<p>Hi - I would love it if you parents let me know where to find a rather complete packing list for a college freshman. I know most of your kids have left home already, but mine doesn't leave for another 10 days. It is a sad time for me, nervous time for him, and hopeful time for all. Forgive me if a great packing list has already been posted here, but I haven't come across a post regarding that! Thanks.</p>
<p>ps - we will be driving him, fortunately not flying, so an exhaustive list would be preferable to one that is pared down! I'd like to see what others recommend, and cross off what doesn't pertain to us.</p>
<p>peachblossom–A friend of mine told me 'if you even think you might need it, bring it–you can always return it (be sure to keep the original packaging and receipts). This is especially true if you are driving your son to an area with few stores close by (our son’s college town had one small Walmart, nothing much else, and one mother said by noon the first day it was picked clean).</p>
<p>Turns out his roommate drove a long way with his brother (he doesn’t have a mom or dad anymore) so he basically brought 2 duffels, a backpack and a tv. Luckily, I had an extra set of nearly everything, plus curtains, carpet, medicines, first aid stuff, food supplies, etc. thanks to these great lists.</p>
<p>Also, be sure to check out the Parent Forum threads for other support, especially the feeling sad part. I was completely unprepared to be so sad about this whole process. There are a couple of threads that I have searched through periodically where I found lots of comfort. One to try: ‘First day of my life without her at home.’ </p>
<p>There are also threads to help you deal with your nervous freshman (mine was nervous, too–sat on the couch the morning we were to leave and said he’d changed his mind!). And some about how to handle not hearing from them as much as you’d like to (or too much for some!).</p>
<p>Best of luck–there are so many kindred spirits here that know how you feel!</p>
<p>Oh, that list drives me batty! Alphabetical doesn’t relate to how those categories relate to one another. Conceptually, it would work so much better if there were groupings of personal care toiletries, office supplies, electronic equipment, bedding, etc.</p>
<p>They were in categories at one point, but the links to those have died for some reason. I just put the list into a Word document and arranged it so it worked for my brain.</p>
<p>I copied and pasted the list into Excel and made my own categories, along with columns indicating if we already had the item, or where to purchase it.</p>
<p>I did the same thing: created a Word document to serve as my checklist, and organized it by categories. (This is something I do for whenever our family takes a trip, so I can be sure that I have packed everything.) So far it is working fine.</p>
<p>If someone would like to see what I have come up with, just let me know and I’ll email it to you.</p>
<p>However, I would add to the list bottles of water (we got pretty thirsty moving our D into her room) as well as some favorite snacks for the student to have around for late nights or if they don’t have time to go to the dining hall.</p>
<p>I found those lists from BBB to be over the top and filled with way more stuff than you ever really need. Understandably, of course … But come on. Like I’m really going to buy shampoo and personal toiletries in BBB when I can stock up on them cheaply at other outlets? Nice try, lol.</p>
<p>You go pizzagirl, I feel the same way. Just like the “care package” mailings you get from the school. Like I need to have you pull at my heartstrings to give in and pay you $40 to put $8 worth of junk food in a basket to know my little angel is feeling okay around test time. Sorry, they don’t need it, but if you must you can put $10 worth of stuff they like into one of those $5 post office boxes and send it to them and at the same time try to keep the USPS afloat!</p>
<p>Pizzagirl…we’ve already sent several care packages with things son forgot and things we thought he needed (stapler, extra pencils, whiteout, snacks). We use the Priority Shipping and he gets it usually in 3 days (it gets there in 2, but to him on 3rd). You can have the boxes sent to your house FREE or pick them up at post office. You pay when you ship…so simple and yes, supports USPS. Of course now he wants his Lacrosse stick…will have to investigate shipping for that.</p>