<p>Re-think "needs" vs "wants" </p>
<p>S flew alone with a laptop and carry on. I shipped a few boxes of bedding, bulky clothes, other supplies (rural school, no car, so did not buy anything when he got there). It cost me about $45. Honest.</p>
<p>Travel light. You'll be glad you did.</p>
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S's "wardrobe" throughout HS has consisted of 2 prs of jeans, 2 prs of shorts, white undershirts, and a few tee +/or polo shirts.
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<p>My son came home after his first semester and went out and bought about two dozen undershirts, two dozen boxers, and two dozen pair of socks at K-mart. Leading the simple life loses its appeal if it means doing laundry every three or four days.</p>
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<p>I tell you, two duffel bags of clothes, a toothbrush, a computer, and a debit card. Do they really need anything else?</p>
<p>EDITED: The road trip is not to drop off junior. It's a family vacation that includes dropping him off at college. If we just needed to get him to school, I'd put Jr and WashMom on a plane (she's never visited the school), and I'd stay home with Jr2 watching "Scrubs" reruns and eating popcorn.</p>
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The boy wears aloha shirts 364 days of the year. He even found polyester and nylon aloha shirts to wear backpacking.
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<p>He must be channeling my husband, DH loves hawaiian shirts. I don't even try to buy him a shirt, because the ones I buy get tucked away unworn in the back of the closet.
Less is more with college stuff, but boys probably need a little encouragement to be sure they have enough.
My tip - beach towels make good towels for guys, they are oversized, they are distinctive, and they make good rugs, bath mats, and picnic/sunbathing blankets in a pinch.</p>
<p>First child, S #1, has embraced the simple life at a south east college. It works very well for him (though he does appreciate a certain amount of those personal clothing items to help reduce the number of laundry loads/bigger but fewer). It makes the transition from coast to coast tolerable.</p>
<p>Second child, watch out. I'm already foreseeing some interesting tussles over volume come August when Mom, Dad and younger brother head to the north east with our darling D. Give me strength. I will physically need it. Big brother is already trying to help me instill the concept of simple living but I'm not sure it's working. Admittedly, climate will also play a role, it gets pretty darned cold where she's going!</p>
<p>As to the original post - just keep the Subaru roof storage handy in case you need it once packing time arrives. If there is even a moment of doubt about the need to take anything, DON'T. Son ended up sending a few things back with us that first trip once he got there and realized he didn't really need a couple of things. Piece of cake to send a box a bit later once they have time to figure out what they really do need or want from home.</p>
<p>Marian...it will be a laptop. And the third person is DH. I still think we can fit everything in IF S can be persuaded to leave the keyboard at home. Maybe his dorm will have a piano, or am I just being insane?</p>
<p>Thanks to this thread, I think I've got it worked out...yet another Subaru driver (a cute blue WRX). Have a roof rack for extra storage. S2 wears LOTS of used T-shirts and Jackets and one very worn out pair of shoes, laptop, toiletries, bedding from S1s freshman year, lacrosse stick, ipod, and cellphone. </p>
<p>Just not sure where I'm headed to....Seattle or Davis?</p>
<p>FYI, you can also order toiletries online - <a href="http://www.drugstore.com%5B/url%5D">www.drugstore.com</a>
I use it all the time to order things in the US for people to carry back to Shanghai for me. No tax and free shipping if you order enough stuff.</p>
<p>Moving in is a hassle, but if you pack smart and limit the stuff to the absolutely necessary, it is not a big deal. Whatever you take to the dorm, you will have to take it back or storage it somewhere else by the end of the year, so don't over stuff, our students are great at overstuffing later and they will call you some time at the end of second semester saying: "What can I do with all this?"
Save all the B, B & B coupons during the summer and they will come in handy by moving in time. In my own experience, a small screen laptop is the best to carry around and for the dorm buy a nice monitor, keyboard and mouse to connect it. If you need to buy a bookcase, garage type shelving will do it for all your needs (books and kitchen supplies) and it's cheaper. Do you want your kids to make friends faster? Nintendo or PlayStation make wonders ;).</p>
<p>Our son is spending his senior year of HS in China. Last summer, we fedexed two huge suitcases of clothes, books, college applications ahead to our hotel in San Fran while we had one last family vacation in Las Vegas, Yosemite, etc. Needless to say one of those suitcases never made it to San Fran. It was a bit daunting to send him away with half the stuff we thought he needed - he's 6'5" so shopping even in China is limited for him - but, being a boy, his needs were few and he managed. I think he bought a jacket over there and maybe a pair of sneakers. He's says he's grown a lot in the meantime. I'm sure we'll see flood level pants on him in a few weeks when we pick him up at the airport. Packing for college this fall?? It will all be in a carry-on, I think.</p>
<p>Well, we all flew my S off to college--hubby, me & our D. S packed his 2 suitcases plus one extra & carried his laptop in his carry on. When we got to LA, we purchased stuff. Yes, WalMart, Target & other stores do run out of college stuff, even in LA (at least the ones near campus). We rented a compact car & had the 4 of us in it but still managed to get S moved in with more than enough stuff, including bringing up sheets & buying printer, granola bars, beverages & other stuff in LA. It worked out fine for us.</p>
<p>It does seem that the stereotypes seemed fairly accurate as the males on campus seemed to have a lot less gear than the females (tho there were exceptions). The good thing is that for the summer, S is planning to stuff things in garbage bags & leave them at a friend's place, just bringing home clothes. If he had LOTS of gear, that would be more problematic. His biggest possession is his printer. He also has a rice cooker, fan, and some bedding. He will bring home the printer & clothes (tho he may leave a lot of the long pants there, since he only wears shorts over the summer & most of the year anyway).</p>