<p>Quick note: you WILL need a vacuum (a small handheld one will suffice) and cleaning supplies (a bottle of Lysol and a rag should be fine).</p>
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<p>That’s pretty much the approach I’m talking about. Certainly you wouldn’t corner these kids in the first 10 minutes of move-in and go all Spanish Inquisition on them. Obviously a lot of it has to do with your child’s level of trust that you won’t ever use it unless there is a dire emergency, which will probably never happen. As the year goes on your kid may find that a different emergency contact is better. The RA contact is also a good idea.</p>
<p>RE cross country shipping: I would try to buy things online or pre-order at Bed Bath Beyond like other posters suggested upthread. (Using the scan gun at BBB is 'way too much fun!) However, if you MUST ship things cross country, I’ve had good luck with DHL (vs FedEx/UPS/USPS) delivering packages at a reasonable price. Shipping costs vary depending on size & weight of package.</p>
<p>I second the idea of getting there as early as possible. My D’s school had an interesting series of seminars for the parents after the move-in time, but I missed most of it because of a Target run that I hadn’t anticipated.</p>
<p>The other thing to keep in mind is that roommate boundaries settle in right at the beginning. My mild-mannered D was charmingly bulldozed by her roomie into giving up a large portion of her half of the room because the roomie’s stuff didn’t fit on her own side. Roomie found it more convenient to plug things under D’s desk than her own (thereby freeing up her own outlet) and took over the whole back wall of the room with her stuff, including a scarf collection hung on command hooks across the whole back wall. She put her hamper on D’s side and her fan, which she pointed to her own side. When roomie’s mom put an over-the-door hanger on the room door and filled it completely with roomie’s coats I politely jumped in and said my D would be needing half of that. D kindly said “sure” to the roomie’s requests to take over parts of her the room, even as I wanted to jump in keep D from being taken advantage of. All D wanted to do was be accommodating and friendly, so I understand why she yielded, but I wish I had been prepared so I could have told her how to nicely turn down her roommate’s unfair requests…</p>
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<p>justwonderful, our daughters might have had the same roommate right down to the scarf collection. The roommates hamper could only fit right in front of my daughters bed right under her pillow!</p>
<p>We had the same issue. When we got back from our Target run, S1’s roommate had rearranged the room and put a futon up against S1’s desk with the desk chair smashed under the desk. Roommate’s dad had plopped himself down on the futon and quickly informed us that he had 2 other sons attending college and none of them ever needed their desk. The futon finally went home over spring break, but apparently it was only used for storing dirty laundry and pizza boxes.</p>
<p>I think when S2 heads off this year, I will ask him at what point he might want to stand his ground or have one of us give a subtle hint.</p>
<p>I’ve appreciated the advice from lateparty and others on air arrival and shipping. (The compression sack idea is genius–I’m dumping all our sleeping bags out immediately!) </p>
<p>Our son will be flying cross-country to his college for a pre-orientation backpacking trip and can only bring his hiking gear and a small carry-on that will be stored until his return to school on move-in day. Everything else has to be shipped. We have arranged for him to pick up bedding on-campus, and we already know we will be shipping clothes, computer and his cycle. In the opinion of others with more experience than me, what else will he absolutely need to have? He’s a pretty minimalist kid.</p>
<p>Thank you all for the amazing advice and suggestions. Definitely will discuss roommate from h_ll issue with son to see if/when he might need our help. Hopefully boys will be easier. Both kids coming from 2000-3000 miles away so maybe less will be more.</p>
<p>We are taking 11 days to drive to school visiting friends/family along the way. We are shipping stuff UPS b/c they will hold it til dorm will accept packages. If you have a AAA card, they offer discounts at certain UPS places. I have to check the difference in types of UPS locations as noted one or two pages prior.</p>
<p>Can anyone suggest some good “lines” to feed our kids in advance in case of a roommate taking over too much space in the room? (I’m not good at that stuff and neither is my DS!)</p>
<p>Wanted to borrow this from the old thread as I believe it really sums it up
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<p>Packing things in bankers boxes makes things easy. The boxes can hold quite a bit, are not too heavy and can collapse for easy under the bed or back of closet storage.</p>
