<p>When we flew to CA, we took Southwest. Yes there was a stop but you know…that was well worth the time just to have those two extra FREE checked bags. JetBlue does have nice planes, however. I would compare prices…really a stop isn’t a big dea.</p>
<p>We also did the east to west 3000 miles. We (3) each checked 2 bags, one was shared for H and me. Tossed one, left one with DD and nested 2 empties for the return home.</p>
<p>And check the cost of shipping a 50 pound box vs. the extra bag fee on the airline.</p>
<p>If she doesn’t care too much what she wears on visits home/summertimes, you might encourage her to leave a serviceable set of her second-tier clothing and some shoes with you at home. She’ll enjoy traveling light for 4 years that way.</p>
<p>(note: Southwest has flights from SD to Boston that stop once but don’t change planes - if you’re worried about losing bags)</p>
<ol>
<li><p>My clothes horse daughter brought three large and one small suitcase of mostly clothes and accessories. Now she says that was too much. </p></li>
<li><p>Target sells things to put under bed legs to raise bed several inches. Daughter stores two large suitcases and one (nested) small suitcase under bed. Good for off-season clothes. </p></li>
<li><p>We brought remaining large suitcase home. (She can buy a replacement if needed.)</p></li>
<li><p>Family took non-Southwest flight back home, so stuffed a full suitcase into an empty suitcase to save on fees.</p></li>
<li><p>Those nifty compression packing bags are great, but they increase likelihood of going over airline weight limit.</p></li>
<li><p>Different airlines have different suitcase dimensions limits. Check airlines you think kid will use frequently before buying luggage.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Lists are the key. We made lists of things we could buy here and ship ahead of time, things we could order/pay for here and pick up there, things we could buy there. </p>
<p>Ahead of time we shipped sheets, towels, and most of her clothing via USPS cheapest rate. </p>
<p>We stocked up on school supplies in July (I figured the local stores might be slim pickins in late August), and shipped those via USPS flat rate boxes. That kind of stuff is heavy and this was the cheapest way. BTW, those boxes are perfect for care packages.</p>
<p>We shipped the printer at the UPS Store. We had them do the packing, so that we could get insurance. </p>
<p>Bed Bath & Beyond is wonderful for bulky things – room fan, shower tote, bedside rug, blanket, mirror. It was great: We selected the stuff in California, picked it up in Indiana. It was boxed up and ready to go when I got there.</p>
<p>For her comforter, we ordered online at JCPenney and had them hold it for pickup at the store near the college.</p>
<p>Once we arrived, we took an afternoon to shop for personal supplies and last minute things.</p>
<p>We still had to lug alot of stuff onto the plane, but not as much as I’d thought we’d have to.</p>
<p>The secret is staying on top of the lists. Start making them early, revise constantly as you think of new things, cross things off as you buy or ship them.</p>
<p>My solution as a dad. - Here’s the credit card. Get what you need. </p>
<p>Lost that battle.</p>
<p>Forgot to mention. We got a printer thru Best Buy. Ordered it a week or so before we went to Boston to make sure we had the one we wanted and scheduled it for pickup in Boston. I believe that you have about 10 days to pick the ordered item up at Best Buy. Check their web site.</p>
<p>For my younger one, she had two suitcases, shipped two boxes to arrive when she did, and got on the plane. A family friend helped her and two roommates shop for stuff when she was there. We visited later in the fall.</p>
<p>Wow! What a GREAT friend!</p>
<p>This is what we did:</p>
<p>The four of us flew to Boston from Colorado, each carrying 2 big suitcases. We brought the printer & couple other electronics as carry-on. We then took the empty suitcases back with us, leaving D with just two for easier storage.</p>
<p>Daughter stored her things over the 2 summer breaks with friends who lived in the area, after that she was in an apartment. </p>
<p>This May, we’ll have the opposite problem - how to get her stuff BACK to Colo after graduation. She warns us she accumulated a lot of things she wants to keep, though I suspect a large portion of her belongings is mostly shoes ;)</p>
<p>Mine sent one box of books (actually only 9 books, the rest was piano music.) But one whole box of shoes, sent priority mail!</p>
<p>LOL about all the shoe posts! My daughter has soooooooo many shoes and boots. I don’t want to take too much when we move her in, as she needs to see how much “stuff” her dorm roo will accomodate! I will ship whatever she wants and still has room for…</p>
