Bring to college

<p>My D is at Cornell for summer school. she will be down for a week to go shopping for hervroom until she goes back up. She sent me this list. what is the cheapest place to get these items</p>

<p>A box fan
flat iron
sweaters
tights to go under jeans
ear muffs
gloves
scarves
folders from staples
plastic bags just to bring
digital camera
regular scientific calculator
a yearly planner (ONE THAT CAN FIT MY HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS for each day!!!!)
eyedrops- redness relief and contact lens eyedrops)</p>

<p>printer
pencils/LOOSELEAF
bigger shower caddy
tube socks and wool socks
desk organizer (three shelves for paper for the desk)
dry eraser board with markers
tac (paper tac to hang posters on the walls and stuff)
desk lamp
readio wih cd player
storage bings (flat long ones for under my bed)
little shelves for dresser for jewelry and stuff
a little stand for things like medication (like the one your radio is on in
your room but maybe skinner)
all purpose cleaner
buckleys
dayquil
hangers
pencil case
pencil holder for desk
little desk organizer for paper clips and other stuff
thumb tacks</p>

<p>A box fan- walmart, home depot, target
flat iron- cheap one, walmart, expensive one, salon
sweaters- if your daughter is into brands, ralph lauren or similar cotton sweaters, otherwise, pretty much every clothing store has these in various types
tights to go under jeans- best place I've found for the ones I use all winter is american apparel <a href="http://www.americanapparel.net%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.americanapparel.net&lt;/a> all cotton american made thermals, warmest ever
ear muffs- gonna be hard to find now, but most stores will have these when it's cold
gloves- same thing, anywhere once it's cold (Old Navy maybe?)
scarves- old navy type stores
folders from staples- I'd imagine staples is where she wants these from
plastic bags just to bring- save them from the grocery store or get a box of trashbags at walmart
digital camera- I just bought a lovely panasonic for about $150. It's a really nice camera. Got it at circuit city, which usually has better deals on cameras.
regular scientific calculator- walmart/target
a yearly planner (ONE THAT CAN FIT MY HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS for each day!!!!)- Let her pick this one. I'm super picky about how much space I want and how it's organized.
eyedrops- redness relief and contact lens eyedrops)- Walmart</p>

<p>printer- may be able to get a deal with that digital camera, if not, walmart, circuit city, best buy, target, staples (someone will have a deal)
pencils/LOOSELEAF- staples/target/walmart
bigger shower caddy- linens and things, bed bath and beyond
tube socks and wool socks- clothing retailer, walmart will have these
desk organizer (three shelves for paper for the desk)- target, staples, IKEA
dry eraser board with markers- walmart/target/staples/officemax
tac (paper tac to hang posters on the walls and stuff)- walmart/target
desk lamp- walmart/target/bed bath and beyond/linens and things/ IKEA has good ones starting at $1.99
readio wih cd player- walmart/target
storage bings (flat long ones for under my bed)- walmart
little shelves for dresser for jewelry and stuff- target/IKEA
a little stand for things like medication (like the one your radio is on in
your room but maybe skinner)- don't know what this is but IKEA has tons of stuff like that
all purpose cleaner- walmart or target(target has its own budget line of good cleaning stuff)
buckleys- don't know what this is
dayquil- walmart
hangers- walmart
pencil case- walmart/target
pencil holder for desk- walmart/target/IKEA
little desk organizer for paper clips and other stuff- walmart/target/staples/IKEA
thumb tacks-staples type place</p>

<p>flat iron...buy ceramic one</p>

<p>I got my daughter the cutest tool kit from lillian vernon for Christmas. Just need to add a roll of duct tape (pink, of course...)
<a href="http://www.lillianvernon.com/catalog/product_display.jsp?pdId=1533&ensembleId=1533%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.lillianvernon.com/catalog/product_display.jsp?pdId=1533&ensembleId=1533&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Go to either Walmart or Target as Lauren suggests, and you will be able to fill 95%+ of her list at the lowest cost with the least amount of hassle.</p>

<p>Lauren's point about the planner is well taken - I would never buy one for my daughter. I would add to that all the little stands, organizers and shelves. At my child's school every dorm building has slightly different furniture, and we are not certain if the organizers we bought last year will work in her room this fall. If your D is going to Cornell and staying in the same room, then she can give you dimensions for these items, and you can pick them up at Walmart, Target, etc. Otherwise, she can shop online at Target.com or in Ithaca or at the Cornell bookstore for these things - that will cost a bit more, but it is better than buying something that doesn't fit the space or use.</p>

<p>check out pawn shops for inexpensive digital cameras.</p>

<p>There is now a string of family dollar stores in brooklyn (since walmart is on the island) where a lot of this stuff can be picked up inexpensively. </p>

<p>Flat iron- pick up at the beauty supply store. Lauren raises a good point that a really good ceramic flat iron is going to cost some $$- shop around. D purchased a ceramic on from e-bay.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.familydollar.com/stores.aspx?locator%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.familydollar.com/stores.aspx?locator&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>a yearly planner (ONE THAT CAN FIT MY HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS for each day!!!!)- in college she will get a syllabus that will have all of the homework assignments listed. With the exception of math and possibly science courses where she will be turning in problem sets, most of her assignments will be typed on her computer. She can set up folders in her computers to drop a copy of the assignments for her records.</p>

<p>radio wih cd player - Most laptops come with CD players built in. She should talk to current students as far as how much they actually listen to the radio as most download/upload their own music.</p>

