<p>Hello, everyone.
Boarding school days are just around the corner, and with boarding comes packing. Though schools issue a general packing list, i thought it would be helpful for returning students, parents, and other new students to share what's on their personal packing list. In addition, you could also share past experiences concerning what to bring, what not to bring etc
For example:
10 blouses
4 cardigans
2 sweaters
3 jackets
1 winter coat
6 short sleeve shirts
12 general t shirts
6 pairs of athletic shorts etc etc</p>
<p>See this thread:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-parents/1329110-realistic-amount-clothing.html?highlight=wardrobe[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-parents/1329110-realistic-amount-clothing.html?highlight=wardrobe</a></p>
<p>BTW, it’s always a good idea to use the advanced search tool before posting a broad appeal/scope question, because there’s a chance that the topic has been covered in previous years.</p>
<p>Thanks, @sevendad. I’ll keep that in mind.</p>
<p>I’m still glad for 00isme’s post though, because I was thinking about the same thing.
I have heard that however many t shirts people plan to bring, bring half because you accumulate so many while there.</p>
<p>With the list of clothes to bring, there is a related question…the laundry service. If you don’t have time to do laundry, there is this service that you can subscribe to that either offers a basic option or a “look sharp” kind of thing where everything is pressed and dry cleaned. Do most people use this? And with the “realistic number of items to bring” in mind, does anyone know the turnaround time on clothing with the laundry services? I would think that using one of these might necessitate adding a few more of everything…unfortunately.</p>
<p>Laundry seems to be one of the most divisive issues on CC. Probably every argument you can think of has been hashed on this thread:</p>
<p>[thread=984300]Will you be signing up your BS child for a laundry service?[/thread]</p>
<p>I will add that, this year, the basic E&R laundry service is being offered to Choate students for about $200 less than last year (or maybe that’s just the earlybird discount), and the school is offering a plan for just bedding/towels at no charge–a smart, defensive move if you’ve ever smelled some of these kids’ rooms.</p>
<p>i’m not sure if the laundry turn around time depends on the school you go to, but at exeter, i give my laundry in on monday morning and get it back on wednesday by lunch time. i also have the look sharp option, because for some reason, the laundry service likes to dry clean some of my athletic clothes (my dri-fit stuff) and a lot of my dressier clothes that aren’t plain. it saves me from getting tons of extra charges, and i think it adds up to be worth it by the end of the year. </p>
<p>i agree on the tshirt thing. you get lots of shirts from clubs, dorm gear, school gear (rivalry weekend tshirts), etc. in the last year i probably accumulated about 5 to 7 extra tshirts from those sorts of things. also, how much you bring depends on your gender and dress code and whether or not you have things like formal sit-down dinners.</p>
<p>I found my daughter’s actual packing list from last year:</p>
<p>Dress Code Compliant Shirts: 10 (4 of which are dressier/dry clean sort of items)
Casual Shirts: 3</p>
<p>Dress Code Compliant Pants: 7 (2 of which are dressier/dry clean sort of items)
Casual Pants: 2 (turned out these were dresscode compliant after all)
Jeans: 2
Cargo Pants: 1
Shorts: 2</p>
<p>Blazers: 3 (1 light, 1 heavy, 1 all-purpose)
Cardigans: 5 (part of dress code)</p>
<p>Skirts: 6 (2 of which are dressier/dry clean sort of items)
Dresses: 5</p>
<p>Dress Code Compliant Shoes: 6 (including one pair for dressier sandals)
Hunter Rain Boots
Hiking Shoes
Shower shoes/Flip Flops
Insulated boots [Sent after Christmas Break]
[Plus any shoes needed for sports]</p>
<p>Belts: 5 (including a few that work with dresses)</p>
<p>Rain Shell
Fleece
Dressy Winter Coat [Sent after Christmas Break]
Ski Jacket [Sent after Christmas Break]</p>
<p>2 Towels
2 Hand Towels
4 Wash Cloths</p>
<hr>
<p>School has formal dress, daughter prefers pants/blazers to skirts/dresses. In hindsight, she probably overpacked.</p>
<p>ChoatieMom, I just read the entire laundry thread. People definitely have strong feelings, so I’m glad I didn’t ask my question about turnaround time there.<br>
Thanks for the list SevenDad!!! It really helped!</p>