For those that fly their students to school, did you bring only clothing and buy everything else there? Did you ship? Any advice? Starting to think about the logistics of all this!
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When DH went off to college (flying), his parents used their luggage allowance to supplement his so most of the stuff they brought was all for him. 5 checked bags of his stuff, 1 checked bag between his mom&dad for the couple days theyâd be out for drop off.
I believe 2-3 bags was clothing (4 seasons worth), one bag was bedding, one bag was odds and ends.
Whatever you canât fit in checked luggage and personal bags can obviously be bought upon arrival. But youâll probably find youâll need less than you think.
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If you donât already have XL twin bedding, you might want to buy it online and have it delivered there, or picked up at a nearby branch of that store. Bedding is probably the biggest, bulkiest item. Donât forget a good, thick XL twin mattress pad - the beds are often firm with a thick waterproof non-breathing cover, so theyâll want a good mattress pad, preferably cotton-rich, to be comfortable. If they decide that they need a better lamp, upon arrival, or any other items that they decide they cannot live without, like maybe a microwave or a mini fridge, they can be bought online and delivered to the dorm. But youâd be surprised at how little they really need, in most cases. Probably just clothing, their computer, phone, and a music speaker device, and theyâll be okay. If thereâs no a/c in the dorm, they may very well need a window box fan or two upon arrival - we can have very bad heat waves in late August/early Sept, even in the northernmost parts of the country. That can be bought online and delivered, too.
Inconvenient as it may be, they can wear/carry winter coat and wear winter boots onto the plane, to make more room in the suitcase, if theyâre going to school where it gets cold. Most places where it gets cold, itâs gonna get cold before Thanksgiving, so you canât just think that theyâll come home for Thanksgiving (tickets will be wicked expensive, too) and pick up their winter coat and boots then.
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We brought clothes and bedding. I ordered everything else for Target pickup.
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We just bought these bags from Ikea, and are planning to double bag and stuff with clothes.
Can I ask what you used the duct tape for?
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Thanks for this! Luckily, going to San Antonio so hopefully will only need a light jacket. The bedding advice is super helpful, I should probably figure out what weight of bedding sheâll need, I imagine itâs different down there. Will definitely try to order for a pick up.
Thanks!
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We did double bag and I duct taped the top of the zipper. Itâs been kind of funny, my daughter usually drives back and forth with others for winter and summer breaks (she doesnât have a car) and sometimes they sleep here for a break in driving (12 hours), her friends have nice suitcases and she has these. This time she also had a bunch of reusable Shoprite bags, keeping it classy.
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We will be flying across the US for move-in, and these bags seem great. Luggage is fine too, but it has its own weight, limiting the amount to carry. These bags seem to be great for clothes.
Thanks for the zipper-taping idea. That makes sense.
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We used one Frakta bag for all the stuff that was still boxed with D20âs move in. Her electric kettle, some dishware, posters still in the tube they arrived in, etc - it all fit perfectly in the original packaging into the Frakta bag along with some other odds & ends and made move-in a breeze,.
Be prepared for a wide variety of packing/move in strategies on the day of move in. From matched luggage sets and âomg thatâs expensive!â furniture all the way to bulging Hefty bags with clearly unfolded, crumpled up clothing. Itâs a ride to see it all.
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Do most schools have storage areas for luggage? I think my college did back in the day.
Not that Iâm aware of. DHâs parents took the âextraâ empty luggage back with them, DH stored his two pieces under his bed, nested.
I do know a lot of students figure out how to store room stuff over the summers so they donât need to move everything home. Some schools offer over summer storage, some students find storage facilities for over the summer on their own.
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None of my kidsâ colleges had any storage, my kids use storage units during the summer, none of mine used suitcases to save room.
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They donât, AFAIK. Thatâs why these Frakta bags seem to be a great way to ship. Once empty, they take up very little space.
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College move-in is where Bed, Bath, and Beyond will be missed. You could buy everything in your home town, and it would be all boxed up and waiting in the college town.
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Buying the bedding online and having it shipped to the college is a real space saver - just remember to pick that box up first thing from the schoolâs package center so that your student can run it through the wash before needing to sleep on it that night! 
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âBack in the dayâ I had a chest shipped (which was then my storage locker in my room), and then my Dad and I brought everything else on our flights in duffle bags; his stuff was just in a tiny carry-on and I had everything else I was bringing in 2 large duffle bags.
I flew with my kid to CAâŠtotally across the country. We flew southwest, so we each had two checked suitcases, a carryon and a personal item.
Suitcase 1 was clothing for my kid.
Suitcase 2 had more clothing, and some personal items she wanted to take.
Suitcase 3 had linens she wanted to take from hereâŠa quilt, sheets, towels.
Suitcase 4 had things like her hairdryer, etc.
She had a computer bag and a backpack.
I had an instrument case and a backpack.
When we got to her college town, we picked up items at BBB (which wonât be a choice anymore), but really target or Walmart would have much of what we bought. Now Iâm sure many kids order from Amazon.
We made a trip to Target where we got a small TV, and all the toiletries she needed. And an under bed bin.
Went to Office Depot and got a printer, and school supplies.
The four large suitcases were ones we picked up at GoodwillâŠso they actually got put in the trash!
She kept her carryon, and I used mine to fly home.
It worked out fine.
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Definitely get intel on the mailroom, not all are open on move in day, and if open there will probably be crazy lines. Sometimes they are nowhere near your studentâs dorm.
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OhâŠone more thing. If you do fly with four suitcasesâŠand you rent a carâŠmake sure that the opening to the car trunk is large enough to accommodate the large suitcases. Our compact rental trunk opening was way too smallâŠsomething we didnât realize until we were picking up the car and trying to load it. No way to get the suitcases IN the trunk!
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