<p>I forgot about the cable, it can be invaluable-- get the eihernet cable. For hangers, we bought the slim ones from Bed Bath and Beyond, it really made a big difference. Lots of Command Hooks (I bought them at Micheal’s craft store with the 40% off coupons). </p>
<p>D also took a small printer. She writes a lot of essays and prefers to edit on paper copies. There are plenty of places to print, but she tends to do things in the middle of the night…having a printer in the room was worth it.</p>
<p>We bought a printer multifunction machine at Frye’s near campus rather than flying one with us from home–much easier. S and roomie liked having an in-room printer for convenience. They split supplies costs among themselves. Room mate bought TV (tho we wished he hadn’t).</p>
<p>Ethernet cable for sure and a power strip. For those driving, leave clothes on hangers and put a large trash bag over them poking a hole in top for the hooks, tie a knot at the bottom (just like a garment bag from Macy’s) and wallah, just hang them up.</p>
<p>For business majors, in some classes you have to give presentations in business attire. So they require dress clothes - nice pants, business type shirt (maybe tie, if not for one class will need it for another) and shoes. We really hadn’t sent pretty clothes. Also, S needed a full suit for a class where you do mock, but realistic interview, practice. And he had these freshman (dress clothes) and soph year (was when he needed suit), but I don’t know which classes exactly, I can ask him and report back later. Cause he is athlete we had bought a suit (they need them for certain ceremonies) otherwise he wouldn’t have owned one of those!</p>
<p>There are great Samsung 24" or 27" monitors at Costco on special this time of year ($169 maybe) that are monitors and 1080 HD TVs. So if they might want to hook up to that free cable you can use the monitor to connect to your laptop or desktop system, then double duty it as a TV. The bookstore will have cables if you need different lengths than you bring. Their printers (again for those driving in) are $30-$50 off now too. We found printer a must, USC bookstore has those as well.</p>
<p>We were amused S insisted he didn’t need a suit or formal clothing. Lo and behold one month later he requested we mail him a suit, for career fairs. It fit into a medium flat rate priority mail box with shirt and tie!</p>
<p>Fortunately he was satisfied with us just mailing up the navy blazer and grey slacks that all the make SRs at his HS graduated in. Shopping for his clothes is pretty exhausting and thankless.</p>
<p>Ha, that is what we had to fedex as well, the dress clothes - after a rush shopping trip through Nordstrom rack! We invested in one good suit when he was home (again Nord Rack - it has great pricing on quality suits).</p>
<p>Like HImom said, sport jacket and slacks can go a long way there, don’t feel like you have to run out and buy a new suit in next two weeks. But eventually, they will use one. Plenty of time for that.</p>
<p>We also brought one of those over door hanger things with 5 hooks or so, they could throw their towels or jackets on them, hopefully keeping them off of the floor. Sometimes those things are annoying cause they clang or the door fit maybe be tight on top, but I think this one worked out. They are 10-15 bucks at BBB and real cheap at TJMaxx/Marshalls. The Command hooks Mom2M mentioned are really good to put up (those are the ones that don’t damage the walls).</p>
<p>Not a lot of floorspace at the bottom of the dorm closets, so shoe organizers or shelves help a lot. Ethernet cable is a must! Son says you cannot use a wireless printer (so don’t go out and buy one special)–can’t hook it up because no pin number provided to internet in dorms.</p>
<p>Also, scotch tape does not stick to walls and shouldn’t be used anyway. Gummy stuff may stick, but not perfect. Self-adhesive hooks by 3-M work. And while you are not supposed to tack up stuff on walls, my son used pushpins and it worked just fine and no one objected.</p>
<p>Our S loved that we left him with a wheeled duffle that flattened down to nearly nothing and could easily be stashed in a cupboard above his closet and out of the way. Some folks use their suitcases for underbed storage because they don’t have space to stash it, but S preferred it out of the way entirely. He also bought an electronic vacuum, Roomba, which he loved and doubled as an alarm clock accessory (would go off automatically as scheduled and bump into his bed and make racket, helping him rouse himself out of bed and off to class. :)</p>
<p>Such good ideas!
For the ethernet cable it looks like they come in lengths of 3, 7, 15, 25 & 50 ft. I was thinking the 15’ one would be good…any suggestions?
I was thinking that a hand held vacuum might be useful but was worried about it taking up space. The Roomba sounds like it might be a good option.
Also, good to know about not needing the printer to be wireless.
Thank you!</p>
<p>15’ is perfect, 7’ should work but depending on how they arrange room it could short, so 15’ is totally safe choice.</p>
<p>Since we were driving, I picked up a wardrobe box at Uhaul. Hung the clothes on the skinny hangers, in the box. We transported the box flat (not standing up). Just hung the clothes in the closet, brought the box home. Did the reverse for move out, and have them in the garage for the back to school move.</p>
<p>We got a cube ottoman from Target that D used for storage and as a step up to her lofted bed. I put a white sheet on the underside of the lofted bed, it looked better and her hair didn’t catch in the coils (binder clips helped hold it in place). </p>
<p>Extra power strips and an extentsion cord come in handy. I got an Electro Man at Target (multi plug thing, similar to the USB man). They have them at Amazon. </p>
<p>Don’t forget to sign up for the free Amazon Prime once they have the .edu email address. You can send things to multiple addresses. Makes it easy for D to order books and photo supplies.</p>
<p>Thanks for the tips CADREAMIN, Mom2M, Madbean, HImom and others! And my local Tuesday Morning told me the chain was restocking the twin XL sheet sets. I’m using my luggage allowance to help with the move (too far to drive) so I’ll toss in a light comforter or make a Target run while I’m there. Appreciate all the other tips! </p>
<p>At my D’s previous school (she went to HS out of state) we used those faux wood shoe racks (closet maid?) as a hutch for her desk and that worked well for extra organization. We left it for the incoming freshman because of the weight but I may be searching for one in LA when I get there. And a portable fan. Wish I could come earlier and beat the college rush in the local stores.</p>
<p>And the A&L pseudonym is my background, but could easily apply to D who is enrolled at SCA and is all about film, theater and writing.</p>
<p>I’d urge you not to overly agonize about the college rush. We went up early so S could see some MDs and meet head of disabilities but we waited and didn’t buy stuff for dorm until move-in day. If you have a car and can go to stores not as close to campus, there’s plenty of inventory. Even stores near campus tend to have considerable inventory. Remember there are many places to buy a good fan; we went to Office Depot, across from our hotel and bought fan and other office supplies. Frye’s is where we got his multifunction printer fax and rice cooker. </p>
<p>We definitely got comforter in LA rather than lugging it.</p>