<p>The other threads was the inspiration to create this one spot for all Move-in Tips…</p>
<p>1) Montegut reminded me of a fav tip. A day or two before classes start, have your child “walk” his schedule…locating buildings, classrooms, etc. Also, note that sometimes there are “room changes” made at the last minute (this isn’t common) as the school realizes that one course section can have a smaller room, while another needs a larger room. Again, this doesn’t happen often, but it can happen.</p>
<p>2) Have a small box that you can immediately access that has scissors, tape, TP, hand soap, and a few other office supplies (like Command tape), etc. (You may need the TP and handsoap shortly after arriving in the Super Suites)</p>
<p>I am bringing a small gift (embellished with the appropriate logo) for my son’s roommates…</p>
<p>Good point, Mom. Suites DO NOT come with soap, shampoo and toilet paper, like a hotel room. Make sure you have a roll of toilet paper and some soap to wash your hands in an easily accessibly bag.</p>
<p>Sorry to be gross, but hey, I’m a mom.</p>
<p>NRD…</p>
<p>On Move-in day, I bring a small cooler with cold drinks (soda and bottled water) and a plate of cookies with some napkins I set them on the table in the suite’s living room. It worked out well.</p>
<p>My sister orders a couple of pizzas and does the cooler thing, too. That is a big hit. My kids aren’t in dorms anymore, but if they were, I’d do that from now on.</p>
<p>It will be hot during move in. I would suggest a cooler with drinks and a plug in fan for the dorm. The dorms are air-conditioned , of course, but a nice breeze is welcome.</p>
<p>You will be the toast of the dorm if you bring… a rubber mallet. It is the preferred tool for “lofting” and/or “unlofting” the bed.</p>
<p>Mom…</p>
<p>Great idea! I haven’t gotten this far without discovering teenage boys are walking stomachs.</p>
<p>Yes to a rubber mallet! We’ve also included a few tools, screwdrivers, etc in case anything needs assembling once there.</p>
<p>We’ve been lucky to find the for a BUCK at Dollar Tree, but I don’t know if they’re always there.</p>
<p>If you’re OOS and want to show a little state pride from Day 1, a cool wall decoration might be your state flag. You can get a very nice 3’ x 5’ polyester state flag from Amazon for about 5 bucks. My son has proudly “flown” the Hawaii state flag in his dorm since arriving at 'Bama.</p>
<p>^^</p>
<p>That is such a nice idea!!! </p>
<p>There is usually a party during WOW week for OOS students. It would be cute if each brought his own state flag!</p>
<p>Move in at the UA is very well organized, especially if your student will participate in AA, OA, or Rush. Move in for AA and OA is generally the Saturday before AA begins on Sunday evening. We have found a few things that made our D’s move in go smoothly.</p>
<p>We found that in addition to labeling boxes as required by Housing, color coding and and making an inventory list worked really well. We created a master list and numbered the boxes. By color coding, you’ll be able to easily tell which boxes belong in the bedroom, bathroom, or kitchen. This is especially helpful in getting boxes out of the way so other suitemates also have room for their things when they arrive. Remember, you may not be the only one moving in at that time. Making an inventory and master list allows items to be easily located. Additionally, we found it helpful to pack cleaning supplies, toilet paper, hand soap, and things you’ll need first in a box together. It is also helpful to have a small box with tools handy.</p>
<p>Although move in is VERY well organized, it is hot and parents nerves are sometimes on edge. Don’t forget to pack your patience first. Remember, those moving your child in are volunteers who are there to help, so be nice to them. Some of the professors helped last year. Staging generally occurs at Ten Hoor. The entire process runs incredibly smoothly and you won’t lift a finger until your child’s belongings are in their room.</p>
<p>Does EVERYthing have to be in boxes? I know it will be ideal if it is…but there are some things that we will not be packing in a box (tuxedo, e.g.). What happens to all the ‘loose’ stuff in this move-in exercise?</p>
<p>well, if you have just a few loose things you could take care of those yourself. :)</p>
<p>i don’t think i would put a tuxedo in a box, but you could pack it in a hanging bag (walmart has them).</p>
