<p>My son, a college junior will be renting a room in a house from a family this summer. They are providing a furnished room - bed, table, chair, dresser, lamp etc. He will be sharing the kitchen, bathroom and the laundry facilities with them.</p>
<p>What should he take with him? I know he should take his own laundry liquid. But what about toilet tissue, kitchen dish liquid, hand soap in the toilet etc? </p>
<p>This is the first time for him to have this kind of living arrangement and we do not have any such experience either. Any ideas, help is very much appreciated.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>I would ask the family what he should bring. If he’s sharing a bathroom and kitchen, it would be a nice gesture to bring a few things. When my son rented a room in a house, he brought a floor lamp, his own desk lamp, his t.v., and his own mattress pad, sheets, blankets, and towels. It’s not because they didn’t provide these things, it’s just because he prefers to use his own things.</p>
<p>Will they be providing him with meals, or will he be cooking for himself?</p>
<p>I rented the spare bedroom in a nice woman’s house for over a year, with “kitchen privileges.” I only needed my personal things (toiletries, clothes), bed linens and towels, and bought food to fix myself. I used her TP but replaced it occasionally. If he’s using the laundry, he might buy detergent half way through the summer.</p>
<p>@toledo @VeryHappy, yes he is taking his own mattress pad, bed linens, pillows, fan, lamp, toiletries etc. They will not be providing him the meals, but will be providing him space in the fridge and cabinets to store his food. They will be giving him a ride to the grocery store for him to get the food items. </p>
<p>He will take his own laundry liquid. </p>
<p>But we are not sure if he has to take the following-
his own kitchen pot/pans,
plates/spoon/fork/cup,
toilet paper
hand soap
dish liquid
and such.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>I’d say no to bringing his own pots, pans, and dishes. Bringing a 4 pack of toilet paper and some dish soap would be seen as a nice gesture, but I’m sure they’re not expecting it.</p>
<p>It is a tricky thing…If he uses their pots and pans then he may need to be very careful not to burn them. If he brings his own then they may not have space for him to keep them. Same with dishes and utensils. I would ask instead of making assumptions.</p>
<p>As far as toilet papers and dish soap, I would wait until he is there to see how things are. If he has his own bathroom then he should get his own toilet paper and hand soap, otherwise I would just pick up some whenever. If he is paying rent to the family then those things really don’t cost that much to worry about.</p>
<p>I would have your son clean up the bathroom he is using and make sure the kitchen is clean after he is done. If the family should offer him cooked meal then he could help with clean up.</p>
<p>thank you @oldfort, @toledo. Since we are vacating his dorm apartment and moving him to the summer room before bringing the rest of his items home, I guess we will check with the family (It is Dad & 3 high school/college aged kids). My son is not big into cooking. He will be out at the internship job most of the day and will be back only in the evenings. He plans on eating cereal, bagel for mornings, pack sandwiches, fruit, yogurt for lunch. Nights he will mostly pick up some microwavable frozen foods, take out pizza, chinese meals and such. Weekends he might use the stove to make eggs, pancakes or pasta. I will have a general talk about leaving the bathroom/kitchen clean after using it, washing the cups, plates immediately after use etc. Weekends he plan on taking the train to the city to be with his friends in the college town. So, we hope it all works out. </p>
<p>Maybe I will leave one pot and one pan in his room and he can decide based on how it goes. My son is an easy going kid and the dad of the summer family sounded very nice over the phone. They have college kids renting rooms in their house all year and it looks like they are used to this process. </p>
<p>Thanks again for all your suggestions.</p>