivered - which will then be stored in a backroom, and then when someone gets to it they will send a notification to your student that itās available for pickup. Some dorms will not allow a student to try to pick up an item before they are notified by the desk (ie, you amazon account says its been delivered) and in some cases, the front desk will have a line for amazon pick ups, with one person working that - so another person can handle all other front desk requests. If you use an Amazon Locker, your student will get their notification from amazon, and can go and pick it up at the time of their choosing w/o a wait. After the first few weeks on campus, you can switch deliveries to go direct to the dorm and itās not as big a time suck (though you may still be waiting on notifications from the front deskā¦)
(7) Once you have moved most or all of your students stuff into the dorm room - Find the floor bathroom (if they donāt have a private one) - so you can check the shower situation as well as the sink/counter situation. What size shower caddy can they fit/use - are these hookable showers or does everything end up on the shower floor or a small bench or shelf. Sinks, mirrors, counters - similarlyā¦ can you hook or suction cup a makeup or shaving caddy, and how big. The go find the laundry room(s), walk you student through how to use a washer and dryer that isnāt like the one at home. Some dorms include the cost of laundry facilities in your housing (free), some use online apps that you need to sign up for and then code in /out. Our kids had laundry as part of their home chores from the age of about 8 - My S24 spent an extra hour in the laundry room the first week walking multiple brilliant engineers and computer science majors at Purdue on how to use the washing machine - where to add the soap and how much etc etc. If you didnāt pre-wash the bedding (itās still in the prepackaged compressed box), right now is a great time to start their first laundry experience- because everybody else is moving inā¦
Othersā¦?
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Congratulations! Thatās wonderful news. 
Iāve heard such great things about Trinity!
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Couple people have asked for the college packing list, and the only way I could figure out to share it anonymously was to save the spreadsheet to a PDF, and then convert that to image files. Itās nine images, LOL.
Does anyone know a better way to share it? Is there a way to attach an Excel file or PDF here?
My kiddo is at a boarding school, so weāve done much of the dorm room stuff already.
Here are some things to keep in mind:
-Not all schools do the XL twin. You might want to wait until a decision is made before buying sheets.
-The bathroom situation may inform whether your kiddo needs/wants a caddy. My daughter has had communal bathroom (yes to a bathroom caddy/tote), and sheās also had a jack and Jill style bathroom (that year, she and her suitemates decided to buy a shelving unit that went in the corner of the shower, one shelf each for shampoo, body wash etc).
-Almost everything they need can be ordered on Amazon. Go small not big!
-Things that are boxed and will need to be put togetherā¦.If possible do that ahead of time.
-A little tool kit with basics might be a good Christmas gift!
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Just seconding this. It seems to obvious, and yet, was totally necessary for my kids. Probably because when they had been sick growing up was never when I was focused on teaching them how to adult, so theyād tell me what was wrong, and Iād hand them meds. They truthfully didnāt know when to take which thing. So the āIf this, then thatā note in the meds bin was very helpful for them.
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Iām just sitting here amazed at all you overachievers who are thinking about computers and dorm room decorating and college necessities already when I havenāt even considered what I have going on tomorrow yet.
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For the laptop I wold make sure you do a little research for his schools and majors in case they have specific requirements. I know at S24 school, certain majors require a PC rather than a Mac. Just figured I wold mention.
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S24 made a lot of friends because he was the kid with the complete tool kit 
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A plastic shoe bin with all the OTC meds, first aid etc is one of the best tips we received for S24 and I highly recommend. A friend mentioned picking up things slowly like cleaning supplies, towels etc. it helps v the $$$ when you get it all in summer. I swear by the Vera Wang towels at Kohlās and thereās always a sale and coupon.
Iām not sure how to attach things here. I wonder if you upload to Canva can you make it a shareable link? @SpreadsheetMom
As for computers itās sometimes better to wait because all schools are different and will recommend different things. S24ās school had the same MAC deal as the Apple Store along with a warranty that covered literally everything even accidental damage. And we could pick it up when we moved him in so it was one less thing to pack.
S24ās cleaning supplies were all unopened/unused in May
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I donāt remember anyone here having a kid at Brown - but I hope everyoneās kids are safe and well this morning.
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See, Iām impressed with people who have already decided what their kids are getting for Christmas, and arenāt posting asking for suggestions on 12/15.
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One of S23ās best friends is on the volleyball team there. He was fine but apparently one of his teammates was grazed. Horrible.
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Between that and the Bondi Beach massacre things feel so heavy and sad 
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Copied this, thanks!
D26 laptop was so old last year and she had to use mine for SAT because hers couldnāt accommodate Blue Blue. So we broke down and got her a new one for this school year, hoping it will be acceptable for college. We got her a Macbook Pro, smaller one. Now seeing all these student discounts brings a little regret, but it was on sale when we bought it so hopefully we didnāt overspend.
The only Christmas item I have come up with is a weekender style bag. Something functional and cute that she can bring if she comes home for a weekend or goes away with friends, that isnāt a rolling suitcase to cart through campus. She doesnāt have anything like that now. I may get one for myself too after seeing how functional it is! The rest we will wait and see where she winds up and what style bathroom etc. The ones she applied to are anything from communal hall bathroom to all single rooms with kitchen/living shared with suitemates.
I am not tech savvy and the fact you were able to convert to a PDF is already beyond my capabilities 
If you figure out how to share, I know will be appreciated by many!
Thinking on the sheets of how to take the medications, I plan to put a note of not to use Tylenol combined with/while drinking alcohol. I know most adults know this, but I am not sure that teens do.
S26 was deferred by Marist on Friday. Luckily already has acceptances to Siena and Quinnipiac. Heās so blase about everything, āMom, Iāll get in somewhere.ā
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