<p>See if you can figure out ahead of time the actual logistics of getting the room key/code and all that. My husband stood outside guarding the huge pile of stuff while my daughter and i waited on a very long line to get her room key. In hindsight, he should have just dropped us off to get the key and chilled somewhere and waited for us to call him. Signs directed us to the drop-off zone and well-meaning staff directed us to unload, but we had to go to another part of campus to get the room key. Not a huge deal but it added stress to a crazy day.</p>
<p>We love Space Bags and the super XL zip-loc bags. Also, be flexible, chances are you may not make many of those scheduled talks and parent events. And as much as you want to, don’t cry as you leave your kid. They’re nervous too, be strong.</p>
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<p>Don’t do this! I’ve broken two different lightbulbs while accidently dropping a lamp or having the lamp fall over while moving. Having a broken lightbulb all over your car floorboards is not fun!</p>
<p>If you’re going to school in a small town and haven’t done much exploring the town, check what stores are there before you leave. You might be surprised to see the lack of choices, and what stores they do have might not have as many options or as much stock as your stores back home. </p>
<p>If you’re moving out of state it might not hurt to see if the sales tax is a lot higher or lower in your college town. If it’s a lot lower at home it might be worth it to buy bigger items there.</p>
<p>Move-in on the last day to move-in. I moved in within the first couple of days and it was just a nightmare! Long, long lines to get on the elevator to move stuff, and the parking lot was full so there was no moving the car close to make moving easier. Once you get there there’s really nothing to do until class starts, and there will probably be a lot less people moving in on the last day. I was envious of those people because they had no crowds to fight at all.</p>
<p>We all know how hot it has been this summer. Make sure you bring a fan as the air conditioning might not be up and running in the best condition yet. Also make sure you have plenty of water. If you’re moving into a room where you’re going to have your own bathroom/share a bathroom, bring a roll of toilet paper.</p>
<p>I keep telling my former students, when they ask for tips on move-in, to pack everything they think they need and then take one half of it out of the suitcases, boxes, etc. Chances are, you will not need it. Wish my oldest son got that message. He brought everything, and I carted a lot of it home at spring break. The youngest is watching all this. He tells me that he needs some clothes, some food and water and a laptop. Now, to keep him thinking that way…</p>
<p>FedEx ground is a little bit less expensive than UPS.</p>
<p>This link [Shipping</a>, Freight and Moving Headquarters. Shipping Rates, Freight Shipping, Shipping Rates and International Shipping. - Shipping Sidekick](<a href=“http://www.shippingsidekick.com/]Shipping”>http://www.shippingsidekick.com/) allows you to compare shipping options and I see it also has something about shipping to colleges. I didn’t open that.</p>
<p>One thing to be careful of with the space bags is that because they do such a good job of compression, you can fit more items then you normally would in a suitcase, which can make you exceed the allowed weight for flying. </p>
<p>If you are already planning to go up to Parents weekend in the fall, realize that you can always bring a bulky item up then. They really don’t HAVE to have everything they could possibly ever use at college the day they move in. Think of it as more the essentials trip - bedding, basic study accessories, electronics, bathroom stuff. No need for elaborate kitchen items - for freshman,95% of the time you are NOT furnishing an apartment. And if they do have a suite, then shopping as a group (not a family group!) will be half the fun.</p>
<p>Insect spray!!! We’ve noticed that small creatures abound during the beginning of a school year, especially if a campus is wooded, and leaving doors open during move-in is an invitation to these unwelcome guests. The very first thing we do is spray the floorboards and windows of the room with Orange Guard (from Whole Foods). The bugs don’t like it and stay out while we move in, and it’s much easier to spray an empty room than one overflowing with everyone’s stuff.</p>
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<p>Just smile and say, Oh I am definitely going to need half of the space in here for my things too. Be matter of fact but nice. </p>
<p>Also look for solutions. Maybe there are things that could be stacked, or duplicates that can be sent home. Try offering solutions rather that just point out problems but making sure you address it from the start.</p>
<p>Avoid sad music in the car on the way home, unless you are feeling especially masochistic.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the tips so far and for the “lines” to use.</p>