<p>From a “veteran” of a move-in about a month ago:</p>
<p>Definitely the command hooks! I tried the over the door route, but the clearances/tolerances were just not there to allow the doors (closet or otherwise) to accomodate an over the door attachment (in Presidential anyway). With that said, I did buy one of those door shoe hangers (not for heels with my S) to provide multiple pockets to store the odds and ends that would not go elsewhere easily. Hung that from a a set of Heavy-Duty command hangers on the inside back of a closet door and it works well to hold snacks and other supplies.</p>
<p>Buy a roll of that large plastic cling wrap from Office Max. We wrapped delicate items to prevent scratching in transit, and it also works well to keep an overstuffed box in check, etc.</p>
<p>Surge protector that has a battery backup in it (especially if you are taking a desktop computer) as you would not want to kill that epic paper in the event of a power outage.</p>
<p>Ethernet cable for said computer. WiFi cannot be depended upon and the performance is often abysmal when it is available. In a congested environment such as a Bama residence hall, the less wireless devices you can depend on, the better.</p>
<p>Brita water filter pitcher if you are particular about your water taste. I have not found the Bama tap water to be intolerable, but it can’t hurt.</p>
<p>Fan, just in case you get a tad warm or want to circulate air. My S thanks me every day for his memory foam mattress pad. Makes it much more comfy, I do believe. Also, be advised that (at least in Presidential) that the sheets for the bed are Twin XL and not standard. Glad we caught that before we left.</p>
<p>As soon as your room or suite-mates are identified, I advise trying to determine who is bringing what for the common area, such as a trash can for the kitchen. Ice cube trays for the fridge if you are addicted to ice like we are… :)</p>
<p>If you loft your bed, consider a step stool or some sort of adhesive pads for the end of the bed. Using the end of the bed for a ladder to climb is not the most comfortable way to climb into bed. Also, a “bed organizer” is handy for things like Tissues and the TV remote control. We got one on amazon that goes under the mattress and hangs off the side to hold the small items you would not want to climb out of bed to get. One of the suite-mates with my son lofted his bed just enough to slip a hammock under his bed and I thought that was pretty clever.</p>
<p>A small, low wattage clamp on light (Ikea makes a great one) for reading in bed. </p>
<p>Be careful with electronic/on-line editions of the textbooks. I bought a history book for my son this way instead of the hardback edition, but it was a HUGE pain in the butt because he could not “download” the entire book all at once. Because of copy restrictions, he would have had to “check out” and “check in” a chapter at a time. Very frustrating and a huge pain. Buyer beware and my advice would be to carefully consider all possible options for your books in all formats and from all vendors. In the case of his history book, I was ironically able to avert that issue by going directly to the publisher’s website of all places. There, I was able to buy the “full” and “unrestricted” electronic edition as a PDF I was able to install on his iPad and his laptop. If you enroll, consider visiting the SUPE store during your bama bound orientation and buy the books and probably the “clicker” (for attendance) while you are there. We bought the known books at that time and I am glad we did because there were shortages later in the run-up to classes starting (or so I was told).</p>
<p>Drying rack for clothes. Sometimes you either don’t want to wait for a dryer or the items are too delicate to heat. </p>
<p>Those are the highlights I can think of at the moment. I hope they were helpful.</p>
I’d like to have a nice big box ready to go for her to help lessen the stress of shopping for it all at once.</p>