<p>There’s a big drawer for each person in the Towers rooms, that should be where you put most of your clothes. The closet’s basically a bunch of metal racks, but the topmost rack goes the whole way across the top of the closet and that’s where you can hang your clothes from. The rest of the racks are smaller and extend partially through the closet horizontally (these are the wire shelves you’re referring to). Not sure if you can get what it looks like from this description but that’s what I remember the closet being like.</p>
<p>Oooh alright, I’m pretty short so that might explain why I didn’t notice the top shelf extending all the way. Looking at the “closet” layout just wasn’t something I thought of at pittstart! Really regretting not taking pictures of the room, and I can’t find any on the internet either… all I have found is a youtube video of a towers single</p>
<p>^If you’re on the shorter side you might want to bring a small plastic stool to use as a step because the beds in Towers are set really high, so if you’re a girl you practically have to jump or climb to get up.</p>
<p>Yeah I remember that too, I was so afraid I was going to roll out of the bed and get seriously injured… I’m sure I’ll have something like a big storage container to use as a sort of stool 
At least there will be plenty of under-bed storage</p>
<p>Bring a small tool-kit.</p>
<p>I brought a tool-bag with basic tools, electrical tape and duct tape.</p>
<p>Also purchase a good flashlight and pocket knife. A flashlight is obviously good for emergencies, but it’s also nice to have in case you need to get up in the middle of the night and look for something and not wake your roommate up by turning the light on.</p>
<p>I’d also buy a good fan. When my wife lived in towers (18th floor I think) I remember it getting pretty hot and if I remember correctly I don’t think you can fully open the windows for safety reasons (could be wrong).</p>
<p>Also, the Life-Flight helicopters landing into the nerby hospitals get pretty noisey and if you are living on the upper floors they are much louder and closer. My wife went out and bought a small noise-maker to drown out the sounds, but a fan would work just as well.</p>
<p>I’d recommend getting a small lock-box to keep important documents. I never had a real problem with theft, but it can happen, plus it’s just nice because it keeps you from losing things.</p>
<p>For girls I recommend pepper-spray and a personal alarm. Guys, you can just hit them gym and man-up.</p>
<p>Make sure to load up on any medications your sons/daughters might need. I know student health is good and drug stores are easily located. But trust me, a college student will spend his last $20 on beer and pizza before he goes out and buys some medication they might need in the future. So purchase additional allergy medicine, cold medicine, asthma inhalers, ect. Especially if they have a severe allergy that requires an Epi-pen.</p>
<p>Bring some anti-bacterial sanitizer too. Everyone gets sick living in the dorms, germs everywhere.</p>
<p>anyone know if a fan would be needed in Forbes? Supposed to be air-conditioned, but I guess it could still get hot and stuffy.</p>
<p>I packed an “emergency” kit using one of those small plastic boxes (shoe box size). It had medication (tylenol, cold medicine, allergy stuff, band aid, first aid cream), ear plugs, flash light, nail kit and tool kit (the small ones that they sell at Target for Xmas stockings). I double check the expiration dates of the medication when he came home and restocked it when he was ready to go back to PITT. </p>
<p>I would second the fan idea especially when you have lots of friends crammed into the room!</p>
<p>We just moved our son in yesterday (Forbes). He is there early for an Honors Retreat. The room was very large, very nice. Substantially larger than what we saw at the towers but it is alsoa corner unit attached to the RA’s single. The air conditioning was on but I noticed that if you leaveall those window blinds pulled up (his were) on a hot day (it was 90) the room is cool but a bit stuffy. You would not need a fan I don’t believe if the blinds are used properly.</p>
<p>PS! We talked to oneof the hosuekeeping staff. At Forbes you clean your own room and bathroom. We promptly went toCVS and Target for a Dare Devil mini vac and lots of Lysol. He had everything else. The closet was good sized and he needed hangers for winter coats, sweaters and jackets etc</p>
<p>A surge protector is not necessarily needed for a laptop, but may be important if you have other devices plugged in, like a TV/Monitor. An extension cord with a surge protector built in is only a few dollars more compared to a regular one.</p>
<p>Rain boots: I assume you don’t really need rain <em>boots</em>, unless the water level gets above your ankles. Son uses waterproof hiking boots (medium height) and has bought a nice pair of waterproof/weatherproof winter boots. IMHO, it’s always worth buying good quality footwear, especially if you’ll be doing a lot of walking in all sorts of weather. The upfront cost may be higher, but good quality footwear almost always lasts longer and will keep your feet happier :)</p>
<p>Also, for those of you who haven’t left home yet and plan to use a mattress topper, you may want to buy it in your hometown. We flew all the way from the West Coast, so we didn’t have room in our suitcases for a mattress topper, and it took us the last two days to finally find a twin-size one. The stores within driving distance of Pitt’s campus look as if they’ve barely survived a conflagration.</p>
<p>Oh, and we still haven’t found a bathrobe. All the stores we checked said that they won’t be getting any until the Christmas shopping season starts. So you may want to bring your old one from home…</p>
<p>Best of luck! It would be nice to meet some of the CC parents in the days to come…</p>
<p>Did all our shopping in Pittsburgh today. Sitting in the wyndham looking at Forbes across the street waiting to move in tomorrow. </p>
<p>Tried to get a sneak peak of room today but no go. </p>
<p>Oh well. I guess we can wait one more day.</p>
<p>When I think of rainboots, I picture those tall plastic boots that girls wear.</p>
<p>Regular winter/hiking boots will do just fine. I just wear Timberland boots. It’s not like going to college at Pitt is going to through people into extreme weather conditions.</p>
<p>Best of luck to everyone moving in!</p>