<p>Many of my DS’s clothes and items are already labeled from being at camp, but I don’t think he or I will bother labeling anything else.</p>
<p>kathiep, I will definitely be putting his name on the common things that end up in piles at parties. I can see 15 black Northface Denali’s and not knowing who’s is who’s. Having a name inside might help. </p>
<p>I agree that having a name won’t prevent someone for stealing it, if that is what they want to do, but it would be a way to identify one taken by accident or left behind. </p>
<p>Mix ups in a laundry room too with all the same jeans might be avoided too.</p>
<p>All this discussion about laundry reminded me of this recent article…it doesn’t bode well for us mothers of boys! Also, add a bottle of Febreze to your shopping lists</p>
<p>[Survey:</a> Men rely on laundry ‘smell test’ - Leader-Telegram: Home Garden](<a href=“http://www.leadertelegram.com/features/home_garden/article_a4b96f4a-0c79-5b63-b34a-17f0c4194357.html]Survey:”>http://www.leadertelegram.com/features/home_garden/article_a4b96f4a-0c79-5b63-b34a-17f0c4194357.html)</p>
<p>All summer I have been telling S he really has to learn to do and fold laundry. I have showed him how a few times, but I am not sure how much stuck. Also, the machines at school will be different, but not so different that he shouldn’t be able to work it out. Folding was really funny. We wound up watching the youtube video and he picked it up right away. I think this generation is just used to finding out how to do everything by googling and youtubing. Once he watched the video he was an expert after two tries.</p>
<p>[How</a> To Fold a T-shirt in 2 seconds - YouTube](<a href=“How To Fold A T-shirt In 2 Seconds: Explained - YouTube”>How To Fold A T-shirt In 2 Seconds: Explained - YouTube)</p>
<p>parentofpeople, your story reminded me of when I went to college as a transfer junior. The laundry room in my dorm was an L shape, with the two dryers right by the door, then go around the corner to get to the two washers. </p>
<p>I went in one night to do laundry and couldn’t get into the door. A young man had his head in the dryer with his rear end sticking out. I asked him what was wrong and he said he was trying to find out where the water came from. I said there is no water for that machine, it the dryer. He didn’t believe me, we went around a little bit, then we ended up each taking one washer with me showing him how to use it.</p>
<p>I vowed then and there, as a 20 year old, that no child of mine would go to college without knowing the difference between a washer and dryer.</p>
<p>Luckily, my Ds both know how to do laundry. When they were younger and went to day camp, they would come home with a wet and dirty towel from swimming all day in the lake. I taught them that the only way to guarantee a clean towel for camp the next day was to wash it themselves. I will do their laundry once in a while, especially when they are super busy with school.</p>
<p>The stories about boys and laundry reminds my of my brother in law. When he went to college, he never had to do his own laundry. He lived in a frat house, and the house mother did it for the guys. He moved home after graduation, and got married soon after. His mom and wife did his laundry. He got a divorce, and all of a sudden at the age of 34, he had to do laundry. I was at my mother in law’s house, and he said “The tags on the towels say ‘wash separately’. Do I have to wash each towel by itself?” My H was amazed that he had never learned to do laundry, especially since H does most of our laundry (a washing machine is a power tool, afterall). Even though they are brothers, they are complete opposites.</p>
<p>Male sniff test–my DH does this. Drives me crazy–if you have to sniff, I think it’s dirty. He’s even asked me to sniff–no thank you! I sure hope DS1/2 have not picked this up, but college will teach them all sorts of strange things if they haven’t picked that one up already.</p>
<p>Books–DS is on his own. They don’t actually pick classes until they go to school (first week is orientation and advising and class scheduling). Luckily his scholarship includes a book allowance–hopefully he will figure out how to stay in the budget (ha, ha).</p>
<p>Love the fold video. I’m showing it to both boys–not that DS1 will fold anything (he’s the one with piles of clean clothes on the floor of his room since his drawers are full of shirts and stuff he never wears anymore, but hasn’t bothered to get out of the drawers to make room for the stuff he does wear) :rolleyes: DS2 will think it’s cool and will probably use it.</p>
<p>I’ve given up on taking DS shopping and he’s much happier when I bring home something or two for him to choose. That’s how we did bedding, towels and backpacks. DS HATES to shop (except for clothes, go figure). So we (I) are/am done with most of the shopping.</p>
<p>I asked him (again) about a fridge. He said “we’re going to figure that out when we get to school”. I told him I will order a fridge from Walmart that we can pick up locally at his school. Then if they decide they want a fridge (which they will) I’ll go pick it up. If not, I’ll just return it for a full-refund without ever picking it up. Any wagers on whether I have to return it? 
