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<p>Miss Turbo is taking along 2 cubic feet worth of cosmetics. I measured :-)</p>
<p>Keep in mind that while you can fly in with a carry on and buy everything there, it still has to go somewhere for the summer. I have not investigated the summer storage issue but every place I’ve ever attended requires you empty the room by end of spring semester. </p>
<p>Then what?</p>
<p>Trunks can get very heavy, and there isn’t always space for them in the room. A lot of students at my school use these some version of these: [Sterilite</a> - Storage: Totes](<a href=“Sterilite Corporation”>Sterilite Corporation) for move in day/ summer storage. (Obviously the smaller sizes are easier to carry).</p>
<p>I brought too much luggage (2 suitcases and 1 wheel thing) and it covered the floor of my closet (where other stuff should have gone) and took up the trunk of my car.</p>
<p>My roomate was smart… got a po box and shipped all of his stuff in boxes. Then the stuff he did not want he shipped home in the same boxes.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t call BB&B “pricey” but even if it were, the reduction in stress and hassle would have been well worth it. Like you, OP, I wanted to have as many things settled ahead of time as possible, and BB&B helped alot in that regard.</p>
<p>If my son had taken a trunk his first year, he would have had to sleep in it–there was no room for a trunk. I think soft luggage is more adaptable.</p>
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<p>Yes…and storage places can easily be found. DD shared a storage space with three friends for a summer…inside, airconditioned…it cost each of them under $50 for the whole summer. They packed and schlepped the stuff themselves. And yes…they had to empty the room.</p>
<p>The BONUS about having the kid a plane ride away…and the stuff in storage…you do NOT have it sitting in your living room all summer…priceless.</p>
<p>DD cut down SIGNIFICANTLY on her toiletry and cosmetic expenses when we did NOT give her spending money and she had to pay for them herself. She now uses only the essentials (no pun intended).</p>
<p>We purchased everything at home, down to the desk lamp and lightbulb (carried the shade on the plane), and pre-washed the sheets and towels. We bought cheap ($25) wheeled soft duffles that can be stored under the bed or on top of the wardrobe. If you accompany your S/D and fly an airline that allows 1-2 bags free, you can get all of it there for a low-cost, with no stress about rushing around buying things on move-in day, and take some of the duffles home with you if there is not enough storage space.</p>
<p>For my long distance S1 four years ago, I ordered all bedding, towels, lamp etc. from JC Penney and had it all shipped to the store in the college town (they’ll hold it for pick-up for 2 weeks, I think). They currently have a pretty good sale online and shipping to a store is only $2.99.</p>
<p>Also waited until after he moved in and then ordered some things online from Walmart.com which were delivered directly to the school address.</p>
<p>Babyfrog is taking her trunk (she’s used it every summer for residence programs). She uses it as extra seating/storage, and plans to loft her bed and put it underneath. She also has plastic stackable storage boxes she’s used her her room at home that are being packed and will also go under the bed. She plans to take a soft duffle as her “suitcase” so she’s able to have something small for trips, but it will squish into her trunk (her school does not allow them to store anything outside of their rooms). We are driving, however…the one summer she went to a program too far to drive, she shipped her bedding, etc ahead and flew w/2 suitcases.</p>
<p>I was shocked how much more EVERYTHING cost in Boston, where DD attended school. </p>
<p>Once we experienced the high prices, we made a point of buying things at home. The savings were substantial even though it was often a hassle to take it.</p>
<p>Where is your dd going to school, nitnat? Big city? Small college town? Metropolitan cities dont have the issue of running out of stuff. For our older s, we all travelled with him to college, so each of us checked a duffel (back in the days when it didnt cost to check a bag) and we got most of his stuff there that way. We picked up the incidentals and the fridge at the local Target and Big Lots, and a printer at a discount computer store (we scoped out all the prices ahead of time, including the prices at Sams and Costco). We left a duffel or 2 with him (folded up and stuck under the bed or in the closet) so he could get stuff home or store it. He brought one home at xmas as we used it to go skiing. </p>
<p>Slight variation with younger s, as we drove him to school. He did some duffel packing, but preferred the large plastic storage things and stackable drawer ones, as he used the stackable drawers as a table by his desk. Then he taped the suckers closed and threw them in the car when he came home. He used a duffel and large trashbags to throw in the car on the way home. Neatness is not his long suit.</p>
<p>A big difference if your child is flying across the country or you are accompanying by plane to move-in. If he’s flying solo, and you like to buy most things in advance, then those UHaul boxes that MaineLonghorn mentioned sound effective. They’ll come off the plane with him. Just check that the transportation system that gets him from airport to campus will take boxes, or buy a rolling-frame that hooks onto boxes so they can wheel through an airport. I’d want to know the UHaul box is something he can maneuver himself, with wheels, just so he’s not embarassed right off with a box too big to handle personally. But even that’s not the end of the world, is it.</p>