<p>So, for those of us who are flying in, and buying most everything on that end, we should also buy boxes? Guess I was picturing a rented minivan filled with BBB and Target bags.</p>
<p>Unless this is some kind of new thing, I never had everything in boxes. Frankly, because of how my SUV fits things, I actually used several “pop up” hampers and put stuff in. Those fold down to nothing on the way home. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t go out an buy boxes, unless I could get some rather cheap like at Sams Club they have a bundle of folded boxes. Or used lidded big plastic boxes that I have at home already and then bring them back home after. </p>
<p>I wonder if there’s a difference in how the move in works on the north side of campus (honors, etc) vs how things work on the south side (Tutwiler, etc.)</p>
<p>I can speak for the Tut side. We actually put all DD’s clothes in hanging bags…that way they just went in the closet (we actually had each recruitment outfit in its own bag with shoes and any accessories that went with…labeled with the party day as well). All of her shoes were in those cloth/heavy bags they sell at BBB or Vera Bradley and Lilly Pulitzer. Each bag had a tag with her name and room number in Tut as well as what was in it (yes…I know they are open but she wanted this…lol). The plastic bins with drawers had the drawers already packet with what went in each drawer and we secured them with duck tape. Tv was wrapped in bubbly wrap. Computer was in her travel case inside her Vera computer tote. We had a bag labeled “cords” that held all of what she needed for computer hook up ect. We had bought her a very cute flowered tool set. We shopped for shampoo and toiletries when we got to Bama.
AS far a move in went we had the first time on the first day (for us that was 8 am on Saturday 2010). We lined up kind of snake like in the back of the tut parking lot and worked our way around to the circle drive where 4 or 5 men met us with the big carts (you will see one at Bama bound). We used almost 4 (DD’s brother was mortified his sister had so much!) and they just took it all up to her room…unloaded the cart and went down to help the next person. It was over in less than 10 minutes…very efficient!!
DD and her roommate moved in at the same time…it was fine and we actually all had a very nice day together…several shopping trips and a nice dinner.</p>
<p>This is all stressing me out a bit but I must say the pop up hampers idea is brilliant. :)</p>
<p>boxes from the liquor store work well, and you will get some funny comments during move in. they are not too big and not too small. and sturdy … and FREE!</p>
<p>clothes pack well in underbed storage bags (walmart - 4ish dollars), suitcases or the plastic drawers. hanging clothes - hanging bags with the hangers rubber banded together. this makes putting the clothes away super easy!</p>
<p>for move out last year we packed in a pretty big hurry, so we mostly packed in garbage bags. it is super easy to pack a car full of garbage bags! then we went through everything and washed/repacked stuff for next year when we got home.</p>
<p>No, everything does not have to be in boxes. Housing wants things labeled with name, building, tower, suite, room so things don’t get lost when volunteers take things up for you.<br>
After leaving the staging area, those moving to RCS drove up the sidewalk where they picked up their keys in line before stopping at the front door. Once the volunteers unloaded the vehicle, the student and volunteers went to the room while the driver moved the vehicle. It was very quick and smooth for us. Apparently a couple of people decided to show up at the early move in time although they had chosen the afternoon and they were upset when they were not allowed in line. This is why I said pack your patience. There will be many people with the same move in time and we found it helpful to move our things out of the shared area to give the others room when they arrived.</p>
<p>boxes from the liquor store work well, and you will get some funny comments during move in. they are not too big and not too small. and sturdy … and FREE!</p>
<p>that is a great idea.</p>
<p>Also, if you’re friendly with your grocery mgr, you can ask if they’ll set aside some boxes (that close) for you. It’s nice to have a few different sizes because obviously different things are different sizes.</p>
<p>There’s nothing wrong with putting something like pillows into a white trash bag that you’ve pre-labeled (both sides do no one thinks it’s trash!)</p>