<p>This fall, we will be driving from Chicago to Boston to move D into her dorm. Because I am an uber-planner, I’m already thinking through logistics. I don’t anticipate she’ll have any more or less stuff than the average college freshman, just the typical clothes, bedding, toiletries, etc. </p>
<p>What makes most sense in terms of packing? </p>
<p>Do we pack her in conventional suitcases and then just take the empty suitcases home (leaving one or two for her to use when flying home for breaks)? Or are we better off just packing in cardboard boxes and dumping the boxes once done? What about those plastic crates that break down, that movers use? Or just plain old garbage bags, which bothers the aesthete in me?</p>
<p>What have those of you who have driven an appreciable difference done in terms of how you packed / what you packed in?</p>
<p>And no, I haven’t thought about how we’ll get her back in June, whether we’ll drive out to get her or have her fly home or whether we’ll store her stuff in Boston over the summer.</p>
<p>Two things that worked for us. First, if, you have room in the car, leave her hanging clothes on hangers and then use clean trash bags as garment bags. It was so nice to be able to just hang up her clothes in her dorm closet–and packing was much easier too. Also, if she will need or have room for a plastic storage thing with drawers, go ahead and put whatever will be in it in her room in the drawers at home.</p>
<p>We flew, but don’t forget the Bed Bath & Beyond option where you buy at home and pick up at the location closest to the school. Wonderful service!</p>
<p>I have used all in OPs post. Last summer we used duffles on wheels and we left one big duffle on wheels (he has not flown home with it yet), and one small carryon on wheels (he uses this and does not check it unless he has to). The rest of the stuff was packed in boxes that were labeled (tossed when unpacked). We used the space bags which were great in reducing bulk, served as clear plastic bags, and we took them home since our son would not reuse at the end of the year . We also had a carrier on the top of our vehicle. The car was jammed!</p>
<p>Tip- space bags at Costco I found to be reasonable as far as cost (I think a box of small, medium, large, xlarge mixed were either 20 or 25 dollars). We did not use them all.</p>
<p>For me, I really like duffel bags for packing. A sizable one can hold a lot of clothing, and stores easily under the bed or in the closet because they’ll lay close to flat. It’s also useful as a student to have at least some luggage in case you need to pack for breaks or conferences. </p>
<p>Also, certain room accessories can double as carrying vessels. For instance, I usually fill my laundry basket with odds and ends such as toiletries and office supplies. For whatever else doesn’t fit, cardboard is always useful because it can simply be collapsed and either recycled or stored in a crevice for future packing needs. </p>
<p>One thing to watch out for with packing is making one piece of luggage too heavy. I was a volunteer mover at the beginning of the year, and the biggest struggle with dealing with people who had bags and boxes that were too heavy or awkward for some of the movers to carry. If you’re going to bring one of those stack-able storage towers, make sure that the drawers are taped shut and nothing breakable is inside. Surprisingly, many residence halls don’t have elevators so you could end up having to carry whatever you pack up to the fourth floor. </p>
<p>Other than that the trick to packing is just figuring out what you really need and what you don’t really need. ;)</p>
<p>I’ll second Amesie’s advice – keep the clothes on hangers, put a trash bag around them, and pile them in the car. It’s worked for us every time, and is an incredible time saver. </p>
<p>We bought under-the-bed plastic storage bins – three, I think – and used them instead of suitcases and boxes. That has also worked very well every year. We bought ours at Walmart.</p>
<p>We’ve used both garbage bags and duffel bags. Nothing that takes up too much space in the room. When you move in, you will see other students using garbage bags. One of the trash bag makers – Glad? don’t remember who – makes these huge see-through plastic bags that are good for bedding. They aren’t as cheap looking as black garbage bags.</p>
<p>This question has come up many times. There are old threads about this. I know, because I got most of my ideas from reading them four years ago!</p>
<p>IKEA has these awesome bags [IKEA</a> | Bins & bags | Bags | DIMPA | Storage case](<a href=“DIMPA Storage bag, clear, 25 ½x8 ¾x25 ½" - IKEA”>DIMPA Storage bag, clear, 25 ½x8 ¾x25 ½" - IKEA) - heavy reinforced plastic with webbed handles. They come in two sizes. The bigger one is about twice the size of the one in the catalog. We use the them for everything and haven’t been able to destroy them. They’re great for school packing as they fold flat, taking up little space. You can even put them between the mattress and bed frame to keep them out of sight.</p>
<p>PG…we did both kinds of moving events…cross country AND drive in the car. We did the “drive in the car” trip to Boston. I have to say…LESS IS MORE…and there are stores in Boston. We didn’t leave ANY vessel unfilled. DS took a fridge and we filled it with soft clothes. He took some plastic milkcrates to use for books…also filled those. We got two of those wheeled under the bed boxes and we filled those also. DS took a collapsable duffle bag (small enough to use as a carryon for air travel) and that was it for suitcases. The reality was…the room wasn’t big enough to store suitcases.</p>
