@4kids4us We used Bed Bath and Beyond. You shop at home, mark what you might need, then you can decide to not buy items once you fly to the city near the school. So you shop local and they set aside all the stuff in the college town. Then, meet the roommates, decide whats needed and only buy that locally. We did not buy much of anything at home, bought it all in the colleges towns, and also had our kids store it all there. Its much easier than packing so much from home, but it will cost more. Be sure to weigh suitcases to keep them under 50 pounds. We found lighter suitcases on a super sale at Kohl’s recently. I have boys, though, they are able to pack everything into two suitcases and one backpack. Once they get to be upper classmen, there is always a friend’s off campus apartment to store stuff, it seems but the storage companies are good for the freshman year stuff storage, or stash stuff with friends who work in the college town. You can also just shop in inexpensive stores in the college town and wait for everything. There are usually buses to these types of stores from campus so she can handle it all herself. I decided to let my sophomore handle all his kitchen needs on his own, he took one set of fork/knife/spoon and decided to buy everything else he needs on his own. He is an excellent cook and has good sense, so he will be fine.
@nw2this we looked at our college do’s and don’t list and it stated what size fridge we are allowed to bring. For my school it is a limit of 6 cubic feet size. We already had one that was 4.6 cubic feet. So we’re bringing that instead of buying a new one. So you can look up your college’s limit on size on their website.
With regard to dorm room square space limitations, my recommendation would be to use all the otherwise unused space that normally goes without notice. There is a lot of ceiling space that goes empty for the year. Typically above wardrobe cabinets there is plenty of space to store rare items like winter clothes during the spring and fall. Or above the top bunkbed, there is still more room for a make-shift shelf that can span through the length of the mattress. Above the door, there is plenty of space for the 3 or 4 shower caddies. All of these things are reachable by all the dormies by having a handy [url=<a href=“https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=reach+step&sprefix=krypton%2Caps%2C140&crid=BH36EBS6DS2U%5Dreach-stepper%5B/url”>https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=reach+step&sprefix=krypton%2Caps%2C140&crid=BH36EBS6DS2U]reach-stepper[/url] somewhere in the room.
DS just moved into a triple, the first to move in. All three of the bed were raised just enough to get a three-drawer dresser beneath. Each student also has a desk and wardrobe. Unfortunately, wardrobe doors are too small for the shoe pocket organizer. Their is room for a trunk under the bed, facing out, and DS stored his rolling duffel and small suitcase behind that. There was just enough room for a tall popup hamper, too.
We used a lot of Command hooks - big one for over the ear headphone, others for bathrobe on inside of the wardrobe door, mediums on outside of wardrobe for towels, more inside the wardrobe wall to hang umbrellas or winter accessories. They have small ones to direct cords and ones strong enough to mount picture frames. Reminded DS to save the hooks for next year. His room has clean industrial wall to wall carpet so we got a stick vac at Walmart.
I had one of the very first triple dorm rooms at UCLA (in 1988). I survived and so have all the kids who have done it at UCLA for almost 30 years now. My son is entering UCLA this fall and, of course, got a triple. It sounds worse than it is. Don’t sweat it.
@nw2this , the black and decker one, delivered to campus by Amazon prime for free, is so far a winner. Surprisingly roomy. But you should see if there are size limitations.
Ohhh boy, just got to see pictures of a sample “flex” room in D’s dorm-flex meaning that it’s normally a triple but converted to a quad due to over enrollment. There is no storage space - there are bunk beds and two lofted beds. The lofted beds each have a desk and dresser underneath, and the other 2 desks and dressers take up what little floor/wall space that is leftover. So no place for a laundry basket or hamper, even if collapsible there is no place to keep it. One of the desks had a fridge on top and if not there, I didn’t see room where else it would go! They will remove any furniture on request, but D wants her desk, not for studying but so she has a place for a makeup mirror, as well as to have the desk drawers for storage. Maybe one of the other girls won’t want a desk. I guess it’s a good thing we are flying so we can’t arrive with a ton of stuff since there is so little room! They do have a walk in closet and their own bathroom but the closet isn’t meant for four girls so that will be interesting!
And thankfully the lofted beds and top bunks all have an attached safety rail. Definitely no upholstered headboards happening in this dorm!
This thread brought back good memories from the Stone Age. I was in a triple…with a triple bunk bed like the three Stooges had. No ladder at all. There were rings to climb at the end of the bed.
The room was built as a triple…so we had three desks, three closets, three built in dressers (they were between the closets) and that triple bunk bed. Believe me when I say…there wasn’t much floor space.
Our third roommate never showed up…at all. But we still had to deal,with that triple bunk bed. Thinking back…it was pretty funny.
As an FYI…our triple actually had the same floor space as the doubles.
I had a quad back in the day. When my son pulled a triple, I told him what I learned . . . less is more.