<p>This list is excerpted from the A-Z Checklist thread made a long time back.</p>
<p>Download link in Word format: RapidShare:</a> Easy Filehosting</p>
<p>I take NO credit for making this list. If anyone can find that old topic, please post that here.</p>
<p>Parents cafe has a couple of good threads I've been perusing lately:</p>
<p>Here is the old a to z list
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/82285-z-what-bring-college.html%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/82285-z-what-bring-college.html</a></p>
<p>Another interesting list
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/378931-items-college-most-parents-overlook-18.html?highlight=packing+list+dorm+room%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/378931-items-college-most-parents-overlook-18.html?highlight=packing+list+dorm+room</a></p>
<p>A minimalist list I like, especially good for study abroad
One-Page</a> Packing Checklist :: One Bag</p>
<p>And a great list from a Boston University student
Master</a> Checklist for Dorms</p>
<p>My advice to young women, packing clothes:
If you don't wear it at home, you won't wear it at college.</p>
<p>My laundry advice:
Plan to do laundry once a week but have enough clothes so that if you have to miss a week, you are okay.</p>
<p>My "work out t shirt" advice:
Bring few. Free t shirts will appear.</p>
<p>Treat the lists above as lists of things to think about possibly bringing. No one needs all of that stuff. Dorm rooms are small, with small closets and few drawers.</p>
<p>My D and I are spending 4th of July weekend packing (while H and S go on a fishing, horseshoes and poker trip to the Finger Lakes). She leaves Monday the 7th.</p>
<p>I started with all these lists, added it to one I had previously made, and then started deleting things I thought were not necessary, obviously for girls, etc. S wasn't interested in my list, although he's a list maker himself. Also talk of lists infuriates DH. Last night, with DH away on trip, S sat down across from me with his laptop and started making his own lists. He wanted my input, so I opened my own list and read from it. I think we've covered nearly everything possible. </p>
<p>S1 moved out for grad school in Jan. and I bought him 2 X-long sheets, mattress pad, comforter. Turns out, he never slept with anything but the comforter, although he promises in Sept. to put mattress pad on at least. So S2 gets the sheets. S1 needed kitchen supplies for common suite kitchen, so their lists are not the same at all, and S2 has all sorts of musical supplies & equipment that S1 didn't. </p>
<p>We're packing this weekend as much as possible. Laying out paper boxes in the guest room and filling them as we check items off the list. S not leaving until late August, but H & I will be out of the country for most of July. I certainly don't want to leave everything until we return!</p>
<p>Thanks CC posters for all the great ideas!</p>
<p>Good luck packing this weekend! I hope we can pack a reasonable amount of my daughter's stuff and we have few disagreements. Just a few books to move, I hope. And we are "moving" her by plane so all of those shoes can't come. No matter how light those flip flops are...</p>
<p>Packed her stuff and organized the house and her room for most of the three-day-weekend. Shipped two boxes by FedEx Ground early this morning. We paid $44 to ship 57 pounds (one 26 pound box and one 31 pound box). Daughter has a 40 pound small suitcase, a 49 pound duffel bag, and a 49 pound larger suitcase (the third will be "my extra bag") - so we each will check one extra suitcase @ $25, so $44 for Fed Ex and $50 for the extra bags, $94 total. Daughter loves her clothes and shoes and books, and her favorite blanket, and her favorite comforter cover... I think we did all right. No comforter needed - she is just using the cover. :) Now we just have to hope that our flight leaves on time this evening.</p>
<p>Daughter has orientation this week (three nights - they provide bedding - does not need books) and then starts a 5-week second summer session on Monday the 14th (needs most of her stuff, including several textbooks). She can move into her dorm on the 12th, so we have a "Target" list and a "Bed Bath and Beyond" list to shop the weekend of the 12th and 13th. It is supposed to be 100 degrees and sunny in our destination city on both the 12th and the 13th. I am from Northern Minnesota. I have been informed that I will not melt, but I can't shake the "I'm melting" images from too many annual viewings of Wizard of Oz as a child. 100 is so hot.</p>
<p>Moving somewhere warm does keep everything light weight. Shorts, capris and t shirts definitely weigh less than jeans and hoodies.</p>
<p>I got these recommendations from another student:</p>
<p>1) A strong toiletry container that can get wet and can be easily cleaned
2) A magnetic message board for your dorm door
3) Quick snacks to take to class or have between meals
4) A laptop lock</p>
<p>And for women:
1) A whistle (for safety)
2) A wrist purse to hold student id, keys and some cash. You need your student id for everything.</p>
<p>Do I need to bring my printer? no, right?</p>
<p>What is a laptop lock?</p>
<p>DO NOT bring a laptop lock. Don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t. It will never be taken out of the box you packed it in.</p>
<p>First of all, when you’re in your dorm, the door most likely locks automatically. So unless you’re worried about your roommate stealing it, you’re fine.</p>
<p>When you’re not in the dorm, for heaven’s sake just use common sense. Don’t leave it sitting around for ANY reason…even if it’s for “just a few seconds”.</p>
<p>Things I was glad I brought freshman year:
-A toolkit. It came in handy several times throughout the year.
