<p>toolkit and duct tape are essentials!</p>
<p>In the end, one persons stupid stuff to pack is another's life saver. There may be no way to really predict beyond the individual's personal characteristics. Just give it your best guess. You can come up with a pro and con argument for any of these objects.</p>
<p>D2 LOVES duct tape! She buys it bright orange, pink and purple. We find it everywhere and on everything!</p>
<p>The hot chocolate packets just got vetoed, but the dryer softener sheets are a go!</p>
<p>Ongoing joke at our house is the possible use of "feminine hygiene products" as a green alternative to packing peanuts.</p>
<p>Stupid stuff: dryer sheets (most use liquid softener, which I prefer), hot chocolate, and some of the random food/candy sent to me, second set of sheets (too hot)</p>
<p>Normally stupid stuff that I used: toolkit (Ikea has a great one), iron, swiffer duster (when it was needed, it WAS!), giant beer mug (mom bought it for me!), cookbook, George Forman grill</p>
<p>Just this afternoon, DH complained that D2 will not use half of the stuff we are packing. Although, I will confess I may be going overboard with the office supplies, i.e. paper clips, stapler, white out, crayons, markers. But, I am from the 'better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it' generation. Besides, she will be several hours from home with no car.</p>
<p>Maybe I am in packing delerium, but this thread is cracking me up! I can't stop laughing. </p>
<p>Packing peanuts!</p>
<p>I find it interesting that the primary argument for sending too much is to save on the "higher" prices there. As this thread illustrates, often times the savings are for naught. On our backpacking trips I taught my D to pack only what was needed. That is her philosophy in packing for her departure in four days.</p>
<p>Her school, Rice, has a one week orientation with trips to Target, etc. available. She and her roommate can assess their needs better than we can guess more than a thousand miles away. Plus, she can benefit from the advise of upperclassmen on the issues of a corded phone, etc.</p>
<p>When I attended school, sheets and towels were provided and laundered by the school. We had housekeeping service five days per week which included making the beds! Kids have it rough these days, lol.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Stupid stuff: dryer sheets (most use liquid softener, which I prefer), hot chocolate
[/quote]
Its not stupid if the person ways they want it. To each his own, eh? And as mentioned above, dryer sheets double as bug repellant, which is helpful for s's sports activities.</p>
<p>Yes, the Rice kids go to the nearby Target to get stuff. DS's bicycle was stolen the FIRST DAY he was on campus, and it was an interesting feat to buy a new one at Target and get it in the car and back to campus!</p>
<p>riverrunner LOL :D who knew tampons could have so many uses: If she is know as the girl who always has them they can be great icebreakers too!</p>
<p>Regarding hot chocolate- I buy the "39 servings" cannister, we always make it stronger than directed and imagine spooning in more to taste would be easier than opening packets. The argument for some items, such as the medicine/first aid kit supplies is that your kid doesn't want to go shopping for them when they are needed- that is the one kit you send and hope most comes home unused.</p>
<p>I wouldn't think that hot chocolate would be stupid stuff? Oh well, maybe that's just me. :)</p>
<p>I was told that I should pack tons of comfort food. I'm moving across the nation from home, and was told that to help prevent homesickness I should bring tons of yummy snacks from home.</p>
<p>Hot chocolate was stupid because she sent me to school with a giant Costco size jug (half used by my brother's football team, but still). Then, she sent me more packets.
So, packets=dumb. Jug=smart (you can make it really chocolatey, and any size!)</p>
<p>Oh and too many post-it notes. Great thing to bring, but not a million of them!</p>
<p>Well, to each his own. DS was ambivalent about the hot chocolate, but it turns out it was b/c he doesn't want to have to take a big mug. I reminded him there are mugs he can "borrow" from the dining hall if need be. So, in his case hot chocolate= smart, big mug/jug= stupid.</p>
<p>Did I mention sticky backed Velcro??? D1`uses it alot. We bought a big roll of it and she used it to hang things on walls like a container up by her loft for her glasses and cell phone, picture frames, to cover the back of a dresser with fabric to hide the unfinished gross side, etc.</p>
<p>Thanks for the velcro idea. I'm definitely getting some for D.</p>
<p>With #1 son - We way overdid the school supplies (he picked out this geenormous bag of rubber bands that came back unopened), washclothes, t-shirts (his call, not mine) and food items. The egg crate was a waste. Several storage items that we thought would be great were worthless. We sent way too much Purell, clorox wipes etc. - in his Junior year he is still using. Certain toiletries - stick with what you use - not with what you MIGHT or COULD use. We sent too many hangers and new ones. Why bother - just send the old crappy ones and buy yourself new. Clothes. Way too many clothes. </p>
<p>We forgot or did not have enough - extension cords/power strips/fans/socks</p>
<p>Essential that #2 will have = very small toolkit, ducttape, one of those three drawer sterlite thingies, hooks to hang on the back of a door for towels, one of those hanging six row sweater holders - that held the voluminous t-shirt collection.</p>
<p>Stupid (at least for my 2):
way too many office supplies, landline phone, too many over-the-door racks (I learned many doors cannot accomodate them), 2nd set of sheets (for S, not D), too many plastic bins (worked great to pack and haul but far too little space to store them), too many hangars, too many clothes and shoes (D only), laptop locks (neither ever used).</p>
<p>I also learned that many of my suggestions WERE money-savers because both my D and S occasionally had to buy someting they needed quickly and when doing so, were hostage to high prices of on-campus stores. Given how much stuff was unnecessary, though, it probably offset my savings on items that WERE necessary :)</p>
<p>I was a careful compiler of lists, using many ideas from CC. I think the shopping/organizing was a way for me to cope with the stress, in retrospect.
I also think the stuff to take is an individual thing--the specific student and what's important to him/her, the specific school (location and what's available nearby on foot), and importantly, the dorm room assignment itself. The space the students inhabit probably dictates more than anything just what can be accomodated.</p>
<p>Regarding office supplies: beyond a stapler, a roll of tape, pencils, pens and a couple of highlighters, you're probably better off waiting and buying it at school. Even thought the per-item price is probably higher in the bookstore, it's still cheaper than buying a bunch of stuff the kids don't need (or want). </p>
<p>"I am from the 'better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it' generation." Usually that's my mantra as well (I ALWAYS overpack for vacation!) but remember that college is not the wilds of the Amazon. There ARE stores on campus or in town that do sell supplies. Just because your kid doesn't bring something from home doesn't mean that you have to mail it to them from home or they have to live without it.</p>
<p>(That said, my son will head to college with a full bottle of laundry detergent, a box of dryer sheets and a box of kleenex from me, and whatever junk food HE chooses to buy and pay for!)</p>