<p>I just sent one of my former students an e-mail regarding packing for college. I told her to pack everything she thought she needed … then take one half of it out and leave it home. She won’t need it. She said that after she laughed, she agreed. The temptation is there to pack everything, because you might need it. Do try to resist that temptation. You will be glad you did. I brought home three huge bags of clothing that belonged to my son. He didn’t want any of it. It went into the donation pile.</p>
<p>Can’t imagine who or why anyone would want the expense of a moving service. Our S’s stuff & all our carry-ons for the 4 of us fit fine in the mid-size or smaller car we rented. S didn’t really use a lot of the stuff and ended up tossing things, selling them or bringing them home.</p>
<p>Too much stuff is more a curse than a blessing.</p>
<p>It was to be a van, however they were out and told us at last minute, thus the U-hal. I wasn’t the only one there with one.</p>
<p>One can use BBB but the BBB stuff is not all THAT much in the grand scheme of things… </p>
<p>Here’s Daughter’s inventory so far:</p>
<p>(1) 31 inch footlocker - makeup (!) and soap / bath / shampoo stuff
(1) 31 inch footlocker - books, school supplies and tools (1st year Architecture has a hilarious supply list… footlocker stays at studio)
(2) medium boxes with bedding items (pillow, eggcrate topper, comforter, pillows, etc)
(1) medium box with FOOD (will probably be 2 boxes before we move her
(2) medium boxes with clothes
Laptop, printer, etc
2.5 cf fridge</p>
<p>Mrs. Turbo seems to think that the college is located within Biosphere 2 and the objective is to have everything needed :-). The food is funny because all of it is things like oatmeal (daughter’s favorite), Japanese green tea, and other Costco necessities…</p>
<p>We’re only traveling 3 hours away to Flagship State U and will borrow a large SUV from work… </p>
<p>What kills me is that thirty years ago I had two suitcases ONLY and moved across the ocean… Sigh, times change.</p>
<p>Daughter is in for a surprise - going from a 6,000 sq ft house to a pet carrier sized dorm room :-)</p>
<p>My moving van. 1200 miles NJ>Madison WI</p>
<p><a href=“http://classiccars.com/classifieds/Slides.aspx?Listingid=223037[/url]”>http://classiccars.com/classifieds/Slides.aspx?Listingid=223037</a></p>
<p>Haha, blueiguana, good research! I wonder if OP owns a college-student-moving business, and is planting the seed. :)</p>
<p>For 6 years–soph year thru all of grad school, all my possessions for school fit into 4 fruit boxes (the ones oranges and applies come it). They fit within the luggage rules for the airlines & I shipped them up with me every year & home every summer (HI to OR or CA & back). The only thing that didn’t fit was a clunker bike I bought at each school that I would sell for the same $20 or so I purchased it for originally. I NEVER brought up food & my folks NEVER sent me any care packages. There was no Costco. I was never starving nor missing anything.</p>
<p>Can’t imagine why any kid would need a mover to help move from their home to their U–would be asking for trouble as most of the stuff wouldn’t fit & need to be stored or shipped back. Have seen quite a few families heading back with a significant portion of the stuff they brought for their “moving in” student. Not sure whether it didn’t fit or the kiddo just decided it wasn’t needed. Most parents I’ve spoken with also admit that their kids keep bringing things HOME at every opportunity. Was quite surprised to see how much my kiddos accumulated in the time they’ve been in the U. It pretty much filled a very large storage room between the 2 kids. D was there for only 3 semesters & S was there for 4 years.</p>
<p>okay i think it may help to have the advice of a student
to adress the first thought of having a moving company just dont do it, i say this for many reasons…
1.the extra cost is not worth the little bit of time saved
2.you would not beleive how many first introductions occure in the elevators/stairwells
3.as the parents this will be the last chance to bond with your new college student for a while take advantage of it.
4. the students will stick out like a sore thumb having someone else move them in
5.some schools do not allow moving companies to go past the lobby.</p>
<p>as for the uhal if you absoulutly can not get away without one concider using one of the tow trailers and even then dont fill it all the way. again for several reasons
- the bigger the size the more costly
2.it is hard to park a regular sized car on move in day let alone anything with added lenght on it.
3.the school may or may not have elevators so packing lightly is always reccomened.
