Thank you everyone! Getting some great ideas!
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We ended up having to rent a very expensive SUV because even though I booked it months in advance, all of the minivans were sold out (there were 4 of us plus all of the stuff).
I donât have any tips to add, but you all make me so grateful that the one kid I have in school across the country is my absolute minimalist child. He flew alone to school with one giant checked rolling suitcase (which I lovingly call the coffin) that he managed to meticulously pack to 49.99 lbs, one super stuffed duffel carry on and one large âpersonal itemâ backpack with his instrument, books, computer. Pretty sure he wore his winter coat and probably even tied a sweater or two around his waist.
I did order bedding and have it delivered, and he bought his own reading lamp and fan during his first few days there.
After 2 years on campus, he has accumulated very littleâŠI am always amazed by how little he needs or wants.
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WowâŠthis thread is just serendipity!
- We are also bringing Dâs bike with her. We have several checked-in bags, and our airline specifically allows us to bring a bike. I did this once before, and I had to take the pedals and handlebars off, along with one wheel.
I once did an entire permanent overseas move using excess baggage on my flight. British Airways was very unhappy that I had 10 boxes at $99 each, but it was tons cheaper to do it this way than using a shipping company etc.
Weâre going to try that same concept for this move too.
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Yes, I rented a big SUV when we arrive. We might be unable to bring everything from the airport to college, so we might need to make two trips to the airport. I am bringing some rope and a tarp if we need to tie the bike box (for example) to the SUV roof. The IKEA bags are great, because while they are bulky, weâre planning on putting clothes in them, so they will be pretty soft. The bike box is the one thing I am concerned about, but I am sure weâll figure out.
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I am trying to convince D (and Mom) to let D take stuff we ALREADY have to college like an iron (which is permitted), kettle etc. We can then get new stuff for our home to replace that. When D finishes college, she can just get rid of the stuff, but can store it in the summer while she is still in college. Because we have several pieces of luggage allowed on this trip, hopefully this will work.
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Anything else, weâll buy on-site. But, there will be thousands of families also doing that, so selection around move-in time might be limited. Pre-ordering at places like Target etc makes a lot of sense too, but I want to buy as little as possible.
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We actually will need to get D a luggage set that can be nested, so that D will have luggage to travel home and elsewhere. I guess she can store this under her bed as additional storage with hopefully some room for other underbed storage.
Thanks to all for these great ideas. Itâs made us start planning ahead. I think time will slip by quickly, so it makes sense to get some of this in the works now and during the summer.
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We have sent three kids a flight away to college. We used up Southwestâs baggage allowance as others have said. We rented a small SUV in the college town. But we would see more local families moving in with three SUVâs or a Uhaul 
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We used Target for everything else. You can make a college registry at target as a way of making a shopping list. Then Target would send you a 10% off coupon for one purchase you make from the registry (youâd need to confirm they still do this as my youngest kid is a college senior now), so we would make an online order of the things on the registry list for pickup, use the coupon, and pick it up when we arrived. We put everything from soap and bandaids and Tylenol to bedding and a power strip on that list. There was also always one more trip to Target for all the things we forgot or that got left off the order.
They really donât need much. One of my kids studied abroad twice (once for a semester) and just took one big suitcase and a backpack.
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Whatâs an iron? 
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Touche! I am not sure D knows, but mom and I sure do!
And WRT amount of stuff. Here is my sonâs advice:
Put everything you think you need in one room (probably your living room). Then take HALF of that stuff with you. You will realize that you only use half of what you take!
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Check with the school too. Alabama let us ship things there to be held for him. I shipped from Amazon, Target, etc. When we got there, it was easy to go to the pick up spot and they rolled out a loaded cart with his boxes from Target and Amazon in it. It was a great system. We stored most things for the summer.
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My daughter had a handful of things she really wanted online which we sent to our hotel - zero issue with them holding it for a week. My son was way less picky and we just bought everything when we arrived.
For clarity, try spelling it
i-Ron
If it all doesnât fit into a closet and into two drawers below the bed - then itâs probably too much.
