<p>Good idea–I have travelled with a friend who is always hovering around the 50 pound mark & watch her always hassling with her bag & taking things out at the airport (worrying that she’ll leave some of these items behind). My luggage is generally well under the 50 pound mark but it is good to know what compact heavy items you can easily remove & switch to hand carry to avoid hefty fees. S paid $100 overweight charge for one flight! OUCH! It was more than the cost of the flight & the ticket agent would NOT allow him to take things out & switch things tho he had a very light carry on. Students seem to often taken be advantage of, even when they try to stand their ground.</p>
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<p>I’m with you on this. I’m a proponent of less is better, but I drew the line with a printer, deeming it a necessity.</p>
<p>Those “public printers” are dead more than alive, and the panic that can set in while looking for one that works is just not worth it.</p>
<p>Depending on space limitations, it may be better to just get the printer when you get to the college as any luggage fees could easily exceed the cost of a new printer & save lugging it.</p>
<p>This is invaluable info. Thank you all for the suggestions. We’re flying Southwest, which allows 2 free checked pieces per person, so we’re packing everything! We’re forgoing the printer, since we found out that there is one in D’s dorm building. If she deems it necessary, we’ll bring it down when we go for Family Weekend 6 weeks later, or just have her buy one there. I just ordered all D’s toiletries at cvs.com. They offered $10 off plus free shipping, so I eliminated a big errand. Thank goodness I have my in-laws house to have all the “goodies” delivered to.</p>
<p>Is anyone else feeling as stressed as I am with only 2 weeks to go before we leave??? So very many little things to think about…desk items, snacks for the dorm room, random items…OMG!</p>
<p>easy on the clothes…they always think they need more than they do OR have room for.
Always overestimate !! I have done the shipping thing and will again, only this time from east to west coast</p>
<p>notan4me – I’m in the same position as you and just as stressed! Exactly 2 weeks to go. Flying on Southwest, so checking bags with bedding, clothes, etc. We’ll ship some other items by FedEx ground, and buy toiletries, laundry detergent, etc upon arrival. It’s so difficult to figure out what to ship, though, since we don’t know what we’ll be able to fit in the suitcases until we pack. And of course my son doesn’t want to even think about having anything packed yet - because he’s still using the them. Ugh!</p>
<p>Really, don’t worry. Let kiddo know that shipping will be on their tab and anything they want you to bring in your luggage needs to be packed by them by whatever deadline you set. It’s really THEIR issue, not yours and if they don’t have whatever, they can wait until you or they visit and can get it from home to U or pay for postage to get it when YOU have the time & inclination.</p>
<p>The stores in most areas are just fine & their living quarters are likely much smaller than they’re used to, so UNDERpack rather than OVERpack. It will be best all the way around.</p>
<p>We jsut found out that Virgin America, while they charge $15 a bag, allows you to check up to ten bags. Shared that with my husband who said, NO!!!</p>
<p>We are doing large suticases and a few duffle bags. </p>
<p>What we did with older D was to have her put, say, all her sweaters on the dining room table. Pick half. If she needed more, I would ship them off. THen onto tshirts. Pick half. I am shipping ahead a couple of boxes. Ordering some stuff to be delivered at the right time, and figure, what we miss, she will survive until she gets it.</p>
<p>One thing that was really handy was bring a “tool box”- in the carry on- tape, tacks, the things you can use to put of pictures, , pens, chargers, cleaning wipes, those car air freshener things, bandaids, aspirin or tylenol or iboeprofen. We checked an actual toolkit, pink hammer, etc and it was really handy</p>
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<p>Twin son leaves in two weeks. Twin daughter leaves in 6 days.</p>
<p>Yes, I am very stressed.</p>
<p>And remember to have a box of clorox or other wipes near the top of the suitcase to clean the sometimes icky drawers/surfaces before unpacking.</p>
<p>Funny how freshman parents stress over this issue each year. Kids are loaded up with tons of new stuff to make their dorm rooms more “homey”. By the time junior or senior year rolls around and they are into apartments or houses, craigslist, freecycle, and Goodwill are the sites of choice, not Target, Walmart, and BBY. :)</p>
<p>WIPES…yes!!! I’m adding that to D’s supply list right now!!!</p>
<p>One thing to remember is that going to college is not like going to the South Pole in 1912 or to Inner Mongolia. You can find everything there (aren’t there Walmarts even in Inner Mongolia?).Kids are a lot more resilient than we give them credit for. Half the stuff that seemed like good ideas (to me at least) came back unused at the end of the year (rubber bands and duct tape are good, though). :)</p>
<p>Essential to move-in day: Accessible duct tape, scissors, water, pain reliever of your choice, and a forgiving nature.</p>
<p>Frequently forgotten: hangers and extension cords.</p>
<p>my daughter went with a pink tool kit. Guys made fun, till they had to borrow her hammer. Yes, you can go get stuff, but the use my daughter’s nerf football got wa worth bringing. And my other D, well, that shower caddy is needed day 1</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/745547-cost-shipping-gear-out-college.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/745547-cost-shipping-gear-out-college.html</a></p>
<p>I LOVE THIS THREAD!! and the similar one of the parents of 2013 thread. We leave in three weeks, D has not started going through her room or even thinking about what to pack, I am stressed figuring the logistics of doing an OOS move (even tho I have a 6 page cross-tabbed list) and there are no Wal-Marts or Targets in Manahattan. </p>
<p>What I would like to know, as several people have said that they sent their kids with lots of stuff that did not get used, what exactly, doesn’t get used? My own cousin told me this yesterday but couldn’t remember what items came home unopened.</p>
<p>So, I got a good list of stuff to bring, what not to bring?</p>
<p>My S didn’t use the landline phone we bought him & “lost” it after the year was up. We only called his cell number as no one would answer the landline anyway. </p>
<p>He also didn’t use the rice cooker we bought him or the bag of rice, tho he claimed to want them. Did use rice cooker the 2nd year tho & just have somehow gotten rid of the bag of rice.</p>
<p>Had him pack light & he used most of the stuff he brought, with us sending anything extra he needed. USB cable was useful as was an eternet cord because the wireless was much slower than if you used a cable.</p>
<p>ilovetoquilt22 - That is a great idea!!! My daughter has more clothes than she can possibly wear even after you take out the ones that need to be dry cleaned or hand washed and they’re spread out over her floor, closet, drawers, etc. I’m going to spend the next few days following your method, it’s got to help a lot. Thanks!</p>
<p>Check out this thread - <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/720965-packing-college-what-bring-what-leave-home.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/720965-packing-college-what-bring-what-leave-home.html</a>, especially the first post and the link of what not to bring. - <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/525546-things-you-dont-need-pack-college.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/525546-things-you-dont-need-pack-college.html</a></p>