<p>eyedrops-all purpose cleaner,buckleys,dayquil, tylenol- Duane reade, cvs, family dollar, etc.</p>

<p>If your d will have a bunkbed, these items will come in handy:</p>

<ol>
<li> "Mini-mantle" -- is $5 cheaper at this store than at The Container Store:</li>
</ol>

<p><a href="http://www.dormbuys.com/index.php?action=item&id=2&prevaction=category&previd=8&prevstart=0%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.dormbuys.com/index.php?action=item&id=2&prevaction=category&previd=8&prevstart=0&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<ol>
<li><p>Clip-on fan</p></li>
<li><p>Clip-on light</p></li>
</ol>

<p>As for where to buy the things on your d's list, I'm lucky to be in an area with a lot of stores (Bed Bath & Beyond, Linens & Things, Family Dollar, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Super Walmart, Super K-mart, Target, etc.). And Bed Bath & Beyond and Linens & Things honor each other's coupons.</p>

<p>Well..the cheapest place to begin shopping is your linen closet and your daughter's room at home, and your medicine cabinet (where some of those over the counter drugs are). That is where we are doing all of our shopping first. Also, your daughter needs to keep in mind that dorm rooms are quite small. Advice from the college students in my house....put everything you think you need into one room (like your living room). Only take 1/2 of it with you. The reality is that you will not used much of the "stuff" you think you need, and all it will do is take up space. Re: that "daily planner"....both of my kids use a Palm Pilot (or equivalent). DS puts a lot on the calendar of his cell phone.</p>

<p>not all college dorms are small....you have to try to see if you can figure out what the size of the room is (it's usually online at the college she's at) also staples and office depot are going to have sales soon (possibly already) why not go there for some of the stuff</p>

<p>Target clearance LAST YEAR!!</p>

<p>Just teasing! But seriously, shortly after school begins but still early for some schools Target, Walmart, BBB, Kmart. and Linens and Things clearance all their dorm stuff including linens. Picked up son's stuff for this fall, LAST year when they marked all their stuff down to 75% and 90% off.</p>

<p>So Target's quilts, duvets, down blankets and featherbeds, pillows and dorm stuff was 75% off when I bought it for my son. Same was true for his older sis, the year before, his older bro and their oldest sis. Just kept stocking it up!!</p>

<p>Staples, Office Depot, Walmart and Target have been running school supply sales weekly. Comes out in Sunday's paper, weekly circulars. Staples had pencils for $.01, folders for $.01 and Mead 5 Star notebooks for $.89. Crayons were $.08 a box for 24, bought those to give out for Halloween!</p>

<p>Target will clearance their fans soon, as soon as summer season end nears. And I echo other posters advice of the $1 stores. Have picked up some of the kiddos' stuff there as well. Daughter stocked up on greeting cards for the whole year for all her friends and family, at 2 for $1, she has them on hand and doesn't have to buy them at the bookstore since she doesn't have a car.</p>

<p>Sam's Club for cold remedies, and other health and beauty aids. Usually buys generic, sam's club brand. Bought her year's supply of contacts there as well. Came with a great rebate!</p>

<p>Hope this helps! With 3 undergrads and 1 grad student we save where we can!</p>

<p>Kat</p>

<p>In my humble but strong opinion, anyone who's buying their kid a planner of any sort is doing them a disservice. They all really need to learn to utilize the calendar and tasks sections of Outlook. Has capability to set up schedule and to-do's with due dates, the due dates can be associated with reminders that pop up when you're checking your email. Basically the tasks section can be used like a project plan, i.e. they can say for this paper I need to do first draft by this date, revise by this date, and set themselves a reminder for each milestone. </p>

<p>Using Outlook is a job skill they should start developing now. And they can print copies of stuff out to carry with them if they need to. I access my Outlook on my cell phone.</p>

<p>Outlook is PC-based, and thus useful in business, but learning to use it takes about 20 minutes. D likes paper planners; she likes to illuminate initial caps, pencil colored flowers in the border, and sketch graphic reminders for herself. The Mac calendar auto-syncs with iPod, complete with audible alarms, integrated contact lists, etc. I find it useful. D thinks I'm becoming an automaton and rejects the notion entirely. Her latest planner has a batiked cover and what appear to be handmade paper pages (she's a physics major who apparently sees the world in ways I couldn't hope to). My point is, I respect her choice.</p>

<p>In all honesty, does it matter HOW people stay organized, so long as they are?
I am personally fond of seeing things on paper and having my days/weeks/months laid out well in advance with events color coded.</p>

<p>get a wet-to-dry flat iron. they are ceramic and are awesome!</p>

<p>Are there any recommended, durable, <em>affordable</em> televisions for a dorm room?</p>

<p>kko6, so you wouldn't agree with me that the medium is the message?</p>

<p>worldbandDX - get a tv that has a built in dvd and vhs player. Get a smaller sized tv if you want to save money. walmart is good, but so are sams club, bjs, costco, etc</p>

<p>oohh - A combined tv/dvd/vhs - good idea :) thx. On that note, do college students generally spend more time watching DVD's on: </p>

<p>a) laptops, or
b) DVD players/TVs ?</p>

<p>in the newest Allure magazine with Kate Hudson on the cover it explains what wet to dry flat irons do to your hair if your hair is wet, and the flat iron is on high. it is really damaging because steam gets caught in the core, and the blows out creating tiny breaks. i would really suggest a good flat iron, i have a chi, but not a wet to dry one. flat irons are damaging enough. by the way you can get the chi on ebay for less that is whre I got mine</p>