<p>I think a lot of schools are starting to include laudary with room and board, at least a lot of the schools I've been looking at. Just swipe your ID card and it's done, and it doesn't cost a thing...very nice...</p>
<p>the eggcrate mattresses are soft... they will make your bed more comfortable, that's all.</p>
<p>corman... the laundry still costs you money, you just pay it up front.</p>
<p>I recommend you bring a bike. Bring a computer and a printer/scanner. Some colleges charge for printing (Cornell *cough). Bring extra socks to replace the ones that get holes. Bring soap. Bring a cell phone. Bring calculators if you plan to take a math or engineering class. Buy your books on amazon because used books at the campus bookstore are about 3x as expensive. Bring a 3 to 2 prong converter so you can plug your surge protector into the wall. Bring a backpack and extra folders.</p>
<p>wow. you guys are so prepared.</p>
<p>How do you plan to get all this stuff to college? If you are going cross town and you have a big ol' pickup truck, then you can take as much stuff as you can cram into your side of the dorm room. If you are flying a couple of thousand miles and can only take a couple of suitcases, you may want to think about buying that refrigerator and those cinderblocks after you get there.</p>
<p>Buy some shop-vac style black hose, it rocks at organizing cables behind your desk and stuff.</p>
<p>I like the 1.25" or 1.5" stuff but here is some cheap 2" <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000TFILW/qid=1110158010/sr=52-6/ref=sr_52_6_etk-kitchen/102-8596429-4246549?v=glance&s=hi&n=284507%5B/url%5D">http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000TFILW/qid=1110158010/sr=52-6/ref=sr_52_6_etk-kitchen/102-8596429-4246549?v=glance&s=hi&n=284507</a>
Home Depot probobly has all the sizes (might have something on the end...just cut it off).</p>
<p>Take a utility knife and slice it open down the whole length and now you can cut off a piece as long as you need and can easily add and remove cords. Stores will sell something like this as wire organizers except they charge more for a short little piece and its only .5-.75" which is not enough to hold the wires that go with the average desk (computer/lamp/etc...those monitor and power cables are BIG).</p>
<p>If you get a long piece, you could just sell the leftovers to somebody else after you get set up.</p>
<p>otto,</p>
<p>GREAT idea.</p>
<p>Many of the above are great ideas. If you come a far distance, you should look at shipping some bulky but lightweight items and buying some others around the school (bearing in mind that everyone else will be flocking to the same stores and buying the same things, so jump on it).</p>
<p>Many stores near schools will have minifridges - Sears will probably have the largets selection; also Home Depot, Office Depot, Staples, other home improvement stores.</p>
<p>One item we didn't think of ahead of time, but bought on the spot - very prosaic - a wastebasket.</p>
<p>instead of an electric kettle, get a hot pot. it just boils water and it's INCREDIBLY useful. (instant cofee, tea, RAMEN, hot chocolate, oatmeal, etc)</p>
<p>one of the most useful things i have is a usb keychain drive. it's fantastic for carrying around computer files and small enough to just clip to your keys. lots of computers don't have floppy drives any more, and CD-RWs are annoying (imo). usb drives are easy and work with both PCs and Mac.</p>
<p>besides the obvious clothes, notebooks, sheets, towels, and everything people said so far, i reccomend xmas lights (very popular decorations), a good sound system that attaches to your computer, lots of CD-Rs, lamps (desk, floor, and everything in between), nonperishible foods such as ramen and graham crackers, a digital camera, shelves of some kind (i have the metal crate things), lots and lots of hangers, board games and cards, tape of every kind, push pins, cork board, dry erase board, first aid kit with any medicine you might possibly need (NyQuil is your best friend), sewing kit, extra socks and underware. you'll rewear clothes a lot, but those you want to be clean.</p>
<p>what else???</p>
<p>"How do you plan to get all this stuff to college? If you are going cross town and you have a big ol' pickup truck, then you can take as much stuff as you can cram into your side of the dorm room. If you are flying a couple of thousand miles and can only take a couple of suitcases, you may want to think about buying that refrigerator and those cinderblocks after you get there."</p>
<p>I'd like to know this as well, since I will be flying a thousand miles to college. There is also the problem of shipping it back every year unless you can find storage? </p>
<p>You guys just use a bunch of boxes and ship it with postal mail? I thinking of doing that with the big stuff (comforter and fan) and then just checking the rest in duffle bags at the airport. What is everyone else doing?</p>
<p>I've heard that shipping through Amtrak is cheaper than some other options. I'm going to school in Boston, coming from Seattle so I'm also interested in any info people might have regarding shipping and storage.</p>
<p>What we did at our house was ship stuff via UPS (they will even ship a trunk as long as it is locked) from NYC to Hanover. They pick it up at your house and deliver it to the school post office on move in day (School allows you to ship stuff there 2 weeks before move in day). You can go on line and get estimates for shipping.</p>
<p>In addition any thing that we purchased on line, we had shipped to the school (no sales tax in NH so there was even a little cost savings). Coming home, just picked clothes and was able to put the trunk (sheets comforters, etc) in storage at school. You should find out if your school has storage on campus, or most likely there will be a storage company that the school can recommend.</p>
<p>If you don't need stuff over the summer and the school won't let you store it, you might want to consider going in with a couple of friends on a self-storage unit near your school. It generally works out to cost less than shipping it home and back to school again, particularly if some large things like refrigerators, bicycles, rugs and furniture are involved. Make sure you can trust the others not to abscond with your stuff, however.</p>
<p>a lot of people at my school got a storage unit for the summers to store most of their things. i know my previous roommates are storing the carpet and furniture and other items there for this summer.</p>
<p>wow. all these ideas are really good. i guess all i have to say is: storage! like crates, plastic drawers to go under bed, pretty much everything has been said. thanks for this thread, its really helpful.</p>
<p>What voltage do you guys recommend for a little vacuum? Is 18 good?</p>
<p>I would reccomend 120VAC because thats what your circuits are.</p>
<p>As per amperage (what you are talking about), 18 is a lot of power but it is really close to blowing a 20amp breaker and already over the limit of a 15 (who knows what your school will have).</p>
<p>People are not going to like you blowing breakers with a superpowered, superloud vac :)</p>
<p>Perhaps LiquidPaper meant a rechargeable, handheld cordless unit. Those are often rated in terms of battery voltage, with 18V being fairly hefty and posing little hazard of blowing a breaker since it is only plugged in when recharging.</p>
<p>what if your roomate brings the same things you are bringing?? like the vacumm or mini fridge..... wont it be easier to share some of the items??? well... Im on a tight budget</p>