(Did I mention it would cost $150 to rent a “large” fridge and it only costs $124 to buy the same size one at Walmart?)</p>
<p>OK, weep-ish day here. Trying not to let it happen, but it could at any moment. Ds and I tackled much of his room. Two large Rubbermaid tubs full of paper recycling and lots of dust. He’s been in that same room with barely any cleaning/remodeling since Kindergarten so we have Larry-Boy toys, star wars figures with their little lightsabers, music from the Pokemon movie (yes, remember that?), legos, bionicles, awards from middle school, artwork. Crazed love letters from his first/stalker girl-crush (I would not say she ever became a girlfriend, but that girl liked to write, long expressive letters as only a 8th grader can), birthday cards from Grandma, lots and lots of dust. We kept four Rubbermaid tubs and a big black garbage bag going with labels: “recycling”, “give to dd”, “memorabilia” (to store at home) and “college”. The recycling won of course but what was funny were the things that made the memorabilia tub. It’s not a chore now, it’s sorting through the detris of that room to see what is important to him. Each year’s marching band drill book (which he kept) is a big chunk of that tub, then followed by woodworking projects that he did with Grandpa, awards from school and letters/notes from friends.</p>
<p>On books, I am letting him take the easy way for the fall - the bookstore boxes up your order and give you used if available. I figure he can resell any books at the end of term and hopefully we don’t get completely taken by this approach. We will see of course.</p>
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<p>vamom2015 S has the same issues! Just because he “knows how” to fold now, doesn’t mean he will
A. do it, and
B. do something with the piled up folded shirts if they are actually folded.</p>
<p>bajamm LOL I love that story!</p>
<p>S has been responsible for his laundry last summer and this one. I love it when he leaves his work shirts (he only has three and works as a groundskeeper so he gets hot and sweaty) on the top of the washing maching like the laundry will come by and wash them while he is out with friends. I actually will do them if I happen to be doing laundry, but there have been times I haven’t and he has had to do the sniff test and wear the less smelly shirt to work. </p>
<p>Although it is more expensive I am renting a fridge and micro combo. We live 1000 miles away, what do we do with it in May if we buy it? </p>
<p>I used to mark all of S’s clothes when he was little with his name and our phone number. I think I will only make identifiable stuff like his expensive backpack/winter northface/spyder jacket at school. Won’t have his name in it though, he would be embarassed.</p>
<p>Mathmomvt-That’s our deal too. He pays for his books each term. But I don’t want him to have to spend more than he needs too. So for this term, I did most of the legwork and then showed him what I did. He was all for ordering from multiple places to save some moolah and actually thanked me. I did let him know I would advise but he was on his own next time. </p>
<p>Here’s the codes for half.com</p>
<p>BTSAF15 - 15% off for new accounts
BTSAF12 - 12% off for current accounts.</p>
<p>Hope this helps someone.</p>
<p>BTW, I have found (when buying books for middle and hs) that in some instances the publisher is actually the cheapest place to buy some books. It can’t hurt to check and I always google the ISBN, you never know where a bargain will be found. I don’t like buying used unseen books from bookstore, you never know how much they are highlighted or written in. If I buy used I always buy “clean” unhighlighted and unwritten in books.</p>
<p>S’s school requires all students to buy school health insurance. They do not bill your regular health insurance and it was not too expensive, around $140. It allows the kids unlimited access to the health clinic when they are open. The clinic has a pretty fullup lab and xray dept so I figure it is worth it. There is also a hospital around the corner, which I have to check out, but it good for those late night emergencies when the clinic isn’t open. I have had a few current students tell me they do not hesitate to go to the ER for ANY issue. Yikes. My insurance has a $150 copay for each ER visit. I do not want S going there unless it really is an emergency.</p>
