Mine have tea kettles. Those plug in ones that boil water quickly. Tea mainly. 
Personal opinions aside, I don’t see why she shouldn’t bring a headboard if she and her roommate are coordinating and you’re ok moving it. Coordination is key as it is a shared space. Regarding storage, it depends how well it is used/planned–layout, lofting beds, underbed drawers, coordinating to avoid duplicate items, double duty items, etc, Are you willing to take back what doesn’t work? Also consider move out as others have pointed out. Will you be moving everything back home yourselves? Will you be using a local moving/storage service for the summer? Less is definitely easier, but more can work depending. Either way be flexible. You may be in for a few surprises when you get there.
Just because one student took 30 pairs of shoes and a ton of bins doesn’t mean that will fit in your daughter’s room…and the stuff used.
You know…if you are a drive away, will you be going for parents weekend? Will she be coming home for Thanksgiving?
Take what you know is needed now with some extras. Then you can bring a bin when you visit on Parents Weekend…and she can schlep stuff back with her at Thanksgiving and Christmas…
Sounds like a lot to me but coordination and planning are EVERYTHING here.
- Don't even think about encroaching on the roommate's share of the room unless you're talking about a shared resource (say, a surface where both kids agree to keep and share things like tea kettle, mug, etc.)
- Be sure you can take back what doesn't fit.
- Be mindful of move-out/storage, etc.
- Make her OWN the decision. Maybe you help with the basics, but then go out for a nice cuppa while she handles the extras.
For perspective, my kid arrived with 3 rolling suitcases (small, medium, large) and an overnight bag that included one set of towels and one set of sheets as well as clothes, books and personal items. We shipped a full set of bedding including bulky items like pillows and a comforter, and then bought about a shopping cart’s worth of stuff (bulletin board, wastebasket, lamps, fan, remaining school supplies, detergent, shampoo) onsite once we saw what was needed/possible. The school held a tag sale where we got some of that stuff for a song.
@porcupine98 is correct. Let the upperclassmen the carry the stuff to her room. Then YOU parents go out, and offer to pick her up in a couple of hours for a meal.
This is why Marie Kondo is such a hit. People are incapable of making choices and they wallow in “stuff.”
I feel like we are piling on a bit.
“It depends” is all we can really say. The schlepping in and out (and more often than you would think, between semesters!) is the only thing that matters to most of us parents. Girls tend to take more stuff. And the question of whether she is planning to keep the bins or you are taking them home (and back) makes a difference.
My daughter’s college dorm rooms all have slightly lofted beds. All the deessers are shorties, and are designed to fit under the bed. There is automatically storage (for a LOT) under every bed.
Last year someone posted a link to large blue Frakta duffle bags (google them) from Ikea. They are awesome! I only wish we had had them for my two oldest kids! They are huge, indestructable, light weight, and cheap! I bought eight of them, used six for move out last spring, and again for move in last week. We stored all the bedding, towels and stuff that didn’t need to be used over the summer in them. (Washed everything, packed it back in the bags and stacked them in a corner for the summer.) They fold flat and can be stored easily in a dorm room.
Do keep in mind that kids do sometimes need to move rooms mid year for various reasons. Room mate problems, room problems… Last year the bottom floor of my daughter’s dorm had to temporarily move out between semesters so the rooms could be treated for a bug issue.
Well, it’s their stuff, so let them wallow. How much is too much is dictated by the space, the two people sharing it, and the people involved in the hauling/moving.
When our kids went to summer camp, we got parachute bags from an Army resale shop. Those things are indestructible, hold tons, and yet fold down into nothing. Indeed, I am using one later on today to bring some things to my D’s new apartment. There is something about their shape - more square than a duffel bag or suitcase - that really packs efficiently.
Let her take what she wants if it’s OK with you. As others have noted, either it will fit…or not. I would be oreoared to bring the large bins home. Agree with others…if there is something you can pack that stuff in that folks flat, it would be store in the dorm room (or your house) better than bins. We used plastic black garbage baHS for the kid we drove. But then, we only took two…one with bed linens, and one with clothing that didn’t need to be hung up.
I’m here in support of the OPs D ! That honestly doesn’t sound like a lot to me. Many rooms have no storage and clothes need to be kept in plastic drawer units and bins under the bed. A bed on risers and elevated to the highest mattress level would certainly fit 6 bins under it.
Some students like super comfortable beds with mattress pads, foam inserts and many soft pillows - that requires a lot of bags.
Let me also defend 30 pairs of shoes - I can tell you without exaggeration that every woman on my Ds dorm floor has at least 20-25 and many way over 30. Think a few pair of sports/work out shoes, summer sandals and shoes, winter shoes, dress shoes for job interviews and internships 2 - 3/week, boots short and high, snow boots, Hunter, flip-flops - 30 is really not crazy.
She’ll need a suitcase to go back and forth to school Holidays.
My only questions is the head board - but again, if it makes her happy…
No one will “look down” on the OPs daughter - if it fits in the truck and she’s happy with it - let her bring it. She can decide where everything will fit and send something home if she wants to.
Have a great (and cool) move in a good luck to your daughter !!
Maybe some of it is how efficient packers they are. Some people are really good packers - make excellent use of every square inch, put socks inside boots, little life hacks. Others, esp if driving a truck and space is not an issue, pack “inefficiently” because what does it matter. The comment about a desk lamp in one of the bins made me wonder this.
About tea kettles. My DD is bringing one, along with two mugs, tea infuser, two tins of loose tea (oolong and Jasmine). It is a necessity for her. Her best friend brought a rice cooker because she felt it was a necessity for her. Kids are different.
I’m sitting in my living room wondering what I should cull, but honestly, other than one set of sheets, I really do think she’ll need everything.
And for all the talk about under bed storage, let me say that my daughter’s room has none. Nada. The bed in on a solid block. So for anyone who doesn’t know for a fact that they can put things under the bed, don’t assume you can.
Yes, 30 pairs shoes is crazy. My minimalist kid took 10 pairs. I can easily imagine more, but how does anyone need 20 more pairs than that?
My kid’s dresser drawers were under her bed, taking up most of that space. In addition that meant there was no space on top of a dresser to put stuff.
Small electric cooking devices were against the rules in the dorms I lived in.
First of all, make sure the tea kettle is allowed.
Instead of lugging a headboard, get her one of those tapestries in a cool print, to hang on the wall.
Bringing totes to transport is fine if they fit in the vehicle, they don’t have to stay there.
My D had a three drawer dresser from the school, and brought a plastic set of drawers, both fit under the bed once it was raised about 2 1/2 feet.
Its not piling on when an OP asks if their kiddo is bringing too much stuff and most posters say YES!! Remember, the other roommate may also be bringing waaaay too much stuff and the dorm room doesn’t need to look like a hoarder’s paradise. Stick an envelope with a $20 check in the bottom of one of the big bins and see if it ever gets noticed or cashed!! My DS had bins with healthcare type stuff (cold medicine, bandaids, etc) that probably never got touched.
There is another long thread about lofting beds…and the dangers in doing so. Make sure your kid’s bed has a rail if it if lofted. And if the beds don’t loft…make sure rack raisers are allowed. They were NOT allowed at either of my kids’ colleges.
Over the door shoe holders will hold the shoes (assuming the closets have regular doors…my son’s didn’t. No prblem fitting 30 pairs of shoes in those.
Not sure why so much emphasis on the headboard. It wouldn’t be important to my kids but it’s actually one of the items that will take up little space in the dorm room because it is taking up vertical wall space. I don’t see it as an issue.
Most schools allow the tea kettles. They have automatic safety shutoffs on them these days.