<p>For DD (the cross country trip) we did the BB Beyond shopping at home and picking up in CA. We did this for everything that was bulky (pillows, mattress topper, mattress pad, bulky linens, desk lamp, etc.). It worked out well…and was very easy.</p>
<p>Re: the return trip at the end of the school year…DD stored her “stuff” with four other friend for the summer. It was a lot less expensive than shipping it all back home (and having to look at it in my living room) and convenient. Most college campuses have companies that provide the boxes and then actually come and get the “stuff” and the redeliver it when you return in the fall. My kiddo didn’t use that but they are there.</p>
<p>We had a similar journey in distance. Here’s what I recommend:</p>
<p>A couple of suitcases: one big one for coming home for a long time (like the summer) and a smaller one/carry-on size in case she does a shorter trip (Thanksgiving or a weekend trip). Pack them full of clothes, especially stuff that will go in drawers.</p>
<p>Plastic under the bed box(es) for shoes, out-of-season clothing, other storage. Pack with stuff in them. </p>
<p>We mainly used boxes for other things (bedding, towels, toiletries, laundry supplies, desk supplies, etc.).</p>
<p>I agree with the suggestion for clothing that would go into the closet - if you can hang it up on a rod in your vehicle, it will go directly from the car to the closet. If you don’t have room for a rod then you can put down a plastic trash bag, tarp or blanket and then lay the clothes on top on their hangers.</p>
<p>We drove out for freshman year. She has flown back and forth ever since. Last summer she went in with some other students for a storage unit, it was around $100 for the summer for her share. </p>
<p>Also, be prepared to come back with some stuff - she may decide she doesn’t need it, or the space may be smaller than you anticipated.</p>
<p>We also mail stuff back and forth. In fact, I have a big box ready to take to UPS tomorrow. Due to the airline regulations for luggage and her ability to manage by herself on public transportation from the airport to campus, it’s a cheaper/easier way to transport stuff. When she came home at Christmas, she brought one suitcase and also mailed a box to herself.</p>
<p>Sorry! I hear girls come with much more stuff. My favorites for the big move-in at the beginning of the year and move-out at the end of the year are those big green lawn-and-leaf bags. They hold a lot of stuff, will change shape to fit the space, and can be tossed. Besides those we bring his laundry basket (filled with clothes–clean at the beginning of the year; dirty at the end), and maybe one small duffle for trips home during the year, although honestly these days he comes home with just a backpack.</p>
<p>One year I made the mistake of buying some cheap ones–better to go ahead and buy name brand.</p>
<p>There’s lots of good “what to bring” advice on CC, and even better “what not to bring.” Go lighter than you think. Important to coordinate with roomie. Can always supplement once you arrive or mail her stuff that she really feels she needs. And of course if it doesn’t fit in one vehicle it’s too much.</p>
<p>We drove both boys out for their freshman years. We took two wheeled duffles (one small for weekend trips and one large for coming home at Christmas and summer.) We took all their gear for all four seasons (think skis, tennis rackets, frisbees, THE LONGBOARD which could never be left at home,…we said no to the golf clubs and the Indo board). Oldest stashes the winter gear and clothes in a storage locker for summer and brings the large duffle home on the plane. (#2 will do the same) We used a couple boxes that were tossed after move-in. We used a laundry baset (for shoes/boots/socks/undies stuffed into shoes) and we also used a plastic lawn and leaf bag over hangers for their sport coats, dress pants, winter coats. I bought them 2 crates that they could use as end tables and packed “stuff” in the crates. Each of them had an internal frame backpack for hiking so that got filled. I dry cleaned their button downs and had them wrapped/boxed (not on hangers). They put their electronics in their backpacks (laptops, cameras, ipods, cell phone charger). We threw the ski carrier on top of the car and put the skis, bedding, pillows, the lawn & leaf bag with the coats, and everything “soft” in the carrier along with one of those chairs in a sack. I rented an SUV for #1 and a minivan for #2 because I can’t “handle” breakdowns when traveling and made sure it had a carrier on top for the box… left the dog at home with friends…we were cozy and packed to the gills.</p>
<p>I had to laugh, though, because when we arrived their were all sorts of vehicles and uhauls and RVs and cars with stuff literally strapped on all four sides. S2 was upset that we vetoed the golf clubs although I had visions of strapping the golf bag to the rear bumper with clubs falling out all the way along I-80. I told him he can’t “afford” to golf while in college.</p>
<p>This is the best thing we bought and when I visited #1, I bought him one, also. It fit on top of the dresser and added 3 more drawers. There were no “big box” stores in the college town so I brought this (packed), but clearly in a “real” town or city these are probably fairly easy to find.</p>
<p>Use the ginormous XXL Ziploc bags and the vacuum bags for all the towels, linens and folded clothing.
