Looking for people with recent moving experience of multiple students simultaneously.
First, Ikea is no longer selling Frakta or other similar bags in our area. Amazon and eBay are polluted with fake Ikea bags. Does anybody know reliable bags that would not break and will survive a lot of moves back and forth and sitting on the roof of a car?
We also have an issue to pack 2 students for 2 different colleges in one minivan. Due to the schedule, we need to drop one student 14 hours from home and the next one 6 hours away from the first one next day… (One in Memphis, another in Atlanta and we live in Maryland…)
Initially, we planned to do it with 2 cars but I would like to do it in one minivan… U-haul for 4-5 days (roundtrip) costs a fortune. Dropping at another place too. Any ideas, or suggestions?
Not that this helps you, but I followed the advice on CC and got the Frakta bags in May from Ikea, as someone mentioned they sell out quickly.
Again, this may not help you, but seemingly Walmart sells Frakta bags. Whether they are fake or not, I don’t know. But here’s the link:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/5-X-Large-Blue-FRAKTA-ZIPPERED-Tote-Storage-Laundry-BAG/909514748
You may want to double bag them too. We’re carrying these on a plane, so that’s what we plan to do.
Best of luck!
We have these bags which are highly rated, but can’t be used as a backpack like the Frakta bags. IMO they are at least as sturdy as Frakta bags, which IMO aren’t all that sturdy.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B086WNKLTM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
We also have samsonite tote-a-tons, which are much sturdier than the Ikea bags, of course they are much more expensive. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JLTDLV3/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Have you considered shipping the kids’ stuff to college so it’s there when they arrive, and just take in the car what will fit?
I bought ours on Amazon and the bags are perfectly fine. Friends of mine even checked those bags on American (with added duct tape) for a flight across the country.
This. If either of the schools allow you to ship directly to the dorm room take advantage of that.
You can also place orders to be picked up at local Targets or having things delivered via Amazon after move in.
Good luck with the logistics! Hard enough to move one into school, let alone two in different places!
can you please drop a link? There are ton of sellers on Amazon and many have bad reviews… I just need it to survive several moves. If they break on the way, it would be a last-minute disaster…
Unfortunately, we already have a lot of things, so we do not buy much on Amazon or Target.
I’m going to pollyanna this a little bit and say that moving two kids at the same time in one car will have the huge benefit of neither student being able to ‘overpack’. As so many say, so often - PACK LIGHT.
Also, you can always mail/send stuff after move-in that isn’t immediately necessary.
Good luck, this fall drop off will be exciting!
I put the link above with what we purchased and worked well. I also recommend when ordering mattress toppers to keep in the box! Open up when you arrive. Also if your kids want the plastic drawers for underneath the bed just buy there or fill all the drawers with clothes. I had a boy to move so I felt he had a fraction of what girls may have who are completely outfitting a dorm room.
They don’t need everything on the first day. While two sets of sheets are nice, a student can get by with one for a week or month (and send the next set by Amazon or Walmart or whatever). Your kids are going to two southern climates so winter clothes can wait.
One of my kids started school with a small trunk (Honda Accord) of things and when she packed up at the end of the year everything fit into 3 rubbermaid totes - she’s a minimalist. That included all the little arts and crafts she got from her sorority over the year, a mattress foam pad, sheets, towels, a fan, a desk lamp and any clothes. Her sister took everything she owed and then some, I think about 6-8 duffel bags full. On move out the Honda SUV was absolutely packed (she’s not a neat packer). When she went back, only took 3 duffels and one of those was hockey equipment. The next year? Down to one plus hockey gear. They just don’t need that much stuff.
So I’d ship ahead, but plan on sending anything they need direct from Amazon after school starts.
Unfortunately, I need to fit 2 girls in one car 
. I think we are going to get through things of the oldest one this time and try to talk about leaving things behind.
Youngest will fly in fall and winter with southwest (2 suitcases or the equivalent of Frakta bags), so she will have a chance to bring some winter things with her later…
The oldest usually flies home via Spirit without luggage.
Another idea - rent a larger vehicle for move-in.
Can you get a topper for the top of the van? We are a family of 7 and used one for years.
I think we have unused topper -soft- somewhere. But we do have big bars (moving kayaks all the time) and we do have a hook at the back of minivan used for bike rack. So we will need to come up with some way to keep bags on the top or behind.
I think you can do it! Minivans hold a ton!!
These are the IKEA Frakta bags I got off Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Ikea-Frakta-Storage-Extra-Large/dp/B00OS47EDK
I wouldn’t trust them on top of a minivan but they are great for packing.
It’s a bit off topic, but upon seeing the title, I had to share this. So I had just parked on campus to help my son move into his dorm, and a family pulled up with two large SUVs (think Ford Expedition size) and parked near us.
Mom drove one, and dad the other, and both SUVs looked completely full. I struck up a conversation with mom, and she said they were moving their son into the dorm. I uncontrollably stared at both vehicles and upon her realizing it, she said that their daughter was in the other car and they were moving her in as well, to another college in the area. Even then, a large SUV is still probably too much stuff for one person’s dorm room.
So after we take our son’s first load up and come back down, I see that the family is just about to leave after they took their son’s stuff up. It turned out that the son’s stuff took up maybe a quarter of one SUV. The daughter’s stuff filled up the rest in both SUVs. 
Somehow my minimalist oldest had a full minivan every time we were moving her back and forth. My youngest is not minimalist and I told her that I am not driving back and forth to Memphis for the next 4 years, she will have to pack everything and move to storage every summer… But she needs all her decorations, cosmetics etc to be happy
Just got an idea. I will consider vacuum bags to squish things…
One other thing you can do: rent a U-Haul trailer and two good padlocks. They should be quite cheap. You’ll need a trailer hitch on your car.
I can’t imagine a trailer would be all that expensive and they have several different sizes, depending on the towing capability of your car and the weight that will be in the trailer.