<p>Again, thanks for all the great feedback. you have no idea how helpful this is. Our son’s college is an 8 hour drive away, so it was so much easier to load up the Suburban 
Not to mention that he has a fraction of the clothes and shoes his sister does, though more computers, games, and movies, and LaCrosse sticks and golf clubs…</p>
<p>KeeterMom, your mention of packing the Suburban reminded me of something that happened to our neighbors last fall. Our neighborhood periodically has problems with unwelcome visits by raccoons. One of the family’s sons was home for the weekend from college and had packed food into the car at night in preparation for driving back to school the next day. Apparently he left the window open a bit, because the next morning, he discovered that a raccoon had gotten into the car and broken into the food. The raccoon that got into OUR car had only one package of cookies to filch from, but it did clean its paws in a half-full glass of water that was in one of the cupholders.</p>
<p>For S, we left him with a wheeled duffle that took virtually no space for storage. He kept his stuff in that when he flew out & has flown home with it. We took home all the larger, bulkier pieces of luggage, so he wouldn’t have to worry about luggage eating up valuable space in their small dorm room.</p>
<p>Girls and shoes break all the math and good logic above.</p>
<p>Funny story about the racoon Megdog!!
We have racoons here too, so I will be sure to keep the windows UP :)</p>
<p>We also transported all of D’s things across country by suitcase–even most of her bedding. We did pre-order some bulky things like a folding dorm chair, memo board, drying rack (which I doubt she ever uses, lol), etc. from BB&B and picked them up near campus. D flew out on her own first with several suitcases for pre-season training camp, and H, D#2 and I followed a couple of weeks later in time for freshmen move-in day. H is a frequent flier so we did not pay for the extra luggage, though we did weigh them all at home to make sure they weren’t overweight. Later I had to mail her a smallish box of additional clothes and miscellaneous items. These had fallen into the “only if there’s room” category, and which she realized she definitely was going to need. </p>
<p>She has a lot of stuff that will have to be stored, but that is partly because she is an athlete and so has all the shorts and tops, as well as sweat suits in addition to clothes for class. She is hoping to land a summer job on campus, which will cost us room and board, but will save on airfare and storage.</p>
<p>Frankly, I stressed a lot about the move, but it ended up being pretty simple and painless. Good luck!</p>
<p>We are from SoCal, and daughter attends college in VA. We shipped many clothes via UPS ground well ahead of our arrival directly to her campus address. We used Bed, Bath & Beyond for bedding, towels, etc. and used their service for shipping directly to her college. Then when we arrived a few days prior to move-in day, we bought her a printer, paper and ink cartridges, desk lamp, etc. at Office Max and Target. We also got cleaning supplies, stocked her up on tissues, shampoo, etc. We went to a local bike shop for a bicycle. Near her school was a storage facility that offered special rates for the college students, so she arranged to share a storage room with a friend for the summer. Between the two of them, they found a few friends with cars to help them move their things in and retrieve them in the Fall. Second summer, she managed to find on-campus storage.</p>
<p>Would it be overkill to start a new thread titled ‘things to buy and ship for free via Amazon’ ? There are soooooo many ‘what to pack/send’ threads would this specific one get lost?</p>
<p>I’m thinking - the more I look at Amazon the more I see bulky stuff we can send them for free shipping (or two day prime w/student discount) -</p>
<p>pop up laundry hamper
shower caddy
desk lamp,
waste basket,
fan
refrigerator
Maybe even a pillow, let them sleep on a sweatshirt for a few nights. </p>
<p>Why make a trip to BBB when Amazon delivers? </p>
<p>If there is a Staples/Office Depot nearby, if you buy $50 of stuff (like printers…paper…ink…) would they deliver to the college for free? The office supply places usually have reasonable prices on cases of bottled water to start off your kid.</p>
<p>Etc.</p>
<p>(My fav laundry detergent, Charlie’s Soap powder, Amazon, is perfect for dorms)</p>
<p>At my son’s university, UPS and Fedex require that you be there for delivery. Most of the dorms don’t have a desk to receive shipments.</p>
<p>Be aware of this as you make plans – USPS may make more sense.</p>