Things you DON'T need to pack for college

Parent Cafe
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<p>I brought too many pairs of shoes. My campus has awful pavement, so wearing high heels all the time is not the best way to treat my feet (though I try). There are also fewer formal events in college, so all my “dress-up” strappy sandals ended up collecting dust. I also brought too many purses/handbags.</p>

<p>Wardrobe-wise, I’d practically packed all the wearable clothes in my closet and drawers, but again, there was no need. I wasn’t anymore likely to wear ugly sweaters in college than in high school. Also, it made trips home harder than necessary, since I’d have to bring clothes back with me all the time.</p>

<p>My dad has a nice tupperware collection going, and he made me bring a ton of those, but I never used more than one at a time, since I didn’t have very convenient kitchen access. Ditto on the trash bags, plastic baggies, and several sets of utensils.</p>

<p>And the first aid kit was only useful for its ample supply of bandaids. </p>

<p>We also brought too many plastic bins. We used them to move stuff in, but all of them ended up empty beneath my bed for the whole year.</p>

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<p>I notice it is mostly moms with S here. My daughter took up a whole mini van full of stuff, then bought another car load after we got there, then we brought up more stuff for her next few months (she had a mini fridge, rice cooker, coffee maker, 3 different hair dryer/curler, double hung closet…). I just asked her if there was anything she didn’t use. She looked at me for a minute, “Nope, I used everything.” So that’s a difference between D and S.</p>

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<p>Student615 - both of my kids who have laptops have - and use - locks. Keeping the dorm door locked is of course a great idea if you have a cooperative roommate.</p>

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<p>Don’t bother bringing a phone to hook up in the room. Son did and it never got hooked up. Everyone just uses their cell phones and “emergency texts” get sent to student’s cell phones from the Campus communications dept. (just make sure your kid registers for this). Blankets never got used (dorms are well heated) so just bring a comforter. Bring 2 sets of sheets (XL twin) only–they’ll probably only use one set all year. Do bring extra ink cartridges for your printer but don’t bring tons of paper (it’s heavy, bulky, and you can buy it at the bookstores as needed). Don’t bother bringing a floor lamp–takes up too much room and the rooms have ceiling lighting. Do bring a usb memory device and an ethernet cable. Don’t bring an office chair–just use the basic desk chair that the school supplies. Most of studying/work will be done in the library anyway. Do bring headphones and ipod but don’t lug a stereo system. Do bring laundry detergent, but don’t bother with fabric softener sheets (won’t get used). Don’t bring bean bag chairs. Pack everything in plastic bags (not suitcases) so you squoosh them down in the back of the SUV and still see through the back window.</p>

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<p>oldfort, my d brought a lot of stuff, too, but she also didn’t use half the stuff she brought, particularly those things that were stored in the underbed storage boxes she just had to have! Too much trouble to get it out!</p>

<p>But she still had more stuff, and used more stuff, than most of the guys she knows.</p>

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<p>Actually, I disagree with this if your student will be living in a single room. Students in singles often do much of their studying and online fooling around in their rooms, and the desk chair is a real asset in terms of comfort.</p>

<p>What you should NOT bring is any clothing that requires dry cleaning or hand washing, unless it’s intended for special events (e.g., party dress, interview suit). In routine day-to-day life, you’re not going to want to deal with hand washables or spend money taking stuff to be dry cleaned.</p>

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<p>I agree with the advice to skip the phone. Both kids use their cell exclusively after the first year or two, so D’s phone sits in the closet at this point and S’s is my kitchen phone (I really like it, so that worked for me). Also, agree that the popcorn bowl can be useful. D not only used her popcorn bowl for eating popcorn, but it became the basin that was filled with soapy water for washing other things - cups, utensils, etc.</p>

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<p>My daughter did bring a phone for her room and it was handy (remember I have the daughter with 3 car load worth of stuff). Her school has bad cell phone reception, when we really want to talk, she’ll ask me to call her on her land line.</p>

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<p>LOL on the popcorn bowl.</p>

<p>S had a suite with kitchenette soph yr. On our Target run, he REFUSED to buy a soup/cereal bowl, but did let me buy him a couple of dinner plates. He proceeded to eat cereal out of box all semester WITHOUT milk because he “didn’t have a bowl.” </p>

<p>Approximate time to walk to local grocery store and buy some sort of bowl: 3 minutes.</p>

<p>Go figure.</p>

<p>PS, the next year, he allowed the purchase of a bowl.</p>

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<p>My D didn’t bring her own desk chair but she did take a thick chair cushion (denim on top and sort of sticky rubberish stuff on the bottom so it stayed put). She put a small sheepskin on top of that and had a soft comfy desk chair that she says was the envy of all. And she does use her popcorn bowl but never plugged in the land line phone. Even my eldest D who is out of college and living in an apt. doesn’t have a land line. It’s a new world.</p>

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<p>DD’s school required they bring a regular phone. In additon to having the cell phone notification system, it went to the room phone, which was good because sometimes cell batteries go dead and coverage isn’t always 100% in all buildings. The “doorbell” call system outside the dorm rang through the room phone.
She also needed a copy of her SS card and birth certificate for her on campus job to issue her paychecks.</p>

