<p>I'm going to college far away and it's way too expensive to drive when we can fly for free (step-mom works for the airlines). We already decided to wait until we get there to buy dorm stuff and then for the summer getting just a small storage space for my stuff. Any other parents done this or have any other methods?</p>
<p>This is exactly what we did. When my son moved into his college (clear across the country) we flew. He checked one suitcase, I checked one suitcase – filled with all stuff of his, of course. Beyond those two suitcases of stuff, we bought the rest once we got there.</p>
<p>He shares a storage space with friends each summer. They split the cost and help each other get stuff there in the spring and get it out again in the fall.</p>
<p>Of course the stuff has begun to accumulate now, three years in. Next year when he graduates we’ll have to figure out what to do with it all. ;)</p>
<p>A couple of things:
Bed, Bath and Beyond will allow you to scan items, like a bridal registry, at your local store and then have them available for pick up at a store near the school.
When we did it, 4 years ago, payment was at pick-up.</p>
<p>Also, we used Space Bags to get stuff to fit in our suitcases. But be careful to monitor the weight or you could have extra charges for heavy bags.</p>
<p>At my D’s college, the on-campus UPS store offers summer storage (I think they actually keep the stuff off-site, but it’s handled through the campus storefront). For a flat fee per (large) box, they provide the boxes, the student packs and brings the boxes to the store (she used the dorm’s handcart), leaving instructions about when and where they are to be delivered in the fall, and they are brought to the new dorm like any other UPS package. D was able to get her bedding and towels, winter clothing and shoes, printer and miscellaneous room stuff into four boxes. She also shipped an additional box of clothing home since she was traveling by train. It worked out very well, and she’ll do it again this spring. And I was very happy not to have all her stuff back at the house!</p>
<p>Our son went in with other students to rent storage units each summer in their campus town. It was amazing how much stuff they crammed into those units: literally stacked to the ceiling.</p>
<p>Yea, getting stuff there the first year is the easiest. After that you need to figure out summer storage (except for upperclassmen years and doing an apartment with full year leases).</p>
<p>I should have mentioned (#5) that this student was at a U with a 3-yr live-on-campus requirement.</p>
<p>One of the sports teams at my daughter’s college runs a storage program as a fundraiser. The boxes show up at her room, she packs them, nice guys show up to haul them away, they go into storage for the summer, and when she returns the boxes are already in her new dorm room when she shows up. Any college or university that has a significant number of out-of-state students is going to have a number of storage options. When I went to college, we stored stuff in the dorm attic over the summer. You don’t need to worry - as spring rolls around just start asking upper-class students what they do and all will be made clear.</p>
<p>DS and friends also did the shared storage space option. I have heard that, at some campus, demand exceeds the supply so storage spots should be arranged before the last minute.</p>