<p>If there’s parental accompaniment by plane, then you can each bring as many large suitcases as the airline will allow (watch for their first and second-bag charges, varies by airline). If parents do their utmost to pack lightly for themselves, this leaves their large suitcase space available to load up with his dorm-room needs. You can even plan on nesting some of the rollaway smaller suitcases in the largest suitcase to bring home with you on return flight. Or create small boxes, put into large rolling suitcases. These small boxes can be unloaded/stacked quickly into his room. He’ll unpack after you leave campus. </p>
<p>I think it’s a balance between being prepared with purchases in hand and seeing what’s actually needed once he’s on campus. Also, it’s okay if they’re uncomfortable for a few weeks and figure out what exactly they need. </p>
<p>All summer, we purchased things locally from stores familiar to us, on sale. We did ebay auctions for clothing. We had him choose many gently used items (bedspread quilt, which still fits those extra-long beds) from our current household, and bought ONE set of extra-long sheets. The sheets fit into our suitcases, flat and easy. For a pillow, we told him to roll up his clothes for the first few nights until he had a chance to go with friends to a mall, at which point we slipped him $20 to buy himself a new pillow and pick out a big towel. When we learned by phone the dorm bed was hard as rocks, my spouse ordered a foam pad online that the company shipped to his campus. That’s a bulky but often desirable item. </p>
<p>We were surprised at the night-before peek at the dorm room (ask an RA to see a typical room, not exactly his room, just to get an idea). The lighting was great, so he didn’t need a lamp. The walls offered no shelving, so at the last minute we drove to Target to buy a shelf he assembled on his own after we left. </p>
<p>Since there was air travel involved, we did a big pharmacy visit together near campus the night before move-in (shampoo, laundry soap, mouthwash…). The Target run (to pick up bookshelf, a surprise discovery from last minute) only the parents did while son was in orientation meetings. </p>
<p>If all this cobbling together is not your style, I know a lot of parents here have been very very happy with the Bed/Bath/Beyond solution. It certainly solves your wish to be sure it’s not all picked over. We didn’t do that, but I read a lot of good comments.</p>
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<p>My daughter is ahead of me here and has stockpiled enough ‘essentials’ to last her a decade… It helps that a close friend is a professional model and gets so much freebie stuff than she can’t use…</p>
<p>“and storage places can easily be found” - Availability and price varies a lot by college/location. </p>
<p>Err toward packing light. Even if things cost a little more in a city, it is worth it to only buy what becomes essential and avoid the clutter of a lot of “might need” stuff.</p>
<p>I’m considering using Walgreens to ship personal care items, they have an Amazon like deal where $25 in your cart is shipped for free. So far I have, for DS (different than a girl!), the following. On the plane, we’ll bring sample sized toiletries to last about a week.</p>
<p>Insect Repellent
Sunscreen
Shampoo
Laundry detergent
Shaving cream
Febreeze air freshener
Box tissues
Travel tissues
Paper Towels/spray cleaner
Cotton swabs
Toothpaste
Soap</p>
<p>Has anyone mentioned letting your child buy stuff on his own after being left at school? It
drastically cuts down on the stress and is the easiest way to go. If your child doesn’t have a car to shop, many other kids are happy to lend a car. It takes awhile after settling in to know their needs.</p>
<p>Have done it all ways - flying, driving, BBBY shipping, standing in line. The more the kid does on his own, the better.</p>
<p>In my experience…folks won’t LEND a car to freshmen…but they will likely offer to drive them somewhere.</p>
<p>Re: stores being “picked over”…you know…the stores DO restock. If you don’t find what you want when you go for move in weekend…either have your kiddo go a week or so later with friends…or (if it’s in the fall) go on Parent’s Weekend. OR send your kiddo a Care Package with the goods in it.</p>
<p>Re: the above shopping list from Walgreens…just get what you NEED (e.g. ONE tube of toothpaste) not a year’s supply.</p>
<p>I can you from experience that my kid wouldn’t be happy lending her to anyone, freshman or senior. Online shopping is the way to go, from toiletries to clothing. These kids are not going to some emerging countries, Target looks the same whether you are in Kansas or NJ. </p>
<p>My money is on that a young man is probably not going to use Fabreeze air freshened or bug repellent or half of those things on that list.</p>
<p>^^Maybe the Febreeze. My son asked for Renuzit air fresheners by mid-year so we threw a couple in a care package. I’m guessing it was the forced triple with three guys…</p>
<p>As long as it is locked, you can ship a trunk. UPS will come to your house and pick it up and ship it to school. We picked it up on move in day, and had it shipped back home after graduation. Her school also had trunk rooms, so if it did not fit in the room, she could store it in the trunk room.</p>
<p>I brought stuff up move in day, and took it back home at graduation. There was a storage company in town that would pick up stuff from the room at the end of the year and deliver it back to your room in the fall.</p>