<p>If you can see the room before you start buying, that helps a lot too. </p>
<p>You really need to be in touch with the student who will be your daughter’s roommate before making any decisions about fridges, microwaves, and printers. And of course find out what the college offers and/or allows.</p>
<p>I saved a lot of money by starting early. I purchased the kid’s trunks/storage boxes early on and sat them in a corner in the basement. Whenever I went shopping, I checked all clearance racks, bins, etc, and bought whatever they needed, from stationary, to clothes, to bedding and towels, to toiletries. When time to leave came around, I only had to buy fridges… the only things I never found on sale. Plus, it was easier to spend $100 month for 6 months, than $1000 the week before school started. Most of you only 3-4 months left, but you get the idea. </p>
<p>check with the school if they provide beds that have the risers attached, Many schools have the risers and if her room is as small as my kids’ freshman rooms the under the bed storage is prescious real estate for a set of drawers that fit underneath. If the ceilings are high enough you could even raise the beds way up high in a loft and put the desk under the bed. Make sure to have some kind of container to store food so that it is kept separate from other items.</p>
<p>So many people seem to recommend “buy when you get there” and I agree if you are flying, it’s much easier, but I also found it easier to buy a little bit at a time and spread out he purchases. Then, if your school has freshman move in helpers, you can have them help move all the stuff! If you decide to wait, know your location. This would not have worked with D11. She is In a small, 4 college town with one Walmart. It is crazy during move in weekend, and you definitely take your chances. D11 insisted she didn’t need/want a bulletin board, but once she was unpacking, thought it would be a good idea. No problem finding the board, but could not find push pins anywhere… Local hardware store, drugstore…none. Ended up having to mail them to her! The other item D11 would recommend is a comforter a size larger than the bed. This lets you hide the stuff underneath, but is easy enough to just flip up and out of the way for easy access.</p>
<p>My son never liked to think about packing hangers anytime he moved in anywhere, but I always insisted, and then he was glad! In stores, I kept my eye out for hangers that were more substantial than the tangly thin metal kind, but not as bulky and space-consuming as the tubular plastic kind.</p>
<p>You can also mail things to yourself. You can mail a box to a post office in care of the postmaster I believe with your name. Then you show up with ID and pick up the package. You can do this at any post office in the US. We did it once when we were camping. Worked really well!</p>
<p>Speaking of mailing, I sent my NYC daughter stuff through Amazon Prime with free shipping. I thought I was pretty clever but it sort of bit me later. One of the things I shipped was a trifold mattress because I thought it would be a good thing to have when friends visited which given that she is in NYC, happens a lot. Well it was a good thing to have and everyone on the floor borrowed it but the thing was pretty bulky so when it came time to pack up the room for the year we discovered that because it wouldn’t fit into a storage box or any suitcase she owned, it would cost more to store it than we paid for the mat in the first place. I told her to throw it out. In the end I think one of her roommates whose parents came to get their stuff took it home and brought it back but if she doesn’t find somebody to take it this year, the throw it out orders will apply once again.</p>
<p>This is a really helpful thread – thank you all! I will add that if you know someone living in the area of the school (or the area where the arrival airport is), they might be willing to have something shipped to their house as well. We did this two years ago for my older child’s roommate who was coming to AZ from Michigan, and now we just store a giant box of stuff for him every summer. </p>
<p>I had to send my son hangers on Amazon Prime, because his school isn’t near any stores at all! The other thing he forgot that required Amazon Prime was a power strip. I also gave him a gift card for allposters dot com to help with decor.</p>
<p>In case anyone doesn’t know this - Amazon Prime student membership is much cheaper than regular (I checked & it’s just gone up to $49/yr from $39). I think there is also a free trial period. Amazon is also great for books! Even though D hasn’t needed near the number of books a “normal” major would need, some of the books she needed were VERY expensive. We found almost all of them on Amazon much cheaper than the campus bookstore. Many times you can same money renting, but most this year were books that they need to own (I think she rented her book for “Math in the Modern World” lol! </p>
<p>Yes, a fan (most powerful, yet compact unit) is important and do not wait until you arrive in town to shop for one (esp. if going to Boston area when every school seems to move in during the same week–there is not a BB&B store large enough to handle this chaos)!! Also, my S did not bring a printer and has survived just fine without one. An allergy-friendly mattress case and pillow cases help with allergies and any other unknowns in the mattress. Vaccum sealed shrink bags help with travelling with limited space options (suitcases or vehicle packing). Girls tend to bring twice as much stuff as guys (I have one of each so I know!). And lots of electrical extension cords/outlet strips.</p>
<p>We also use Amazon to help restock the personal items throughout the year–very helpful for kids in remote areas or who have BFA schedules!). My daughter also enjoys our Netflix membership at school (we were not Netflixers prior to school–so this is probably a no-brainer for many)</p>
<p>Of course, reading stories about the appearance of bedbugs in college dorms meant that a mattress protector was at the top of my to buy list. My S and H managed to put a major rip in the thing while trying to get it on the mattress and so we ended up throwing it out. Fortunately, we haven’t discerned any bedbugs during his college stay so far, despite his ultimately having lived off campus in a place that no mother would ever want to set foot in during daylight. The mattress topper was a good thing because one mattress he had was about 4 inches thick. Because he was in a dorm with a common bathroom he did ask for a plastic basket with handle to take toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo to the sink and shower. Because he needed a computer!, we bought a Mac in the campus bookstore because it offered a good plan for repairs, etc. we also bought printer, computer lock and other tech items in the campus bookstore. Check the bookstore for deals on computers, especially if it should ever need to be repaired. We ordered required books for courses online thru the bookstore so S just picked them up. </p>
<p>Just went on to Bed Bath and Beyond’s website…they have a whole college section with lists for each college and what a kid might need. You can even do a college registry like a wedding one. Kinda cool…</p>