<p>TV, furniture, bicycle - I don't want to drag it all home and then bring it back again in the fall. I know some college towns have services that will pick up your packed stuff, store it over the summer and then deliver back to you in the fall. we're looking at philly btw</p>
<p>Hi there!</p>
<p>At most colleges, you’ll find storage places that store the stuff over the summer. Quite popular way to handle everything. You can have your son ask around, but I’m guessing you’ll see lots of flyers in the spring.</p>
<p>Definitely store and locks are the way to go. If you are in a small town, get one early! My son got one between Freshman spring and sophomore fall (when he moved into an apartment). He just paid for all the months up front and the nice lady even gave him a discount for prepaying, but they do go fast in the small towns so don’t wait until the last week of school.</p>
<p>DD and three friends rented a storage unit between freshman and sophomore year. They looked around and found a climate controlled place, indoors, secure. The drove the “stuff” there themselves. Cost was about $50 each total for the three months. WELL WORTH IT. The “pick up/delivery” service at their school was three times that amount per person and they felt it was NOT worth it.</p>
<p>Most schools do have storage companies nearby. If you have access to a car and can haul it there, it’s great, but if not they do provide pickup. Try to schedule it before the last move out day on campus as it is absolutely crazy then, and they sometimes charge extra for that day.</p>
<p>We have a niece on DH’s side and a nephew on my side of the family who went to G’town (only 15 mi. away from us), so WE became the hauling/storage facility. I can’t tell you how much of our basement was filled (during the summer) with the college “stuff” of the relatives and our oldest two–all in college at the same time!</p>
<p>Son’s small refrigerator was stored in our living room in the corner. We got too lazy to carry it downstairs for the couple of months he was home.</p>
<p>Some of the east coast colleges are serviced by Collegeboxes. It is expensive, but they pickup and deliver straight to the dorm room. There have been some loss problems in the past. Have your s/d check with upperclassmen.</p>
<p>It depends on the school. Ask the upperclassmen what they are doing.
Some colleges (like Swarthmore) have free storage for their students. Many have campus-based companies that store your stuff and deliver it to your dorm - usually for a lot of money.
My non-Swarthmore kids had local friends by the end of their freshman year who were willing to store their stuff in their parents’ basements.</p>