Put her name and dorm name and room on the big bags with masking tape so it won’t be lost in the shuffle to move in.</p>
<p>This is what we did too. We used those space bags for bedding (if you are not shopping for pillows at the school, they can be suctioned down to nothing! We brought the winter jacket too (again, a down jacket in a space bag really reduces its size quite a lot).</p>
<p>If you run out of room, you can always bring one set of sheets and 2 bath towels, and if you feel more is necessary, you could mail the extras later. We have mailed things a few things later. I know that my son likes getting those care packages anyway.</p>
<p>I don’t think there is a hard and fast <em>best</em> way to do things, the trick is to get creative and be flexible. My first year I used all garbage bags, and that turned out to be a big mess. It was a pain when unpacking to have everything jumbled up together, bags ripped, things got broken. This year I used a combination of luggage, garbage bags, and bankers boxes. Fragile stuff went into the boxes, clothes and similar types of items into garbage bags, and I fit most other things into my luggage-- the luggage nests and is stored in my closet, I use it when moving back and forth for breaks and for trips. I threw out the bags and the boxes are broken down and stuffed behind my couch to be used at move-out.</p>
<p>I also brought some plastic drawer sets and milk crate kind of things for furniture and I packed a lot of my things in what they would eventually be stored in anyway, which made unpacking easier. Everything that would be stored in the same place was packed together. By the time it’s time to unpack your kid will be exhausted and extremely cranky, the more organized you are in your packing the better.</p>
<p>We use plastic boxes. They could be stacked inside each other and shoved under the bed behind the storage drawers we also brought. He had one big suitcase which he asked us to take home parents weekend - not sure why as it seemed it was still behind stuff under the bed.</p>
<p>I second the recommendation of the Sterlite three drawer storage unit. Both sons have it. I packed the drawers with school supplies, paper goods etc. It is great to use as a nightstand and since it is on wheels, it can be moved anywhere. We drove from NY to Michigan and fit everything in the back of the van. I did reserve some of the bigger items at the Bed Bath and Beyond in MI in case everything didn’t fit in the van. Luckilly everything fit and we cancelled that order. I would also recommend, especially for students flying back and forth, to leave a few pairs of underwear, socks, pants and shirts at home. That way they don’t have to pack much when they come home on breaks.</p>
<p>Another vote for the XXL zip loc bags. They’re stronger than trash bags, are see-thru, and have a handle.</p>
<p>We also had good luck with the plastic drawers from target. My daughter liked the stackable ones. We raised her bed and stacked sets of two underneath. </p>
<p>Girls do take a lot of stuff. My older daughter is only two hours from home and we usually make two trips in a mini-van. D2 is going farther, so we’ll have to do it all in one trip or buy some things near her school.</p>
<p>I concur with the garbage bags and clothes on hangers. She’ll also need some kind of suitcase for trips home so it’s best to fill it up with stuff before putting it in the car. </p>
<p>I think carboard boxes are fairly ideal. The best ones are about the size that’ll be heavy but manageable if filled with books - roughly the size (maybe a little bigger) than boxes for copier paper. A couple of bigger ones could be handy as well. They pack fairly easy, load easily (in an SUV especially), and importantly, are easy to transport to the room. You can break them down for the return trip or if she has enough room, leave them there so she can reload for the return trip. You may as well not throw them out or you’ll just find yourself looking for boxes again in a short time assuming she moves out after 9 months.</p>
<p>Remember that for the return trip, assuming a complete move-out, there’s somehow always more stuff than was brought there and it’s always harder to fit it back in the vehicle. This is somebody’s law but I don’t know whose.</p>
<p>Also - check on what the college provides, if anything, for transporting stuff from the car to the room. If they don’t have anything, a collapsable dolly is very handy. You can stack 3 or 4 boxes on it and take them all at once without straining your back. UCLA had rolling bins to use so we didn’t use the dolly for the dorms there but we’ve used one on all other moves.</p>