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<p>S1 didn’t have landline phone service in his frat house senior year but wished that he had when he had first-round phone interviews for a number of permanent jobs. Our cell phone service just didn’t cut it for such important conversations. As to which item to leave home, the telescoping drying racks I bought both sons which came home in their original packaging.</p>

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<p>Don’t bring more than a few fun books, even if you’re a very big reader. (By “a few” I mean two or three.) Your school has a library, most likely with a very good selection. You’ll probably be able to open up an account at the public library nearby. If you need something to read, you’ll find it there – and if you just have to reread a favorite book, those libraries are also likely to have it.</p>

<p>Not to mention that books are heavy, take up a lot of space, and you won’t be able to read very much that’s not assigned for class anyway, as you’ll spend most of your free time doing more social activities with friends.</p>

<p>(I’m still learning this, by the way.)</p>

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<p>" Things you DON’T need to pack for college"</p>

<p>Mommy?</p>

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<p>Anything in bulk. Do not bring the biggest shampoo, conditioner, bottled water, box of tampons, toilet paper, tissues, whatever. There is limited space in a dorm room and almost every college runs buses to the local supermarket, Target, or Wal-Mart. Not only will only bringing the tiniest stuff save space, it will teach your child to navagate one of these stores.</p>

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<p>Regular phone, bulk toiletries, books, desk chair, extra blankets, and a few other things in this thread all came with me to school for one or more years. Sometimes, the items were just easy to bring and nice to have (lots of books); sometimes, they were more or less necessary (the landline for the two years that my dorms didn’t get cell reception; the cushy office chair for the year that my antique desk chair could’ve doubled as a torture device); and still other times, they fell somewhere in between (bulk toiletries…convenient for someone without a car but with a CostCo membership; blankets, ideal for use at the desk, watching TV in the living room, or creating a “guest bed” on the floor). And of course, as binx’s response demonstrated, there were things I saw as superfluous (typically including plenty of entries from the “Must Bring Items!!!” threads) that others will bring, use, and appreciate having.</p>

<p>Mom60 said it with “KNOW YOUR KID.” And then, because parents generally do know best, feel free to step in and remove some of the twenty pairs of high heels, add to the five pairs of underwear, or force that popcorn bowl into the suitcase. No matter how well-prepared your packing list is, odds are that you’ll be shipping a box or sending an extra suitcase back at Thanksgiving, the contents of which will replace the “had-to-haves” that your kid sends or brings home.</p>

<p>Just an almost-certainly-unnecessary reminder to do as much cherry-picking within this thread as within the “Things you DO need to pack” threads ;)</p>

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<p>Yes, ^^^ - and along with “know your kid” there is some “know your school” involved as well. I sent D off to school with just sheets and comforter. Her aunt (who lives fairly close to her school) ended up going out and getting her two more blankets – dorm rooms were cold! D had a huge double room this year. Next year she will be in a double about half the size (including half the closet space.) Fortunately she has a better idea of what she needs and what she can do without. She made good use of the bed risers this year - raise the bed to fit plastic storage containers under the bed. Next year she is considering lofting (costs extra) or bunking. Depends upon what roommate wants. But room is so small, they will have to do something.</p>

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<p>As time goes by, the packaging gets less. Age and experience will dictate practicality in taking the kitchen sink on every trip out.</p>

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<p>Last summer, I wondered if S should have taken a desktop computer instead of a laptop. Answer is absolutely not. Other things we thought of sending but are glad we didn’t: computer games, framed posters, favorite books, lots of food. </p>

<p>He is more of a minimalist than we thought.</p>

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<p>I think the birth certificate and stuff shouldn’t be sent, but definitely, DEFINITELY bring the passport with you. I have forgotten to do so for the past 2 years and have had to have my parents express mail it to me (thereby delaying my paychecks). </p>

<p>I brought a lot of stuff my first year that was entirely unnecessary. I used storage boxes, which I did not need. Plastic bags work so much better and I had ample storage space in my closet and my dresser. I did not bring enough hangers. I bought a whiteboard/corkboard for leaving messages and stuff to myself inside the room, but I didn’t use it past first semester. I brought too many books, though, and after the first day, I no longer read! </p>

<p>I bought a lot of popcorn first year and I only ate like 5 bags of it. I bought a box of granola bars (40+), though, and I used it over January and on the weekends when there was no breakfast in my dorm. There was no need to have any drinks besides water, but I bought a bottle of juice for when food was limited over January and it sufficed. </p>

<p>I bought a desk lamp, but I honestly used it like 3 times in the past 2 years. It still has the same bulb as it did first year. </p>

<p>My old roommate is the epitome of the example for “what not to pack”. She brought with her:
5+ dresses, 15? pairs of pant, a shirt for every day of the month, 15 bras, tampons and pads that could probably be distributed amongst several dozens of people, a rug by her bed, a desk calendar AND a regular calendar, a lot of unnecessary storage containers, 2 pairs of rain boots, 5 pairs of sneakers, a few pairs of good shoes, jewelry, a box of make-up, 6 different perfumes, 2 coats and a fleece, her textbooks from first year!!, books about grad school admissions which she looked at ONCE, too many towels, 2 comforters (you need one!), 2 fleece sheets, and 2 blankets, 7 pillows, and window cling decorations. Try to stay away from all of that.</p>