<p>Yeah, I was thinking about getting S some 24 packs of his favorite to put in the frig but I figure everyone would probably just drink it, and if its in his room not cold then I don’t think that does any good. He drinks a lot, probably 6-8 sodas/ice teas a day.</p>
<p>And eating, don’t even get me started, today he ate lunch at work, stopped at Robeks(smoothies), ate dinner and now is out getting pizza, a typical day. It will be interesting to see what he does at school.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>Get him a little fridge to keep under his bed. I just saw one at Sam’s for $99. I think I’ve seen smaller ones at Home Depot for less.</p>
<p>Do any of the kids in the super suites have (and are they allowed to have) small refrigerators in their rooms? That might not be a bad thing if you had roommates who didn’t respect other’s food/drinks.</p>
<p>I know that I have seen little fridges in kids’ room in the super suites. I don’t know why they would be forbidden.</p>
<p>Another Costco fan here 
Although Sam’s Club is nearby and we have a bit of a hike to Costco, we prefer the merchandise there. </p>
<p>Not sure if the policies have changed, but before we were Costco members, my parents sent us a Costco gift card which we unfortunately found out as we were checking out, that we could not use at the warehouse. We were told the gift card could only be used online. Perhaps the policy is different now.</p>
<p>Here is an excerpt from Costco website:</p>
<p>“You must be a Costco member to purchase or reload Costco Cash Cards. Non-members may use the cash cards to shop in the warehouse or online. Costco Cash balances may be used toward membership or merchandise.”</p>
<p>here’s a link:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.costco.com/browse/productset.aspx?prodid=10024438[/url]”>http://www.costco.com/browse/productset.aspx?prodid=10024438</a></p>
<p>The way my son and his suitemates did food last year, they each had their own part of the cabinet. The cabinets are divided into four sections, so it was easy to distinguish one’s goods from the other. They all liked the same brand breakfast pastry, but each a different flavor. In the beginning, they had post its on the fridge indicating who ate what flavor. The each had a suitcase of their own favorite flavor soda in the fridge. Other than that, their tastes were totally different, so there was no dispute over eating each other’s food. They didn’t like the smell of son’s chicken nuggets, and he didn’t dare touch their Hot Pockets, thanks to a skit on Comedy Central. (Inside joke). Each compartment of the cabinet had a post it with each owner’s name. I never opened the other kid’s cabinets except to clean out the kitchen when we were evacuating after the tornado. We were the last to leave and didn’t want the kids charged for stuff left behind in a hurry. Even though I’m sure they knew within a matter of days whose cabinet belonged to whom, I think they left the names on the post its up for the benefit of guests. It would be rude for one of my son’s guests to munch on goodies from his suitemate’s cabinet, but as son’s guest, his stuff may be considered fair game. </p>
<p>As for dishes and silverware, they each brought their own, and they could distinguish whose was whose by the different patterns. Also helped on the dishwashing, as they would be responsible for washing their own dishes. </p>
<p>Son’s future suitemate contacted him tonight about what he’s bringing for the dorm next year, as in dishes and furniture, and I was like, bring your own dishes, and if you guys want extra furniture, (why would you), they can buy that together when they get there. We have a storage unit over the summer so we don’t have to bring back any more than his clothes ,his printer and computer, and things that I wanted to wash before storing, like plunger, toilet brush, ice trays, dish drying rack. Son has said he wants to have a lot less stuff this year than last year, so I’m hoping to bring about half of the stuff in the storage unit home to either donate to Goodwill or put in the attic for when he gets an apartment. </p>
<p>The vacuum cleaner and cleaning supplies and kitchen towels that we brought since son was the first to arrive because of Alabama Action will go back into the suite to share with the other boys. It’s there already, it will be used, and no reason to bring it back home, and no reason for the other boys to bring more of the same. </p>
<p>Toward the end of the year, the boys discovered pizza delivery. Son said they basically took turns putting it on their ACT cards. I think that’s the only time food was shared. Other than that, they bought and consumed their own. </p>
<p>If you feel you’ll have a problem with moochers, I would suggest the cabinet assignments like my son and his suitemates used, and labeling your respective drinks in the icebox if you think there will be too much sharing. The boys are a lot more laid back than we are about such things, and I think the most hostile they would be about invading one’s food stash would be, Dude, stop eating/drinking my stuff.</p>
<p>yes, checked with the hubby, new policy, you have to be a Member to buy a Costco gift card, but not to use one.</p>
<p>Thanks for the confirmation of the policy change, AL and Mike. Will consider using socal’s suggestion of the Costco gift card. Now, if S can get a ride there…</p>
<p>Son also had moocher suitemates last year, having found out the hard way during the Thanksgiving break (when we weren’t sure if the dining hall closed) that all his canned soup was gone. Shortly after, he just decided to store his food in his room to eliminate the problem of mooching altogether. I’m sure he would have been happy to share if he was asked but was ticked off that his food disappeared without permission.</p>