One option is to examine each item and see if it had actually been used in the past 6 months. If not, it likely wonât be needed (other than different clothes for late summer/fall).
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If sheâs going to a small city (or big city) and you will be there for a day, you can find most of the stuff like irons at a thrift store. There are always a ton at my favorite store and weâre not that far from DU. My kids did âshop from the linen closetâ for towels, blankets,fans, desk lamps, extra pillow cases, took their foam mattress pads from their beds, (it was okay for two 5â3" girls to have a twin pad and not an XL twin), or for anything they thought they needed. One is a minimalist and took nothing (well, she took the blender), the other took everything and used very little of it.
I recommend that if you are packing in those Ikea blue bags or a duffel bag you should use packing cubes to keep everything from just being crammed in. Before the packing cube craze (and I have a nice set of teal ones), I used the plastic zipper bags that sheets and comforters come in. They worked great for a trip I took with my kids to China and we could just share one big duffel bag but everyoneâs stuff was kept separate. They were recommended because IF the bag rips open, your stuff is not all over the baggage claim carousel.
Packing this way, the child will also probably realize she has 52 panties and 2 bras, or he will see that NONE of his socks match or that he might need a pair of black socks for that suit.
Also, you can order and send things the week AFTER school starts. They donât need everything on the first day. Amazon Prime will get them things within days.
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Three of us flew across the country on Southwest with two free checked bags each for dorm move-in for one of my kids. I rented a small pickup truck (with extended cab seating) which was cheaper than even a compact car, and able to haul everything. We made a vacation out of it and arrived several days before move-in, which also allowed time to shop. I purchased two inexpensive plastic Sterilite footlockers for under the bed storage. These also make it easy to store things like bedding, desk lamp, and cold weather gear over the summer. (Both my kids rented storage spaces with friends the summer following freshman year.) We chose to bring prewashed bedding and linens (mattress cover, comforter, two sets of sheets and two sets of towels) so everything was ready to go. We bought the pillows and mattress topper locally. We left one suitcase with the kid, tossed one with a broken wheel and flew back home with the other four (free on Southwest). At semester break when he flew home for the first time we sent him back with a North Face Base Camp Bag (a big duffle with backpack straps) we bought him for Christmas. When he flies home next week he can walk from baggage claim with his padded laptop backpack on top of his rolling suitcase and wear the Base Camp Bag on his back.
FYI: Check with Housing on your studentâs campus to find out about under bed storage. My kids at two different schools had the same height adjustable bed frames which had ample room for the Sterilite footlockers and suitcase. One kid also got an expensive âIron Brickâ Footlocker (extremely durable, heavy duty and lockable) which he drove to his school 12 hours away.
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My kidâs college had a good mailroom set up for move-ins, right down to hand trucks to get things to the room. You need to sleep, so bedding is key for arrival day. I would suggest holding off on many things until the roommates meet and see the space. Iirc, a mini fridge was DSâ only purchase from Amazon at that point.
Most dorm rooms are small and shared, so focus on minimizing what you bring and smart (underbed) storage solutions. Those underbed rolling tubs can be sent from Amazon or picked up locally.
We didnât fly, btw, but I think the limiations, while stressful, will serve you well.
My kid rented a storage unit summer after freshman year. He was collecting things from it post graduation and post covid, so it definitely worked for overflow. Iow, this wonât be an annual problem!
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Have you gotten information from the school that gives any guidance around move-in?
DS is going to a school that is predominantly OOS and they have a program where you can ship boxes (they specify how many and size) during a specific window and those boxes will be brought to the assigned room. Hugely convenient! They also work with an online dorm site (dormify) that allows for direct delivery to the school. The costs on things at the site are on the high side but by the time youâre done with luggage cost or shipping it probably washes out.
Your school may do something completely different but would be worth asking them before you go too far on your own.
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Boxes are not a rare sight at some airports or airlines.
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I am not sure how this is relevant to what I wrote.
Any flyer, regardless of nationality, can consider normal checked or excess baggage on flights if it is cost-effective.
But, whateverâŠ