-A sewing kit. Yes, I’m a girl, and I know how to do basic sewing jobs (sewing holes closed, fixing small holes, sewing buttons, etc.). Several friends would come to me with rips or holes and ask me to fix them.
-A customized first-aid kid and a generic one. The generic one was good for small cuts, scrapes, bruises, etc. The customized one included allergy meds (allergy season at my school is HORRIBLE…EVERYONE gets sick, even if you’re not usually prone to allergies), cold/flu meds (going to the store isn’t exactly appealing when your throat feels like it’s on fire at 2 am), cough drops (same thing), and (most importantly, girls) medicine for “that time of the month”. Mom insisted on that one, and I was SO glad she did.
-If you wear contacts, an extra case and lots of saline solution.
-Cooking supplies (we had our own kitchen in our apartment).
-My all-in-one printer/scanner/copier. There were several projects and papers I did where I was VERY glad that I didn’t have to run to the library to print it out or make copies and pay the $.10 per page. Also, I bought the printer on sale from Amazon, and the ink is fairly cheap for as long as it lasts.</p>
<p>Things I wish I would have brought:
-A WHISK and/or a hand mixer. Again, we had our own kitchen, but somehow this was the one thing that no one thought to bring. And we cooked a fair bit, and every now and then someone would say “Man, I wish we had a whisk!”
-More posters. I had to buy a lot when I got there, and while they’re not expensive, it was just kind of annoying. (Allposters has really good sales at the beginning of the school year.)</p>
<p>Things I wish I HADN’T brought:
-My bike. This will obviously vary from campus to campus, but our campus was small enough that using it was more of a hassle than a convenience.
-Laptop lock. Seriously. It never got used.</p>
<p>A laptop lock is a cord that attaches your laptop to a hook, table leg, etc. My S didn’t use his, but my H does when he is at a place like Panera using his laptop. If he wants to get up and use the bathroom or go get a drink refill, he likes to know someone isn’t going to walk off with it. </p>
<p>I could see it being useful in a setting like that if it was a public place and you needed to walk away from it.</p>
<p>Most laptops have a slot where you can place a lock attached to a cable that is secured somewhere in your room. I think locking and unlocking your laptop will become a big hassle so most won’t use it. While I don’t know how well it will work, using software like Lo-Jack might be better since it will be used.</p>
<p>D’s advice: do not bring too much stuff, especially clothes. Bring quarters and do your laundry regularly. My D brought a fraction of what has been recommended on CC to her dorm, and when she came home a week ago, she said it was too much stuff to deal with at the end of the year. She also does not have a laptop lock and will not use one, but the bright color of her laptop makes it stand out of the crowd and might even serve as a theft deterrent, LOL. Her guy friends would not touch it with a long pole.</p>
<p>
Funny story. I packed a bag of quarters at the bottom of the small crate that held all the laundry and cleaning supplies when we moved him into the dorm. At Christmas when I asked if he still had enough quarters he asked "what quarters? " Enough said :)</p>
<p>Many schools will use the student card, instead of quarters for laundry.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The exception is a business suit (and a suitable blouse and shoes). College freshmen often apply for internships and need a suit for interviews. High school seniors are less likely to do this.</p>
<p>In general, though, I’m more concerned about the things that young women wear at home but need to avoid at college – namely, everyday clothes that require dry cleaning or hand washing. These types of garment care are exceedingly inconvenient at college. Try to find things that are machine washable (and preferably, those that can go in the dryer, although you can make a few exceptions here).</p>
<p>^^^^ they also need to be able to not wrinkle easily. :)</p>
<p>Thank you for bumping this thread - I was planning to look for it very soon to help with requests for grad gift ideas. </p>
<p>My D never puts any of her shirts through the dryer, other than tees. While this does keep them looking brand new for a long time, I’m thinking it’ll be a pain in college. She does her laundry 1-2 times/week and luckily her school has free washers/dryers. Has anyone ever seen a small ,collapsible rack that could be used to hang dry 4-5 shirts at a time? I’m thinking she could just set it up overnight, in front of her closet but the only ones I can find are quite tall (56-58") and would not be easily hidden behind her dorm headboard which is only 48", lofted.</p>
<p>Btw, this is great for kids who have to wear dress pants occassionally and hate to (or don’t own) iron:
<a href=“http://www.improvementscatalog.com/product/hanging-pants-dryer.do[/url]”>http://www.improvementscatalog.com/product/hanging-pants-dryer.do</a></p>
<p>Anyone have suggestions about printers? Laser or injet?</p>
<p>My S didn’t even take his printer (finishing his freshman year now). He always printed off the schools printers as they were allotted a certain number of sheets per quarter.</p>