<p>I’ve done the “each suitemate has their own cabinet” method for the past two years and recommend it. The same goes with the bathroom cabinets, though each person gets two of those since 2 suitemates generally share one bathroom.</p>
<p>Personal refrigerators are definitely allowed, though they will have to be unplugged during breaks. I haven’t yet had a moocher roommate, but I’ve always had the rule that people are free to eat my food if they ask me first, but they better ask me first.</p>
<p>Remind your students that they might not become best friends with their roommates and that’s okay. What’s most important is that everyone feels safe and comfortable in their living situation. Becoming best friends is a bonus.</p>
<p>Are personal microwaves allowed in the room? Son’s shared microwave last year was seriously stained and looked suspect; he barely used it.</p>
<p>Older D got her boyfriend Costco giftcard for his birthday- he’s into bodybuilding and loves their meat section/prices - to quote him “this is heaven”. Never had a problem.</p>
<p>Sophocles - something to keep in mind having some white vinegar on hand. A little in a bowl or cup heated to steam and easy microwave cleanup. I suspect my son is a big microwave user I better have him do this a couple of times before he leaves - get him into the habit 
I didn’t think of it last year.</p>
<p>Cabinet assignments definitely works. S didn’t have any fridge problems last year but I think one option for fridge are those Target $1 bin plastic baskets to id whom it belongs to.</p>
<p>^^^Oh, gosh, socal, that sounds like a chemistry experiment waiting to happen. I would never heat vinegar, it’s an acid, in a dorm room. </p>
<p>Sophocles has a good point about the microwaves. While H and S were bringing stuff to the storage unit, I gave the suite’s microwave a good cleaning. </p>
<p>I forgot about the bathroom cabinets. S was in D, and he and the C boy shared a bathroom. They each had a side of the bathroom cabinet. S had a shower caddy he kept his shampoo and soap in, and I always made sure they were well stocked on liquid soap and toilet paper. The other 2 suitemates never seemed to have fresh TP or liquid soap, so I usually stocked them up, too. Heck, it was just a couple of bucks, and I couldn’t stand the thought of those boys not washing their hands and not having TP! Hotel soap I left there in August was still there in April Yuk! </p>
<p>They were sweethearts, but they weren’t the neatest kids in the world. H and I didn’t mind, though. Having gone to college with roommates who drank, did drugs, and engaged in other illicit activities in our dorm rooms, H and I didn’t mind a little messiness in exchange for some decent, moral kids. We knew it could have been a lot worse.</p>
<p>As for excess drinks, son did keep his extra suitcase sodas and juice in his room closet, really out of consideration to give everyone room for their own stuff, not because he was afraid of moochers. His excess nonperishable food was kept in his designated cabinet.</p>
<p>As son will have all new suitemates next year, the only thing we realized he will need to bring this year that he didn’t last year, because one of the other boys brought it, was a toaster. We’ll gladly pick that up, since son loves his breakfast pastry and will use it a lot. And of course, others in the suite would be welcome to use it as well.</p>
<p>I guess as we’re well into July, it’s time to start emailing everybody to see who has what in storage and what needs to be furnished for day one. After that, I think they’ll probably do the Target Night again. I remember son and his suitemates doing that last year together. I think they mostly bought groceries then, though. They were minimalists and didn’t care about decorating the suite. But we’re talking boys here. Girls may be a whole other story.</p>
<p><strong><em>Oh, gosh, socal, that sounds like a chemistry experiment waiting to happen. I would never heat vinegar, it’s an acid, in a dorm room.</em></strong></p>
<p>I do this all the time with a half vinegar/half water mixture (vinegar is one of my favorite cleaners) and it’s never been a problem. I don’t think even college boys could screw this up. However, there are odors that even this won’t take care of. Say, for instance, if your child makes one of those microwave Easy Macs but forgets to put the water in before microwaving and the whole thing burns up. (Don’t ask how I know this). </p>
<p>I too would love to know if personal microwaves are permitted in the super suites.</p>
<p>guess I’m the bad mom, never found a microwave that couldn’t be cleaned enough to be sanitary for DSs use. Doesn’t the actual act of microwaving any contents render them bacteria-free? IMHO the fewer extra things to be lugged down/stored the better.</p>
<p>i think having a microwave in a personal bedroom is a little bit of overkill.</p>
<p>I think there are a lot of people who way over think and overreact</p>
<p>We found that the microwave was really clean when we arrived and as we were the last to leave the suite, I gave it a thorough cleaning on the last day.
Simply take a dishcloth and completely saturate it with plain water. Place in a bowl and turn the microwave on high for several minutes (maybe 5 minutes) leave the door closed and let the steam do the work. Then use the hot dishcloth to wipe out any stains, dirt and grease. You may have to do this twice depending on how dirty the microwave is.
NO chemicals, No smell!!
Clean the outside with a little Murphy’s Spray. Works great on cabinets and counters too.</p>
<p>OOOPPPs (brain fog) forgot to include that - Yes - put vinegar (only needs a little) AND water. Only needs a little time to steam. </p>
<p>Why the vinegar? We’ve had to deal with the burnt popcorn - and vinegar helps eliminate smell. My mom has lemon tree and uses those - I love Heloise and use vinegar a lot.</p>