4no matter what you see or what people say there is not room for a futon couch extra table or anything other than maybe a couple of folding chairs in the room</p>
<p>no matter how you get the stuff to school make sure if you stop anywere along the way to lock the doors/trailer and the trailer hitch if you use that method. i actually had a freind who had the entire trailer stollen so be careful</p>
<p>Turbo…TWO 31 inch foot lockers? Does your daughter plan to put her mattress on top of them and make them the platform for her bed? Or are you bringing those home with you. There is precious little storage space for such things in a dorm room. Oh well…lucky you are driving because if it doesn’t fit in the room…you can haul it home. As you say…she is not going to outer space…she’s going to college. I bet there are stores there!!</p>
<p>Seriously…LESS IS MORE…unless you don’t want to be able to move in the room.</p>
<p>Desperately trying to keep the load confined to what will fit in the hatchback. Here’s the issue: we’re local; roomie is coming from NJ. So, we’re bringing the fridge, the microwave (u does not have a rental program), the umbrella chairs (beds are lofted and thankfully the school does have a loft rental program), basically all the big stuff. Otherwise, the kid has 4 small boxes, a bag of clothes, and her bedding.</p>
<p>One footlocker is needed for Architecture studio unfortunately and stays in the studio; the other fits under the bed (nice high-rise beds have lots of storage space). Mrs. Turbo has been known to take 100lb worth of food to her country during visits (and return with 100lb of food ingredients and get it all thru customs so we are used to NOT packing light). </p>
<p>Those who complain about lack of storage in a dorm room ought to take a cruise. Your typical balcony cruise ship cabin makes even the tiniest room pale by comparison :-). 4 people, 6 suitcases, all in one bathroom sized room.</p>
<p>^ Your perception is interesting. The bathroom in most American homes is not the size of a cruise ship cabin. Maybe the bathroom in your 6,000 square foot home, but for most a bathroom is not 200 sqft. Many kids have no problem sharing a dorm room that is larger then the room they shared with a sibling. It’s all perspective.</p>
<p>^^ Our bathrooms are much smaller…maybe 50 sf? Not sure if my bedroom is 200 sf…S isn’t worried about space…doesn’t plan on being in it much.</p>
<p>How much stuff the room will hold is a function of how the room is laid out and furnished. DD’s dorm room has a massive dresser (one per occupant) and 3 feet wide each of a large sliding door closet. Between these two clothes etc should be OK. The bed has about 14" to 16" of space under the mattress (it’s one of these beds that can be stacked so the ‘legs’ are quite long. Plenty of space there. </p>
<p>The big issue is the desks and working areas are designed for mice using iPod Touches, not laptop wielding teenagers and the like. Complete lack of book spaces etc.</p>
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<p>Were you next to us on an NCL cruise? :)</p>
<p>If Turbogirl can fit it all into her room…and you don’t mind moving it…then go for it. </p>
<p>I will say…there are a lot of advantages to learning how to “pack light”…not just for moving in and out of dorms…but for air travel and the like.</p>
<p>When we were next door to you on that cruise…I had my stuff in one carryon…for the full 8 day cruise:)</p>
<p>I was thinking you could put cushions on top of the foot lockers and have extra seating.;)</p>
<p>We rented a mini van to take DD and four of us (only DD stayed) to college freshman year. My wagon worked last year. This year we have some furniture so I am renting a cargo van. DH suggested a U-haul last night and I told him that if stuff didn’t fit, it could be shipped.</p>
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<p>Reminds me of the movie “Legally Blond” when Elle moves from LA to Harvard–it might be kind of embarrassing for your average kid.</p>
<p>Neither my kids nor any of their friends had any moving company involved in their college moves thus far. The exception is that S DID have a moving company help him get his stuff from LA to DC but only because his employer offered to pay for it. </p>
<p>It has really been an excellent skill for S & D to learn to pack their own belongings and make them fit into small spaces. It is amazing how much accumulates where they live, so you don’t want them to start out with too much stuff. For example with D, she only started with what we helped her bring up & a few things we purchased for her. S gave her his castoffs and before we knew it, she had nearly as much or more than S did! Have no idea what she’ll do with all her stuff upon graduation this spring–likely will gift/trash/sell much of it because no point in shclepping it all over the place as she moves further from campus and closer to work, etc.</p>
<p>^^ My D’s dorm has a “free box” set up on each floor during move-out week . When a student doesn’t want to pack, move, or store that full-length mirror or garbage can, for whatever reason, they take it to the free box. Then anyone can just help themselves to anything in the box. Last year, D went to drop off a large plastic bin, and scored an heirloom limited-edition school sweatshirt in return.</p>
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SCORE indeed!! I love the throwback sweatshirts I have from my college days. The very few that actually stood the test of time are amazing.</p>