Suggestions for move in day?

astrophysicsmom
Wed, 06 Aug 2008 16:26:43 +0000

Hmm…the carrying the clothes on a rod to the room idea is intriguing, but D didn’t want to do anything that looked too “weird” while moving in, ha ha! We packed almost everything in big plastic tubs that we got at home depot. I think she left all her clothes on hangars, but then folded them in groups and put them in the bins. She took them out, and hung them up immediately. Lots of other stuff (toiletries, desk “supplies” etc). were in smaller boxes within the bins. That way, we were able to take all the bins away with us.

Things I suggest you absolutely have—a fan with IMMEDIATE access, boxcutters, etc. to break down (or open) all the boxes of new stuff so you can flatten them for the recycling bin, and a hand-truck. Even with the stairs, you can use it to get stuff from the car to as close to the stairs as possible. Get to the dorm EARLY…like, half an hour before the move-in time. The mob scene outside the dorms only got worse as the day went on. Since we were driving 7 hrs from home, we drove to D’s school the day before move-in day and stayed in a motel. We drove to campus the evening we got there, just to check out where/how we’d unload. With some urging, D went inside, and was able to get the room key and go through the “check-in” procedures, even though it was 9:30 at night. Although we didn’t have the use of the student volunteers to help, moving in with NO other people, at night when it wasn’t so hot was a good sign that her dorm experience would be a good one. It also helped being the first one there, when it came to dorm furniture, desk location, etc. ;)

When D packed to come home in the Spring, she separated out all the stuff that she didn’t plan to bring back in the fall…and there was quite a bit. I’m afraid I was the culprit for the growing pile of crap she took last year. I used college “packing list” ideas from CC as well as a bunch of other places and kept buying “handy” things all last summer. I think as a mom, I just wanted everything to be there if she needed it, since I couldn’t be. Ha! It didn’t take long for me to understand that if she needed something, she really was quite capable of getting it for herself. Anything else she bought during the year was out of the monthly “allowance” we sent her. Since she figured out that she’d rather buy clothes and go out to eat with friends than spending too much on toiletries, etc.at the student union convenience store, she quickly figured out how to take the bus from her campus to the local Target.

As the last poster said, prepare for it to be hot, the walk up and down those 3 flights of stairs will be brutal, and you will witness some incredibly rude and thoughtless people (usually the obnoxious parents of other kids). For the first time moving in to the dorm, students and parents are all on edge, and it can make for some family moments that aren’t the stuff that Norman Rockwell paintings depict!!

Good luck!