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<p>Ha! Laundry and food–no way, if you think it smells “off” I’m good with that. You don’t need my input. </p>
<p>S does his own laundry (for what it’s worth, since he’s definitely a “sniff test” kind of guy, and one with pretty liberal standards at that) but most of his clothes end up in a heap whether they’re clean or not. I suspect he’ll live out of his laundry basket when he gets to school. I did manage to pass along to him my obsession with HOW TO FOLD TOWELS THE RIGHT WAY, though, so maybe he’ll eventually progress to putting clothes neatly in drawers of even (perish the thought) hanging them up.</p>
<p>I have been known to sniff S’s shirts if I find a pile on the floor that i can remember recently washing. I don’t want to wash them again. He has an issue with putting clothes away. I guess I do too, we have a pretty large laundry room with everyone having their own baskets and shelves, so sometimes I just go down and get a pile of stuff and some towels. Unless someone carries up my basket.</p>
<p>Fog don’t feel bad about the laundry stamp, I didn’t know either. One summer I ironed on personalized tags onto everything, that was a big pain. I’m not going to go too crazy, but a friend told me to get it. The laundry service does each students laundry individually, but think about if something were to get left in the washer or dryer, they would have no idea whose it was.</p>
<p>What kind of stuff insurance is everyone getting. S has laptop insurance since someone stole is macbook pro the last day of Jr, year. I renewed it for this year. H won the ipad so I don’t think they would pay on that. I can’t think of anything else.</p>
<p>momofzach - thanks for the codes</p>
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<p>Mine too! Actually no longer, because before he went to camp I made him sort ALL his clothes not going to camp into “stuff to take to school immediately”, “stuff to take to school later (or maybe)” and “stuff that doesn’t fit anymore or I don’t like”. So took a lot of old non-fitting clothes out of his room in early June. Step one…</p>
<p>momofzach, thanks from me too for the codes</p>
<p>^^I have that same plan for next week. All piles will get sorted if I have to do it myself. For some reason they get real helpful when I offer to sort it all myself–since I opt to get rid of more than I keep! ;)</p>
<p>Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using CC App</p>
<p>Heading home tomorrow after my week in Michigan with DS2, his five friends and my mother. Concerned about my mother being up here by herself, but if anything happens, at least it will happen in the place where she is happiest.</p>
<p>I believe the kids all had a great time. DS2 did tell me as we were swimming together today that next year he won’t bring any girls. The two girls complained about no internet access, talked on their phones for hours at a time and got a little snippy with each other at times. </p>
<p>We went to a famous lighthouse beach tonight for the sunset. About 15 minutes before sunset, there was a double rainbow all the way across the sky above the dunes behind the beach. I was collecting rocks and DS2 ran up the beach to show me the double rainbow. It made me think of his essay for MIT and his lip synch performance for the Mr. CHS pageant last fall. So much has happened since then. He loves his grandmother’s lake house so much. And he is so ready to start college at Mizzou in three weeks. I feel so blessed to have had this time with him.</p>
<p>Dreading the 12-hour drive tomorrow but I’m ready to see DH for the first time in over a week.</p>
<p>Wow, OWM, what a special moment you had with your S at sunset :)</p>
<p>My favorite used book site is [AddALL</a> Used and Out of Print book search](<a href=“Buy Used Books and Out-of-Print Books Online Book Finder”>Buy Used Books and Out-of-Print Books Online Book Finder) It checks multiple used book sites, except for Amazon.</p>