<p>Our son was just accepted to BS across the country (we live in California). We're so excited but rather new to the whole idea. Most of my time has been spent imagining his time there, his time away from us (tears included - much time on those threads). But last night, it occurred to me that I have no idea how we will handle the logistics of moving so much stuff (or buying so much stuff locally?) to get him started. Any advice here?</p>
<p>As a practical piece of advice as regards dorm bedding and the like:</p>
<p>Bed Bath and Beyond has a service where you can go to a local store (or online) and select your items and then pick them up at a store closer to school. Not sure if that helps or whether you have BB&B anywhere near you (or the school)? Also some schools can recommend a storage place or a local store that will accept shipped items and hold them for the start of school (as well as the return process at the end of the school year).</p>
<p>Maybe contact the school to see if they have a list of vendors/stores/services that work with the school?</p>
<p>We were going in the other direction, but we shipped a trunk and some boxes ahead of time. These schools are all prepared to receive this sort of shipment for students who live far away. It worked great. When we got there, for the few things we forgot or that we wanted to add once we saw the room, we hit up the local thrift store and a BB&B like london suggested. It’s actually pretty painless.</p>
<p>The one big piece of advice would be not to over pack. Go for a happy medium. You can always add later.</p>
<p>Invest in amazon prime, if you don’t already have it, for the free two day shipping. Most schools will allow you to start shipping things directly to the school a week or so ahead of move in day, (or at least Exeter did). Overstock.com also has cheap shipping and good bedding.</p>
<p>We flew southwest in order to use the free luggage option. She and I both checked two large rolling bags each and I put my clothes in my carry-on. We went the day before and visited the malls for bedding, pillows, bed cover (recommended since I don’t know the status of the mattresses), etc. It is well worth it to not have to lug or ship all that stuff. There are a LOT of malls in NE where you can get things - especially at a discount. We were pleased to discover a Marshalls near her school for things I’d forgotten (laundry soap, etc.). And her roommate’s father ran to get closet organizers (actually shoe shelves) that matched their desks and served as a hutch. It was a fun, last minute, way to bond.</p>
<p>In a pinch, if you are not going too, you can order things online and send that way. I used (cough, cough) Amazon’s free shipping to get things to her. Was especially useful for care packages (such as a vaporizer when she had a cold and a lot of snacks and lozenges). Her roommate’s mother shipped them a personal printer the same way.</p>
<p>london203 has got it right, Bed Bath & Beyond + renting storage is the way to go. </p>
<p>Im assuming he is going to be living in a dorm his first year? So he really does need that much stuff; bedding, an alarm, shower curtain, and a laundry bag should be good enough (maybe like a mini fridge or microwave too if they allow that), all of which is available at that one store. </p>
<p>Now when summer roles around you arent going to want to bring all the stuff back, so this is where a storage unit will come in handy. Im not sure where your son is going but to find a storage unit in that area simply go to selfstorage.com and enter the zip code or address. Hopefully there are alot of options around that University. Good luck!</p>
<p>If you are going to revisit days, I highly recommend you look VERY closely at a typical dorm room at your son’s school. The size of the room may help you determine how much and what to bring, and I second ThacherParent’s advice to PACK LIGHT. The rooms in the freshman boy’s dorms at Choate, for example, had only a free-standing wardrobe (no closet) that would hold only the clothes he could bring in one large suitcase and one carry-on roller bag. That was it. I suggest packing as though your child is going away to a two-week camp. You do not need to send in September every article of clothing you think your child will wear throughout the school year. The weather will be pretty mild until Thanksgiving break, so your child can return to school from break with heavier clothing for winter.</p>
<p>We’re in our second year of this cross country business, and here’s what’s worked for us:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>One large (checked) suitcase, one roller bag/carry-on, and one backpack on the plane with child to school in September.</p></li>
<li><p>We ship one box with electronics (printer, monitor, computer, periperals, etc.) and instrument two weeks before school starts.</p></li>
<li><p>We used a local storage service at the end of the school year that picked up boxes from DS dorm room and delivered them to new dorm room before he arrived this year. The school has a relationship with this company and made it available to students. Very reasonably priced. I believe most schools have this service.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>When we dropped him off freshman year, we made a run to Wal-Mart to get hangars, desk lamp, laundry stuff, and desk supplies (pens, pencils, notebooks, etc.), though the school store has almost every sundry the kids need, but usually at a higher price.</p>
<p>That about does it. They really don’t need even a quarter of what they think they’ll die without.</p>
<p>We set up and liked an amazon.com account for our D, that we used to order bedding, towels, and supplies prior to the start of school (sitting neatly in boxes on move-in day, each school will have shipping instructions for pre-arrival orders), with little extras like printer ink, socks, chocolate care packages, etc. ordered during the year. With Amazon prime, shipping is free. </p>
<p>Highly recommend memory foam extra long twin mattress topper (some people use 2). Those slab plastic mattresses are miserable. Plastic “cubes”, lofting the bed, big pillows for sitting on the floor, a fuzzy shag rug and a fan were also hits. </p>
<p>Since most boarding schools start after colleges back east, supplies at BB and B can be wiped clean by the time you arrive. Suggest pre-ordering.</p>
<p>As you are buying all this stuff to fill the room, keep in mind that at the end of the school year the dorm room has to be completed vacated too. </p>
<p>At the Revisit Day I would ask about summer time storage options, especially for the rigid bulky items (e.g., bike, skiis) that you cannot smoosh to force fit into a box.</p>
<p>One item I hadn’t thought of ahead of time for a kid who travels back and forth by plane is a suitcase that they don’t have to check, but that still carries enough stuff for vacation. DD uses the Timbuk2 Copilot which works very well. Often her plane flights get in with not much time to spare to catch the bus sent by school, which is where the carry-on suitcase is important.</p>
<p>I’m so glad I’m not the only one thinking about this, even though it feels awfully early to be thinking about this. We’re in the same boat - in California, son going to school back east for the first time. I actually emailed the admissions office to ask for contact info for some parents in our area so I can pick their brains about logistics although I assume we’ll get more info as we get closer to Sept.</p>
<p>DS asked me today when he would bring his sports gear to school for his winter sport. I said I had no idea yet but we can ask. He wouldn’t need it in September but Thanksgiving break would be too late I imagine so maybe we’d bring him things at the October parents weekend?</p>
<p>Thank you all for such great suggestions! My son is going to Lawrenceville, and I understand there are lots of local stores in that area. A combination of shipping and buying seems according to his needs (and spring sports!) looks like the way to go. They do have storage options nearby as well.</p>
<p>One other thing to keep in mind is to ask near-by parents to help in a pinch. Our experience has been that there are a lot of people who would love to help if you just ask. When you are far away, that can make a big difference to your peace of mind.</p>
<p>Another thing is to teach your child to order things online themselves, if you feel that they are capable of doing so. Do it WITH them some at home before they go, to get them comfortable with the process.
That way, when they run out of things like printer ink or need a new set of towels, they have the option of ordering it themselves and having it sent directly to school, vs. asking you to do the same (though they still might choose the later simply because of the lack of time on their end).
Our child gets a set allowance. But if she needs to order things on line that generally we would be buying were she at home, she lets us know and we put extra money on her debit card. Then she orders herself.
I also agree strong with these two suggestions already given:
- Ship things ahead of time
- Be aware that MANY local parents will gladly help out your child by bringing items to them or taking them to get something (though school tend to have great systems in place).
T</p>
<p>p.s. When it comes times for college tours and interviews, having a local parent as a buddy is a great help. We have recently found this true with college visits. A local mom took our child along with her own and that was a huge help!</p>