My DD is entering dorm life in August '15 (I don’t know where yet) and I’m wondering what kids take to college these days. I’ve seen elaborate set-ups that look like someone hired an interior decorator. I’m not looking for that! But somewhere between that and sending her off with a trunk of clothes and quarters for laundry.
Do they bring small appliances anymore? “In my day” we brought microwaves and blenders (yes, for making drinks), some brought computers and even fewer brought a printer. Do coffee drinkers bring a coffee pot or do they rely on the dining hall?
Organizing is a must… do you recommend a trip to Target or the container store after seeing and measuring the space? (Keep in mind that DD will be at least 1500 miles from home and shipping seems to be a silly option.) Do we tackle under bed organizing, drawer and closet organizing?
I know my DD will want decorative items and I’m ok with planning that… bedding, posters, etc. And we’ll get towels, toiletries, cleaning supplies (as if she’ll clean) handled locally when we get to the school area.
Keeping in mind that NONE of her college choices will be rural and there should be at least a Target within 30 mins of each school, if not a full mall. Her birthday is this month and graduation is coming up. This is a great time to start making a list.
Some things you just have to wait on - fridge/micro/coffee maker etc. Some dorms allow them, some don’t, some only allow their own rentals, etc.
I wouldn’t buy storage items either, since you don’t know what space you’re dealing with.
Bedding seems OK to get if you like - seems 90% of dorms use Twin XL sheets, though some use twin.
There are dorm shopping lists all over the internet, and decorating ideas too. Pinterest has a ton of the latter.
Re: handling far away - Target and Bed Bath and Beyond and maybe Container too will let you order then pickup near the school, some stores will deliver things to schools for you
Someone posted a great list here at one time. I will see if I can find it. Although you might not want everything it will prompt you for things you might not have thought of, ;ike shower sandals.
My daughter obsessed too much, but we bonded. I gave my daughter a “getting ready for college” budget. She exceeded that, but with her own money. It takes awhile after they start school for them to know what all they might appreciate having.
And I agree that using a service like Bed Bath and Beyond where you can pick things out locally and get them at a store near the school has been good for friends whose kids have gone to school out of driving distance. Some other things not on the list we brought were: posters/photos and blu-tac to hang them up, a bunch of command hooks, hot pot, shower shoes, drying rack (for sweaters etc.), closet doubler (it is on the list but I’d stress that almost nobody brings one and it is helpful for anyone trying to fit a lot of clothing and a small closet), assignment pad, water bottle, sleeping bag (if friends come visit), rug. Things like toiletries and some snack food is probably better off being purchased close to school.
My S got everything quickly but for my D is was a summer project (finding the “perfect” comforter etc.). Each kid is different. But enjoy the time together, even if it is shopping for school stuff.
Advice from my son. Put everything you think you need in one room, and then take only half of it. You probably won’t use all that you take,mand you won’t miss the other half.
Dorm rooms are not particularly spacious. Less is more.
We were mean parents. Our kids went shopping first in the linen closet of mom and dad, and their own rooms. Both took older towels, and the quilts or comforters right off their beds. I mean really…if anyone was getting new towels, it was going to be ME!
We had one kid who went across the country. We shopped here at BBB, and got the bulky things…pillows, mattress pad, sheets, chair cushion, desk lamp…and picked them up near the college town. This was the daughter…she also got some hanging storage things to put on the closet door…and folding “cloth” boxes that went under the beds.
She coordinated with a roommate who brought the rug. We purchased a small TV at Target. The other girl had a microwave and fridge. She lived locally so it was easy for her to move thst “stuff”.
There is a master list somewhere on cc but I can’t find it either. If I remember correctly, it had become quite lengthy. You can’t really get a lot get til you know where she is going, the room set-up,and the rules for that college. For example my son’s school had a small community kitchen in each tower so no one had microwaves in their rooms ( you must be a LOT younger than I am Phoenixmom- in “my day” microwaves and personal computers were not yet available lol) . Most roommates seem to share a fridge but there are usually size limits. Beds may or may not have room under them for storage. The things you can get now include bedding (xl twin), towels including maybe a beach towel (my kids took old ones as they tend to disappear), possibly a mattress topper, bathroom caddy and flip flops, removable hooks, etc. Kids often share a printer, however my recent kids just printed on a school printer. They rarely turn in hard copies so don’t need one often. There is often very little space so she really should coordinate w/ roommates to optimize space. One of my D’s went to school across country and we bought everything there. Have fun!!!
Ditto! Both S and now D. For Christmas D got a new duvet cover for her down comforter, she’s using it now. Guess what’s going to college with her? That and the matching sheets also currently on her bed. Towels? Why on earth would we send new?
Now I get if you can’t bring things to school in a vehicle or whatever shopping at home makes less sense.
Most schools have a list of what to bring - and NOT bring… And some of your decisions on what to bring might be tied to how far away the school is. If the student is flying to school, it’s a lot different list that if they are being driven in a big SUV.
It was started several years ago, so some stuff may not be needed due to the advent of cell phones, laptops, etc.
This is everything someone COULD conceivably want to take. Your kid will not take (or need) over 50% of this stuff. But if you want to make sure you think of everything…
My youngest went to school all the way across the country. There are different ways to handle getting stuff there. We did make a Target run from school, but stuff is picked over to some extent… So here is what we did:
o Bought bedding, towels, etc. at home and shipped it a few weeks before classes started. She got her school mailbox info over the summer, and they allowed kids to do that at her school.
o Flew Southwest. 2 bags checked free per person. So 2 for her, and one of mine was her stuff as well. I think we rented a slightly bigger car than usual.
o You select stuff at Bed, Bath, and Beyond and pick up if there is one near the school (wasn’t one very convenient for her, we thought, so we didn’t do this, but lots of people do).
o You can always send stuff later, or she can pick stuff up at winter break. Don’t overpack.
o Count on multiple meltdowns during the school shopping process. Mine’s biggest was over whether she had the right shirts/tops for school in a warm climate. Note she attends a tech school not know for style… but that didn’t help. What she had was not ‘cute enough’. Some of it is just stress over leaving for college… you just gotta roll with it. She never melted down during picking a college, only over summer shopping and packing. So be prepared.
o She will find out who her roommate(s) are a couple of months before school starts, and also likely get rules on what can and can’t be in the dorms (rules about hotplates, coffee makers, etc.) She also might be able to find out if her dorm has a kitchen she can use, many do have shared ones. Her roommates may be local, so maybe they plan to bring a mini-fridge, TV, etc. You can hope… But anything like that can be purchased (or rented) there, don’t get it at home.
Whatever she wants to take for clothing, take 50% of that. We did insist that she take two weeks worth of underwear which she thought was really strange. Now she sees the wisdom.
Remember, everything that you send to college has to be carted home again (or stored on campus). Mail order is quick and easy these days, so my suggestion is to at first take a minimalist approach.
Right…and you can tell her she can pick up,additional “stuff” when she is home for Thanksgiving. We did that…and the kid never asked for the additional stuff.
